Chez Gino

Style:
Franco-German

More:

Reviews:
Lizzie writes in "Hollow Legs": "I couldn't leave Berlin without eating potatoes and Sauerkraut. We went to a restaurant called Chez Gino and tried to decipher the menu. In the end, I asked the waitress for a recommendation. She told me the Boudin Noir with potato puree and Sauerkraut is what she would have picked. With some apprehension as I'm not even a fan of black pudding, I went with her suggestion (more sausage!).

Unfortunately I completely forgot to take a photo at the beginning, so I have just a half eaten one. I loved the sauerkraut; it's tang cut through the richness of the sausage perfectly. My dining companions (especially the veggie) turned rather green when I explained what the sausage consisted of, but I actually really enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would. It's texture was very soft, with a nice, almost crunchy casing."

The Basics:
Sorauer Str. 31, 10997, Berlin-Kreuzberg (U Schlesische Tor)

Phone: +49 (0)30 69 50 65 25

URL:

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:

Kreuzberg

A visit could be integrated with the Kreuzberg Tour, as well as with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****

4 ****
InterCityHotel BerlinUpstalsboom Hotel FriedrichshainInnside Premium Hotels BerlinNH Berlin Heinrich Heine
3 ***
Hotel Klassik BerlinBest Western Euro-Hotel Berlin
2 **
Ibis Berlin City OstHotel & Hostel FriedrichshainA&O Mitte OstbahnhofHotel garni Comenius
1*
Ostel - Das DDR-Design Hostel
Hostels:
Ostel - Das DDR-Design HostelHotel & Hostel FriedrichshainA&O Mitte Ostbahnhof
Apartment Hotels:

Good Times - Teltower Damm Branch

Style:
Pan Asian, Indonesian-Thai

More:

Reviews: Jacinta Lodge writes in "Planet Eye" about this small local chain of Pan Asian restaurants, that it has: "Excellent food, conscientious staff and a fantastic atmosphere. [...] Unlike many pan-Asian restaurants, the meals here haven't suffered from a generic blanding. While the menu is large, each dish is still individual and delicious. This REALLY isn't a "pick your meat and chuck it in a sauce"-type establishment. "

The Basics:
Teltower Damm 46, 14167 Berlin-Zehlendorf (S Zehkendorf)

URL:
http://www.goodtime-berlin.de/
+49-(0)30-84591852

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
Could be integrated with customised Berlin tours.

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****

4 ****

3 ***
Hotel Landhaus SchlachtenseeAparthotel Residenz 2000Clipper Garden Home
2 **
Hotel Morgenland
1*
Apartment-Hotel Dahlem
Hostels:

Good Times - Chausseestr. Branch

Style:
Pan Asian, Indonesian-Thai

More:

Reviews: Jacinta Lodge writes in "Planet Eye" about this small local chain of Pan Asian restaurants, that it has: "Excellent food, conscientious staff and a fantastic atmosphere. [...] Unlike many pan-Asian restaurants, the meals here haven't suffered from a generic blanding. While the menu is large, each dish is still individual and delicious. This REALLY isn't a "pick your meat and chuck it in a sauce"-type establishment. "

Another review here: "Goodtime Restaurant on Chausseestrasse 1 serves piquant curries, spicy soup broth, and all the other Thai favorites you’ve been craving, but unlike other “Thai” restaurants, this one doesn’t scrimp on the flavor and spiciness. The prices are also reasonable. Oddly enough, they serve Indonesia rijstaffel as well."

The Basics:
Chausseestr. 1, 10115-Berlin, Mitte (U Oranienburger Tor)

URL:
http://www.goodtime-berlin.de/
+49-(0)30-28046015

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
Could be integrated with "Jewish Berlin - the "Classical" Tour" (a tour of Berlin's most important Jewish heritage sites), and with customised Berlin tours.

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****
The Westin Grand Berlin
4 ****
ARCOTEL Velvet BerlinRAMADA Hotel Berlin-MitteHSH Hotel Apartments Mitte
3 ***
Hotel Aquino, TagungszentrumHotel Zarenhof
Hotel Augustinenhof
Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Hotel
2 **
Hotel Taunus
1*
baxpax downtown Hostel Hotel
Hostels:
baxpax downtown Hostel Hotel

Good Times - Hausvogteiplatz Branch

Style:
Pan Asian, Indonesian-Thai

More:

Reviews: Jacinta Lodge writes in "Planet Eye" about this small local chain of Pan Asian restaurants, that it has: "Excellent food, conscientious staff and a fantastic atmosphere. [...] Unlike many pan-Asian restaurants, the meals here haven't suffered from a generic blanding. While the menu is large, each dish is still individual and delicious. This REALLY isn't a "pick your meat and chuck it in a sauce"-type establishment. "

The Basics:
Hausvogteiplatz 11, 10117-Berlin, Mitte (U Hausvogteiplatz)

URL:
http://www.goodtime-berlin.de/
+49-(0)30-20074870

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
Could be integrated with "Berlin's Top Sites" (a tour of Berlin's most important sites), and with customised Berlin tours.

