Solar

Style:
Eclectic and Fusion

More:
Come for the view and the atmosphere: a combination of a club (17th floor) and stylish restaurant. Mid-priced to expensive.

Reviews:
Catherine Hickley writes in Bloomberg.com: "

The clientele at the restaurant is noticeably older than the crowd upstairs. Most tables have a window view, though it's worth asking for one when booking to be absolutely sure. The food is competent -- less spectacular than that view.

Tuna carpaccio squares rolled in black and white sesame seeds were bland, though they were accompanied by delicious curried lentils that perked up the dish. A huge portion of beef tartare with quail egg was dauntingly rich, yet the blinis, cream cheese and caviar that went with it were a smooth, delicate delight.

The main courses are fish and meat standards. A salmon filet with mushrooms was wrapped in a fine, crispy pastry that helped concentrate the flavors and keep it succulent. A perfectly cooked lamb filet was rolled in mint leaves -- surprising to me, as Germans generally find it hilariously bizarre and typically eccentric that the British eat mint sauce with lamb. (They don't know what they are missing.)

[...]

On a previous visit, a main course of Iberico pork with chicory, rocket and a scallop disappointed because the meat was overcooked and dry. At 22 euros ($33), that shouldn't be the case. The desserts, though, are always a hit: this time we had an amaretto pavlova and a variety platter, all served with plenty of fresh fruit and lots of flavor."

More: in TheLobby

The Basics: Stresemannstrasse 76, 10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg (S Anhalter Bahnhof)

URL: Solar Berlin

+49 163 7652 700

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?
no.

Related Tours/Sites:
Kreuzberg, Anhalter Bahnhof

Could be integrated with the Kreuzberg Tour, the Cold War Tour or with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****
Berlin Marriott Hotel

4 ****
Mövenpick Hotel Berlin
relexa hotel Stuttgarter Hof
Casa Boardinghouse
Winter's Hotel Berlin Mitte

3 ***
Suitehotel Berlin Potsdamer PlatzHotel Bel Ahr
Express By Holiday Inn Berlin City Centre

2 **
Ibis Hotel Berlin Potsdamer Platz

1*
Hotel Putinn

Hostels:

Rikes Gasthaus (Rike's Restaurant)

Style:
Berlin Cuisine, German

More:
The restaurant claims to apply recipes from old cookbooks, reviving the old Berlin cuisine, and is appropriately located at a hotel called "Alt Berlin" (Old Berlin); allegedly recipes left to Rike by her grandmother

Reviews:
"Mediterranean Girl" writes in her travel journal, "the food was delicious. [...] traditional Wiener Schnitzel [...] which came with a huge salad and lots of oniony, pan-fried potatoes. It was huge – it absolutely covered my plate and it was very tasty. My partner ordered a traditional pot-roast of beef that was served with a rich gravy, mountains of vegetables and heaps of oniony, pan-fried potatoes. He really enjoyed it and I saw what the waiter meant about a starter being too much. The dessert menu was rather simple. [...] The atmosphere was rather cosy. [...] t appeared to be a place couples would go rather than large groups of people or families with young children. " Menus are available in English.

The Basics: Potsdamer Str. 67, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten (U Kurfuerstenstrasse)

URL: In the hotel's website: Rikes Gasthaus

+49 30 26 06 70

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
Potsdamer Platz, Neue Nationalgalerie

Could be integrated with an architectural tour in Berlin, the Weimar Area and other customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

In the Hotel AltBerlin

5 *****
Grand Hyatt Berlin

4 ****
Maritim Hotel Berlin

3 ***
Hotel Altberlin
Lindemann Hotel Fjord
Hotel Delta
City Suites Berlin Potsdamer Straße
AGON Hotel Aldea

2 **
Hotel Am Potsdamer Platz
Hotel Villa Amadeus
FG Hotel Berlin

1*
Apartmenthaus am Potsdamer Platz

Hostels:
Meininger City Hostel Tempelhofer Ufer

Lindenbräu

Style:
German, Bavarian, Berlin Cuisine

More:
A similar branch is located at the Hauptbahnhof, the Hopfingerbräu

Reviews:
Lindenbräu is not where you'll be heading, if you're looking for a quaint restaurant attended mostly by the locals. On the other hand, those small, quaint, restaurants, almost never accept credit cards, have menus only in German, no access to disabled persons and a staff that hardly speaks any language, including German.

