cherrybomb

has anyone eaten at these?

I am finally trying to pick off some places of interest while in Berlin in May. looking only for one upper end for my birthday.

Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

cherrybomb

ttt

Surie

hi cherrybomb-- I haven't been to a really high-end restaurant in Berlin, but have had a lot of delicious food in fun places. My biggest "splurges" have probably been e.t.a. hoffmann and Altes Zollhaus, both in Kreuzberg, and they are both wonderful, but more traditionally cozy in terms of design.

Some fun ones are Zoe, Alpenstueck, Schneeweiss and Storch. I've heard that Bacco di Bacco (something like that) is very good. For relaxed Italian, we like Bar Centrale and Osteria #1, also both in Kreuzberg-- the area by the Mehringdamm u-bahn stop. I remember you will have an apt further east. It sounds like there will be a lot of fun little cafes around you.

The Wallpaper city guide is something you might like-- it has a lot of good suggestions with pictures, and the design of the restaurants can be so cool.

One of my favorite things is lunch at the Cafe im Literaturhaus in Charlottenburg (I think) in a beautiful old house with a lovely garden. The food is so good and the atmosphere is cool.

I am looking forward to hearing about your trip!!

Proenza_Preschooler

I really enjoyed the Hong Kong Restaurant in the strip mall behind the Berliner Dom. They had sushi, too. A meal with wine is no more than 20E.

There is an Italian/Pizza place near the Potsdammer Platz Ritz-Carlton on Ebertstrasse.

Don't wear your pink cha-cha heels in Galleries Lafayette. You'll trip on the escalator.

The Great and Powerful Thingorjus

noe847

We had a lovely meal at Aigner, on Gendarmenmarkt. Maybe not as earthshaking as you are wishing, but really well prepared food and excellent service.

Surie and Thin, will have to tuck away your recommendations.

There have been a few Berlin restaurant threads. I'll check my files and see if I marked them.

cherrybomb

Thanks for the suggestions! I appreciate any--not looking only for "high end" just one for my birthday--those were the 2 I were thinking of. My birthday will really only be good if the husband plans the balloonfahrt! will suck if he doesn't yet again.


Proenza: I trip in whatever shoes I wear regardless if the cha-cha or not, and thing about it is those look nothing like what Cha-Cha wore in the Grease off. Anyhoo, I trip--it's my thing.

noe847

Here's what I have for previous posts with Berlin restaurant recommendations:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34983068
(Berlin fine dining)
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34980474
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34896528
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34820545

noe847

On our most recent trip:

We had a very nice meal at Gugelhof. Everything was quite delicious, and it's cozy. Great neighborhood also (Prenzlauerberg).

Twelve Apostles came through this time - great waiter and delicious pizza (we did the huge one and salads)

Following Cowboy1968's suggestion, we ate at Good Time- fun Thai restaurant with tasty food.

Käfer at the top of the Reichstag for lunch (I think I read somewhere that you can reserve for tea in the afternoon) - the food was good and the bonus is you skip the line to go up to the dome.

Malatesta in Gendarmenmarkt, a nice quiet Italian place (near our hotel).

We also ate at the Turkish market (yummy spinach gozlemes)

DAX

noe:
I'm glad to hear that Gugelhof is still good as I used to think that it's a perfectly relaxing & lively place. I am thinking of taking our friends there on our next trip but have some doubts. Can you be more specific with service, ambiance,impressions, noticeable things that enhanced your dining experience there? Thanks.

Cowboy1968

I have not tried the Maxwell yet, but Vau is not exactly my cup of tea. Its <i>cuisine</i> may be beyond criticism, but often comes with a certain snotty attitude I don't like.

Quite new, and a bit the talk of the town is Grill Royal, Friedrichstrasse.
www.grillroyal.com (no English website yet)
&euro;&euro;&euro;

Quadriga Restaurant at the Brandenburger Hof Hotel is excellent.
http://www.brandenburger-hof.com/e/speisen/index.html
&euro;&euro;&euro;

A meal with a view can be found on top of the TV tower. As almost always at those kind of attractions, the food is more okay than excellent. But you can't beat the view while you will have a 360° view of the city.
&euro;&euro;

Bocca di Bacco or Malatesta are both good.
&euro;&euro;

Surie

DAX-- re Gugelhof-- I had written earlier that it was so smoky the night I was there, but I did go back and I love the smoking ban! The food is really good, the servers are fun and friendly, and the ambience is cozy and relaxed. I'm bad at remembering what I ate unless it was outstanding in one way or other, but I think it was the evening's set menu which I liked. We had a fun time.

cherrybomb-- after I looked at just your headline question later, I realized I didn't even answer your question but rambled on! I hope you get your balloon ride! Maybe you should print out some choices for your husband-- even though that takes some of the fun out of it!!