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****
Hilton BerlinRocco Forte Hotel de RomeSofitel Berlin Gendarmenmarkt
4 ****
Adina Apartment Hotel BerlinCity Partner Cityhotel Am GendarmenmarktCourtyard Berlin City CenterNovotel Berlin Mitte
3 ***
Halong Hotel
2 **
Hotel M68
1*
Hotel PutinnCity Hostel Berlin
Hostels:
City Hostel Berlin

Good Times

Style:
Pan Asian, Indonesian-Thai

More:

Reviews: Jacinta Lodge writes in "Planet Eye" about this small local chain of Pan Asian restaurants, that it has: "Excellent food, conscientious staff and a fantastic atmosphere. [...] Unlike many pan-Asian restaurants, the meals here haven't suffered from a generic blanding. While the menu is large, each dish is still individual and delicious. This REALLY isn't a "pick your meat and chuck it in a sauce"-type establishment. "

The Basics:
As mentioned before, three locations:
(1) Hausvogteiplatz 11, 10117-Berlin, Mitte (U Hausvogteiplatz); 030-20074870
(2) Chausseestr. 1 , 10115, Berlin-Mitte (U Oranienburger Tor); 030- 28046015
(3) Teltower Damm 46, 14167 Berlin-Zehlendorf (S Zehkendorf); 030-84591852

URL:
http://www.goodtime-berlin.de/

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
See entry for each individual restaurant

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:
see individual entries

Gugelhof

Style:
Franco-German, Alsace style

More:
One of Berlin's most famous Alsatian restaurants, with at least one very famous fan: Bill Clinton.

Reviews:
Locationsite's reviewer writes: " The restaurant Gugelhof in Prenzlauer Berg has earned quite a reputation for its traditional Elsace specialties like stew or the Choucroute Gugelhof (sauerkraut and potatoes with sausage and assorted meat) - which was, by the way, Bill Clinton's choice when he dined here with chancellor Schröder. An event that brought the Gugelhof world fame, and even today there are guests who ask to be seated at the exact table where president Clinton and chancellor Schröder ate. In summer, you can dine outside with a view of the picturesque Kollwitzplatz. The Gugelhof restaurant is a definite recommendation for all who like a down-to-earth, substantial seasonal kitchen that is surprisingly inexpensive. To quote Bill Clinton: "Thank you for the wonderful meal!"

The Basics: Knaackstraße 37, 10435 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg (U Senefelderplatz)

URL: Gugelhof

+49 30 442 92 29

Accessible? Not really - stairs right in the entrance

Child-Friendliness? Not really - no games, play corner, etc. The abovementioned stairs also imply that babies can only be brought without their prams.

Related Tours/Sites:
Kollwitzplatz

Could be integrated with the "Jews and Booze" tour and other customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****


4 ****
Hotel Apartmenthaus Zarenhof

3 ***
Myer´s Hotel Berlin
Hotel Jurine Berlin-Mitte
GLS Hotel Berlin

2 **
Meininger City Hostel & Hotel Prenzlauer Berg

1*
Hotel City Quartier

Hostels:
Meininger City Hostel & Hotel Prenzlauer Berg

Guy

Style:
Mediterranean

More: one of Berlin's fancy chef-restaurant, expensive

Reviews:
From Location Site: " An exclusive address overlooking the Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin's most beautiful place and a highly praised Mediterranean cuisine make the restaurant Guy a top choice for a nightly dinner in central Berlin. On four floors, the delicious dishes are served in an elegant, timelessly noble ambience. One of the highlights at Guy restaurant is the extremely popular business lunch that provides the opportunity to sample some of the superb menu selections at an attractive price, with quick service and a wine list of approximately 150 wines to complement your menu selection. In summer, there is a beautiful Mediterranean inner yard for outside dining and a small champagne and espresso bar for aperitifs or digestifs. The Guy restaurant offers space for up to 150 people, a reservation is recommended, however, as the Guy is very popular currently and often full to the last seat. The Guy restaurant is an exclusive dining location and recommendation for all gourmets."

The Basics: Jägerstraße 59, 10117 Berlin-Mitte (Stadtmitte or Franzoesische Strasse)

URL: Guy

+49 30 20 94 26 00

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:

Gendarmenmarkt

Could be integrated with Berlin's Top Sites tour and with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****
Sofitel Berlin Gendarmenmarkt
The Regent Berlin
Hilton Berlin

4 ****
Clipper City Home
Hotel The Mandala Suites

3 ***
Hotel Kubrat

2 **


1*
City Hostel Berlin

Hostels:
City Hostel Berlin

Grill Royal

Style:
Meat, French

More:
Excellent and trendy (some say: ueber-trendy) meat restaurant with French and Argentinian touches; big celebrity factor

Reviews:
San Sifton with a beautifully written review in the International Herald Tribune: "The room provides a view of the kind of restaurant scene only a city that has both money and space can provide: a large, airy dining room set under low ceilings, with wide tables and gentle lighting, packed close with artists, curators, dealers, gallery guys, smart-eyeglassed business tyros in three-piece suits, fat burghers eating Irish steak, French entrecote, Argentine beef.

