My Berlin Bites: Modern Berlin

December 28, 2013

A few last highlights from our time in Berlin.

Instead of traditional German restaurants, we dined at Noto, a charming little spot with only one waiter, a slim menu, and plenty of sidewalk seating perfect for the summer eve in Mitte.

They really do love their veal here. I treated myself to a veal tartare with beets as a starter. The veal was perfect in tartare form and was delicate enough to accompany the thinly sliced sweet beets.

And for my main dish, I chose the house specialty of BBQ veal ribs with cornbread while RJ chose a very well prepared piece of salmon with a teriyaki sauce. The cornbread might have been forgettable but the veal ribs were fantastically rich and tender, literally falling off the bone. This might be some of the best BBQ sauce I have had in a while as wrong as it is to say while in Berlin.

Another charmer we found was Pantry, a slightly larger spot cooking up some imaginative modern German cuisine heavily influenced by global cuisine.

The interior is plush with leather banquets but airy with tall ceilings. I loved the cozy romantic feel of the restaurant the second I stepped foot inside.

Appetizers here included a Japanese style ramen as well as tataki or this concoction made with avocado and plantains.

For entrees, we sampled a filet of artic char with grapefruit and celery creme, whole grilled sea bream with Thai eggplant and kumquats as well as braised veal two ways served with bok choy. While plating could have used work, suffering a little from the tendency for one to keep adding ingredients to the plate, the flavors were bright and unique. A very good end to our time here in Berlin.