Lindenbräu is the opposite: it is a large restaurant in one of the most touristy places imaginable: the Sony Centre in Potsdamer Platz. But being a "touristy" German restaurant has many advantages: not only that the menu comes in four languages, it also has pictures of the dish, so you will understand what it is all about; the waiters speak English; and the restaurant accepts credit cards and has wheelchair access. The so-touristy location also means that you have a view, if you choose to - sit close to the window or in the yard, you will get a wonderful view on the futuristic architecture of Sony Centre and its fountain. If you choose to sit close to the centre, you will see the brewery from a close distance.

The food is a mixed version of all types of regional German food, with heavy Bavarian and southern influence; but also with typical Berlin dishes, such as the Eisbein (pork knuckle). Unlike many German restaurants around town, this one offers a variety of dishes to vegetarians, those who won't eat pork, and the like. The dishes are not small, so prepare to leave some or come hungry.

The Basics: Sony Center, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten (U+S Potsdamer Platz)

URL: Lindenbräu

+49 30 25 75 12 80

Accessible? yes, including a lift for wheelchair users who prefer to sit in the upper levels and disabled toilets on the ground floor

Child-Friendliness? If the children are old enough to enjoy the Sony Centre fountain, the lights, and the brewery

Related Tours/Sites:
Sony Center, Legoland/Discovery Centre, Tiergarten

Could be integrated with an architectural tour in Berlin, the Weimar Area and other customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

5 *****
The Mandala Hotel
The Ritz-Carlton Berlin
Berlin Marriott Hotel
Grand Hyatt Berlin
Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin


4 ****
Casa Boardinghouse

3 ***
Apartments am Brandenburger Tor
Hotel Bel Ahr

2 **
Hotel Am Potsdamer Platz

1*
Apartmenthaus am Potsdamer Platz

Hostels:
City Hostel Berlin

Facil

Style:
Chef Restaurant, Fusion/International

More: At the fifth floor of The Mandala Hotel in Potsdamer Platz , well designed; 1 Michelin Star, 17 Gaullt Millau points.

Reviews:
Location Site adds: "opened in 2001, definitely has a place in the ranks of Berlin's finest dining locations. It is located on the fifth floor of the Mandala hotel on Potsdamer Platz. As one of the prime restaurants of Berlin, it offers both an outstanding international cuisine and a wonderfully relaxed, zen-like atmosphere. Elegant natural materials such as mahogany and marble were used to create the charming design of the restaurant, the glass roof allows to dine with a view of the sky. Chef de cuisine Michael Kempf regularly delivers inspiring menues that are light and perfectly prepared, his seafood creations are always worth a try. A recommendation not just for guests of the hotel!"

Fodor's, too, recommends this restaurant and calls it "one of Germany's top restaurants".

The Basics: Potsdamer Strasse 3, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten (Potsdamer Platz)

URL: Facil

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:

Potsdamer Platz and its architecture

Could be integrated with the Berlin Architectural Tour and with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

Naturally, it is in The Mandala Hotel

5 *****
Grand Hyatt BerlinThe Ritz-Carlton Berlin
Berlin Marriott Hotel

4 ****
Maritim Hotel Berlin
Casa Boardinghouse

3 ***
Lindemann Hotel Fjord
Hotel Altberlin
Hotel Bel Ahr

2 **
Hotel Am Potsdamer Platz

1*
Apartmenthaus am Potsdamer Platz

Hostels:

Nola (Tiergarten)

Style:
Californian Cuisine// Bistro // Cocktail Bar

More:
There is another Nola, the Nola am Weinberg, which will receive separate post

Reviews:
A Qype user praises in German the cocktails and the food, but notes that the prices are a bit expensive.

