Looking for great restaurants in BERLIN
 

We are looking for ideas for a rather special food experience or specific dishes that are to die for in Berlin. We're wondering if anyone can share some great experience at a restaurant they happened to find in Berlin.

We have already booked FACIL & FISCHERS FRITZ. We are also deciding between AIGNER & OTTENTHAL for some austrian Tafelspitz broth soup. We still need a couple more restaurants.

We particularly enjoyed Lutter & Wegner on Gendarmenmarkt. They have lovely outside tables and the service was great. Restaurant is pretty inside. You could also have a pre-dinner drink in the Newton bar nearby (as long as you aren't easily offended by life-size photos of nude women, taken by the late, great Helmut Newton)

you may want to do breakfast or lunch atop the reichstag.. reservations only , for a spectacular setting and decent food.

Fischers Fritz is an excellent choice.

I personally like also the First Floor (in Hotel Palace) and Hugo's (in Hotel Intercontinental).

Both are first-rank gourmet restaurants.

For refined Austrian cuisine, Schloss Glienecke Remise might be an adress (however, it is far away out of the city, almost in Potsdam).

Lutter & Wegner has rustic Austrian cuisine, some leagues below the above mentioned restaurants.

Käfer in the Reichstag serves indeed decent food, but the main reason to eat there is to bypass the queue at the entrance to the Reichstag.

For a high-quality cuisine on a medium level, I like Diekmann. They have two restaurants, one at Potsdamer Platz (Diekmann im Weinhaus Huth - they are strong with frest oysters) and the other, more atmospheric one in Meinekestraße (off Ku'damm).

For more details, use
www.gaultmillau.de
and enter "Berlin".

For something totally different try this one: http://www.unsicht-bar.com/unsicht-b...me_1_idea.html

Make sure you get a doner kebab. It isn't that hard to find a good place to get one.

hnberlin:
Thanks for your suggestion, the Lutter Wegner branches used to be my staple bistros but I've eaten there too many times, so I'm looking for new comfort food places. This will be my 9th or 10th visit to Berlin. I agree, Newton is definitely fun to shock people but some ladies (american) may not feel as comfortable.

lincasanova:
I am sending our friends to Kaefer at the Reichstag on their own just to cut the line. I've been to the various Kaefer branches several times in Munich, I am trying to be more adventurous in Berlin.

traveller:
Could you be more specific about what you like at First Floor & Hugo and which one is more impressive/better according to you(food, ambience, wine, price/value). I imagine prices are comparable. I believe Berlin has become more expensive on their wine list over the years. We will look into Schloss Glienecke since we may go to Postdam. Is it reasonable to reach by taxi (closeby, not more than 25 euro) from Sans Souci/S Bahn station?
I normally go to either of the two Diekmanns on my visits, but this time I', trying to break away. They are always great & reliable.

Kkura:
I've been to Unsichtbar with my daughter a few years ago. It's a fun experience indeed plus it's a good cause.

travel gourmet: Yes doener is always great.

Those nude photos in the Newton Bar are pretty tame. You'd have to be one of those Texas LDS to be offended.

I only waited in line for 5 minutes to get into the Reichstag--didn't have to make any reservations at Kaeffer. I guess I am the smart one.
:)

Thin

DAX:

I see, our tastes are on the same level.

To be frank, Schloss Glienecke is not QUITE as good as Hugo/First Floor/Fischers Fritz (the cuisine is more traditional, not quite as innovative). From Potsdam, the taxi ride should be in the area of 25 EUR.

It is hard to tell which one is better, Hugo or First Floor. We liked them both, maybe Hugo a little bit better (maybe partly because the young chef came from our region).

We always take the most extensive grazing menu in such restaurants, often with matching wines, and it is always different (even in the same restaurant) and always a surprise.

First Floor has a VERY impressive wine cellar (e.g. with 6-liter-bottles Chateau Margaux of 1945), but this is beyond our range.

"Die Qual der Wahl."

For our first day dinner, our friends really want to try this winebar with a michelin star that I found on the internet: www.rutz-weinbar.de
Has anyone ever tried/heard anything about it?

Traveller:
That also means that we have to give up Facil if we want to try Hugo/First Floor. Hmmm, time to compare menus. I have been to Facil a few years ago as part of the Madison hotel package stay. I have this slight bias against Hugo because it's inside the ugly Intercon in the middle of nowhere, but I know that's not a good way to pre-judge a restaurant. That's why I was hoping for your descriptions/narrations. Yes,it's turning into a real torture.

Thin: Thanks for the tip, I'll tell our friends that they won't even need a reservation for Kaefer. Now tell me again, what was the dress code there ;)

Käfer has no dress code. What the Americans call "smart casual" would be okay.

- Hugos:

You are right, the Interconti is a rather ugly hotel (I stayed there several times). But Hugos is on top of the building and offers breathtaking views over the city. Besides, the Marlene Bar on the ground flor is a nice spot to sip a drink (they have live music every night). Hugos is centrally located at the end of the Kurfürstendamm, close to the Zoo, right in the centre of West Berlin. Lots of nightlife a short stroll away.

- First Floor.

Almost at the same location as Hugos. The building is equally ugly. But the restaurant is cozy, with wood-paneling. In terms of ambiance, I would say, First Floor is more traditional while Hugos has a fresher, younger style.

Levels of price, quality and service are the same in both restaurants. The menus on the websites are just sample menus.

BTW, value for money is unbeatable if you have lunch at Fischers Fritz.

ttt

Thanks for the additional descriptions traveller. First Floor seems so traditionally old fashioned to be creative. I just find out that Hugo's will still be closed when we're there so for now we may just stick with Facil and Fischer Fritz unless another great idea comes up.