There isn't much in the way of celebrity culture in Berlin, but Grill Royal serves those who make the grade on its wide boulevards and cobbled side streets: American film stars; Scandinavian novelists; Germany's political elite. Waiters swing past them on the double-quick, polyglot and efficient, bearing plates of enormous salads, briny oysters, steaks and steaks and yet more steaks, the occasional grilled dorade.

Glass-backed, fluorescent-lighted refrigerators flank the open kitchen, offering diners a view of real-life Damien Hirst: large fish piled high beside giant crab legs; fillets of beef hanging in the cold, still air, beside the tools used to break them down. The food is excellent. Start with Fine de Claire oysters from the murky, green pools of Marennes-Oléron in western France, along the Bay of Biscay - medium-size, sweet, a little nutty, cold. Try a bibb salad the size of an upside-down hat, bathed in soft and creamy vinaigrette.

Behold those plates of grassy, tender meat, crust-grilled and served beside a piquant steak sauce, with toothsome roasted baby potatoes with rosemary on the side, a dish of plain steamed spinach, another of sweetly turned coins of carrot.

To drink? A waiter brought a 2000 Château du Beau Vallon from St.-Emilion - a fat Bordeaux happy to be in Germany entertaining Americans. It did more than nicely.

"

The Basics: Friedrichstrasse 105b, 10117 Berlin-Mitte (Friedrichstrasse)

URL: Grill Royal

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
Friedrichstadt Palast , Kalkscheune
Could be integrated with the Jewish Berlin Tour and with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

4 ****
Artist Riverside Hotel & Spa
Hotel Melia Berlin

3 ***
Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-HotelHotel Albrechtshof
Hotel Allegra

2 **
Hotel Amelie Berlin

Hostels:
baxpax downtown Hostel Hotel

Girasol

Style:
Mexican

More:

Reviews:
Girasol was praised by Qype user "Frau G". The review is in German, but we'll summarise: tasty food; big portions (so big that they regretted later not asking for a doggy-bag), and nice service, including a Margarita on the house.

The Basics:
Raumerstr. 30, 10437 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg (S Prenzlauer Allee; U Eberswalder Strasse; or best - Tram M10)
+49 (0)30 44 585 68

URL:

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
The restaurant is located in Prenzlauer Berg, not far from the Kulturbrauerei.

It could be integrated with the Jews & Booze tour; and the restaurant could be also integrated with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

Hotel 1A Apartment Berlin (2 1/2 **)

Gorki Park

The Basics:
Weinbergsweg 25, 10119 Berlin (Mitte)
+49 (0)30 448 72 86

URL: Gorki Park.de


Accessible? Only outside (and no disabled bathroom)

Child-Friendliness? No (no changing table, no play-corner)

Style:
Russian

Related Tours/Sites:
Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte
Could be integrated with the Classic Jewish Berlin Tour and with customised Berlin tours

More:
Russian restaurant/cafe with a twist: names of dishes are all pun of Soviet propaganda terms ("People's Breakfast"; "Worker's Blinichi", etc.)


Reviews:
Matt Robinson writes in DirtCheapBerlin: "This little cafe provides some of the best Soviet-style lazing and grazing in the post-Soviet world, which despite what the old Russian propoganda posters might suggest is served largely without the oft pungent aroma of Communist nostalgia. Wifi access is free daily, 10am to 10pm, and they also serve a legendary Brunch every Sunday from 10am until 4pm. Turn up an hour before the end and you get to scrounge through the leftovers for a discount price.[...] Gorki Park serves some of the best borschtsch in Berlin, sells Russian Moskwa beer on tap and of course plenty of lashing of Wodka on request (ask for it served the traditional way, with black bread). The whole thing is very tounge in cheek, all down to the cafe motte 'long live hospitality.'"

Urban Foodie also recommends Gorki Park, this time their Sunday breakfasts: "I plumped for a small borsch followed by a mixed platter of baked cheese blinis, eggs, pancakes with soured cream, aubergine in tomatoes, various fruits, more soured cream and some jam with a glass of black tea on the side."

We were a little less impressed on our visit there, perhaps because it was still when smoking ban was not enforced in Berlin, and people sort of smoked right into our plates. The food was good, but not fantastic, and we were not impressed that Gorki is "Dirt Cheap" (relatively to Berlin, of course), but has fair prices. In other words, we found it to be a good, but not an excellent, place.