The Basics:
Dortmunder Str. 9, 10555 Berlin- Tiergarten/Moabit (U Hansaplatz or Turmstrasse)
+49 (0)30 399 69 69

URL: Nola

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
In Tiergarten/Moabit

It could be integrated with the Jewish West Berlin Tour; and with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

Gold Inn adrema Hotel (4 ****)

Golden Tulip Hotel Park Consul (3 ***)

Hotel Les Nations (3 ***)
Hotel Hansablick (3 ***)
Hotel Tiergarten Berlin (3 ***)

Lutter & Wegner (Chain)

The Basics:
A conglomerate of wine restaurants:
Charlottenstrasse 56, 10117 Berlin (near Gendarmenmarkt, U-Stadtmitte) [main, most famous]
+49-(0)30-20 29 54 0

Bellevuestrasse 1, 10785, Berlin (near S/U Potsdamer Platz)
+49-(0)30-26 39 03-72

Alte Potsdamer Strasse 5, 10785 Berlin (near S/U Potsdamer Platz)
+49-(0)30-25 29 43 50

Oranienburger Strasse 52-53, 10117 Berlin (near S Oranienburger Str. or U Oranienburger Tor)
+49-(0)30-24 78 10 78

Confused? Wait - there's more: The original restaurant has actually relocated after 1945 (war, communism, you know), as is not only located somewhere else (Schlüterstraße 55 in Charlottenburg) but is also not related to the L&W group. We will review it separately under "Lutter & Wegner seit 1811".

URL

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Style:
German elite cuisine and wine house

Related Tours/Sites:
For the first branch, "Berlin's Top Sites" tour; for the second, and the third, the Weimar Berlin; and for the fourth, the Classic Jewish Berlin Tour, or any of these branches with customised Berlin tours

More:
As mentioned before, it is a bit confusing: the original Lutter & Wegner was established in 1811 in Gendarmenmarkt, and this is where the original location is. However, the original restaurant has been re-established by the family after the war in Charlottenburg, and has nothing to do with the big chain that owns these restaurants in Berlin as well as several other restaurants in Germany, owned and managed by a large wine/Sekt distributor, Henkell & Söhnlein. A bit like those "authentic" Irish pubs that Guiness has everywhere in Europe. (The original Lutter & Wegner will be reviewed under "Lutter & Wegner seit 1811")

Reviews:
Eric Asimov, the wine critic for the New York Times, writes: "At Lutter and Wegner, a traditional Berlin restaurant on Charlottenstrasse right in the center of the city, the excellent wine list included quite a few spätburgunders. I selected a 2005 Von Unserm trocken from a Rheingau producer I had never heard of, Balthasar Ress. [...] The wine was light-bodied and delicate, cherry-scented and slightly bitter. It was young and not complex but absolutely delicious, the perfect weight and flavor for my smoky potato soup and the almost comically huge schnitzel, which even with its ridges and folds dwarfed the plate it came on."

I think that Mr. Asimov knows about wine a little more than I do. However, when I was there (at the Gendarmenmarkt branch), the service was rude and slow. I have heard that the other branches are better, and if you are deeply offended by the fact that I have likened L&W to an Irish pub chain, consider this: I actually enjoy those fake Irish pubs.

Tiergarten Quelle

Style:
German/Berlin Cuisine

More:
Affordable students restaurant with good German and local (Berlin) cuisine

Reviews:
"Yuri" writes on her blog: " The Tiergarten Quelle is this great restaurant located underneath the S-Bahn train tracks. It’s very close to the station, which made it really easy to find and you can hear the trains traveling above.[...] The food was delicious." (she wonders what she had - it looks like pork schnitzel with brocolli and chips to my untrained eye).

Jane writes in her blog: "It was a hole in the wall place under the subway, but inside was fantastic. Although very tiny, it was packed with people, clearly a popular hang out for regulars. A traveling band (a violin player, a bass player, and an accordion player) entered and played a few songs. We all got traditional (very heavy) German food, washed down with traditional (very good) beer."

The Basics:
Bachstr. 6, 10555 Berlin

+49-(0)30- 392 76 15

URL: Tiergarten Quelle

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Related Tours/Sites:
Hansa Quarter, the University of Technology, the flea market on the Strasse-der-17.Juni
Could be integrated with the Jewish Tour in West Berlin, or with customised Berlin tours

Nearby Hotels/Accommodation:

Novotel Berlin Am Tiergarten

Hotel Hansablick

Cafe am Neuen See

The Basics:

Lichtensteinallee 2, 10787 Berlin (in the Middle of the Tiergarten park, close to the Zoologischer Garten station)

URL:

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?
Fairly. They have a playground outside when its fair, and in general, you can also see ducks, birds, fish and trees, which is all very child-friendly. No play-corner inside, though.

Style:
Biergarten (beer garden) with Pizzas, German beer-garten food, etc.