Proenza_Preschooler

I walked past Malatesta. It looked nice and was full of diners.

There seemed to be a lot of nice restaurants on Charlottenstrasse between Unter den Linden and Leipzigerstrasse.

Thin

cherrybomb

thanks again.

cowboy--am leaning toward Maxwell now because I like the space and outdoor area--also the prices are better than Vau. I tried to reserve last night at Maxwell but the husband wouldn't let me--he's going to arrange things *snort*. still open to suggestion though. Am kinda over doing the super high end at this point as is is not always a good value and I have options where I live that I know I like, rather than spending the money just to spend it.

Surie--I obsessively repeat balloonfahrt, partially for my own amusement--the childish jokes write themselves when is comes to fahrting around in Berlin, partially to get him to arrange it. I plan everything (in my own way) so am leaving it to him on this, he cannot plan things outside of work to save his life and scrambles at the last minute on the day of to get it together--in his defense he did attempt to arrange for hot air balloon for my birthday in Porto last year to make up for the one he never got around to arranging in Burgundy a few years back. I laughed when he sheepishly told me he tried (in Porto) but couldn't find one and did I want to go on a 7am river cruise instead! Umm, they don't do the balloons there-jeez I knew that and 7am river cruise! What was he thinking! 7am! Oh yeah, he was thinking that it was what the hotel concierge suggested. 7am! please! Sometimes my own personal Morrissey (tm) just does not think.

Anyhoo--I think I have been successfully shaming him for long enough now that he will make it happen, and if not, it will be another disappointing birthday for me--I have the one of the worst dates in the world--May 26, it always falls on memorial day weekend which makes it a dumb day. My friend has July 4th and we commiserate that nothing will ever make us happy on our birthdays. Sorry, TMI.

Need more restaurants. Different is good, design is good as well. Bars are welcome as well--I plan to drink all day. No techno clubs. Also for good Vietnamese--i find the offering in Manhattan for Vietnamese dismal with a couple of exceptions.

cherrybomb

Will also look at Gugelhof and Malatesta--thanks!

cherrybomb

both Gugelhof and Malatesta look good. fondue and raclette at Gugelhof! Booze is cheap too. Will def. put on list.

Cowboy1968

Maybe this an URL you want your husband to find on his quest to get you in a hot air balloon near Berlin (or some other adequate flying apparatus):
http://www.air-service-berlin.de/index.php5?lang=2

But: The sites where the balloon ride starts are ALL 30-60min away from Berlin, none is directly in the city. So you would need a car to get there. And you will not see the cityscape of Berlin since the capital's airspace is restricted for non-motorized aircrafts.

cherrybomb

Thanks cowboy--I think you or someone gave me that one a few months ago. I don't want cityscape so that is all good. Do we need to rent a car for a day or is there a car hire/taxi that could drive us--it's only like a half hour out as far as I can tell.

i'm so excited to get me certificate of balloonfahrting and have my balloonfahrt ceremony. Yes, I am 5.

I looked at Malatesta and cannot figure out what neighborhood it is in--help?

Cowboy1968

Malatesta is in the SW corner of Gendarmenmarkt, the square in the heart of Berlin with the German and the French cathedral (they look more like a church). Across the street is Fassbender &amp; Rausch, a pretty good chocolatier.
http://www.fassbender-rausch.com/

Re. Ballonfahrt... I think I would ask the company you picked what they would recommend to get to their &quot;launch pad&quot;. Public transportation will probably not help much, and a taxi will cost a LOT. Easiest way to get there may be a rental car for one day (&euro;30-50), and maybe combine the drive there with visiting a sight nearby. Do you already know from where you will be riding?

cherrybomb

dammit--I don't want to drive to my balloonfahrt--I'm the only one who can drive stick/manual.

Since I will have a car, where else is there that would be worth a daytrip?

I assume it will be at one of the locations on the link you provided as he has seen that website.

noe847

Hi DAX-
I'm not ignoring your request for a report of our experience at Gugelhof. I do have pretty good notes/memory about this meal, and plan to provide a little account. Things are unusually busy for me right now, so it may be a couple of days before I can post about it, however.