Related Tours/Sites:
Very close to the Zoologischer Garten (the Zoo in West Berlin)

Could be integrated with the Weimar Berlin, Third Reich Berlin Tour, Jewish Tour in West Berlin or with customised Berlin tours

More:
In our opinion, one of the best and friendliest beer gardens in Berlin; they have a self-service restaurant with grilled sausages and other types of German food; pretty good (and large) pizzas; and a serviced cafe/restaurant, which is pretty good. And it is on a lake side, in a middle of a huge park, which is a green lung in the middle of the city.

Reviews:
On Moscow News, Phoebe Taplin writes: "[...] a great restaurant "Am Neuen See," with a self-service section at weekends which does huge pizzas and even bigger beers at wooden trestle tables by the water."

Vapiano

The Basics:

An international chain with several branches/franchises:

(1) Potsdamer Platz 5 , 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten
+49 (0)30-23 00 50 05

(2) Augsburger Str. 43, 10789 Berlin-Mitte
+49 (0)30-88 71 41 95


URL: Vapiano in Berlin

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Style:
Pasta etc. slow food in fast pace

Related Tours/Sites:
Both could be integrated with a general Berlin tour.
First Branch: Potsdamer Platz; near the Marriott
Could be integrated with the Weimar Berlin, Third Reich Berlin Tour, Jewish Tour in West Berlin or with customised Berlin tours

Second Branch: City-West, near the Zoo and the Swissotel/Concorde
Could be integrated with Jewish Tour in West Berlin or with customised Berlin tours

More:
A pasta restaurant with a fast food system: you get an e-card in the entrance. Everything you order at the counters (pasta, wine, desserts, etc.) is now tipped into the card. After the meal, you walk out through a till, where you pay according to the amount on your card. No more arguing with your friends "who ordered the lobster", no more waiting for service when you're dead hungry. On the other hand, fast food is also fast food, even when it is quality pasta in fair prices, and the cafeteria feeling exists.

Reviews:
On Been There, user Shatgoth liked the place: "Fantastic pasta bar near Potsdamer Platz. You pick any pasta and any sauce and then wait at the counter while the chef cooks it for you. They use fresh pasta so you only have to wait a few minutes. They have pots of fresh herbs at the tables that you can help yourself to. When you go in you are given a card, which you hand over to the chef who swipes it for you, then if you want to order drinks or desserts hand the card to the counter staff. When you leave, give the card in at the till and then you pay. This is the best pasta I've ever eaten and prices are really reasonable, from about 5 euros. I particularly recommend the rustica ravioli and pasta with lemon and mint. It's so good I went twice!"

Weilands Wellfood

The Basics:

Two branches. The original one:

Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 , 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten
+49 (0)30-258 99 717

The second one:
Platz vor dem Neuen Tor 5, 10115 Berlin-Mitte
+49 (0)30-288 79 670

URL: Weilands Wellfood

Accessible?

Child-Friendliness?

Style:
Organic/Health food (relatively) fast food

Related Tours/Sites:
First Branch: Potsdamer Platz
Could be integrated with the Weimar Berlin, Third Reich Berlin Tour, Jewish Tour in West Berlin or with customised Berlin tours

Second Branch: Mitte, near the Natural History Museum and the Hamburger Bahnhof
Could be integrated with the Third Reich Berlin Tour, with a guided/escorted visit to one of the two above mentioned museums or with customised Berlin tours

More:
Organic ("bio") and health food restaurant. Vegetarians would probably be happy to know that if they don't mind eating with carnivores, there are many vegetarian dishes on the menu.

Reviews:
BioBerlin is a German Language blog discussing all aspects of healthy living and eating in Berlin. Although we personally haven't been to the restaurant, we agree with BioBerlin about this being an oasis in Potsdamer Platz, only from knowing the other cheesy places in this otherwise culinary desert. We'll free translate the main points of BioBerlin's review: The restaurant is somewhat hidden near the Casino in Potsdamer Platz. The idea behind it: healthy, fresh cuisine. There are wholegrain pastas, salads, also the regular mundane stuff but very tasty wok-dishes. The most important thing is that all dishes are fresh, healthy and low in calories. The coolest thing: the meat is organic! They don't write it anywhere, and only after we've asked, they said that the meat as well as many other ingredients are organic, including for example an organic beer. The food was good, it was quickly prepared, the service was very cordial. The prices are affordable: the main dish costs 7 EUR.