Horvath owns two restaurants in Berlin, one of which we’d already eaten at for a team outing. This one, more distinguished restaurant is located in the heart of Kreuzberg, by a canal and offers the tastebuds interesting takes on German cuisine.
You have the option of ordering a la carte, or with a variety of set menus. I felt like we could have a three course meal when we went, just not the five or seven course ones also on offer. Frankly I feel like I’ve been eating too much since arriving in Berlin, and with so much variety, there’s always something new to discover.
Their bread offering soon arrived after the offer of an aperitif. LIke many restaurants trying to impress (which they most certainly did!), we had three breads on offer – a black pudding bread (the round one), a pumpkin seed bread, and a hearty sourdough, all perfectly warm and well made.
Two types of spreads accompanied the bread, a plain butter (but pretty good butter with flavour for Germany) and, another mayonnaise concoction, though this time topped with toasted pumpkin seed oil. Yum.
To our surprise, an amuse bouche arrived after our hearty bread, turning the intended three course into a much more filling meal than intended. It wasn’t simply just a bite either, this being a reasonable sized plate, smeared with mashed turnip, earthy mushrooms and brought to life with pickled carrots.
My sister had a vegetarian starter, not that interested in the terraine. I have no idea how it was.
I opted for the “old vienna style beef jelly” that had the perfect combination of textures (soft and crunchy contrasts) with refreshing slices of turnip, sourness of pickled onions and a fresh zing of some sort of vinegar dressing.
We both then went for the “baked spring chicken with a potato cucumber salad”. What arrived was the juiciest, tenderest chicken that seemed like it had been fried with an unbelievably crisp crumb. I guess it was their take on “wienerschnitzel” and I can’t rave about how good it tasted. Each small slice burst with flavour – this was once a happy chicken, or one that grazed on a flavoursome herb diet. As you can see, everything was thought out with the muslin cloth wrapped lemon preventing pips from entering the food.
Like most recipes, the potato salad also burst with flavour – that perfect combination of soft, yet textured potatoes in a delicious dressing.
We finished our course with the apple fritter – and served with a sour cream ice cream provided a delightful finish – the sourness helping bring out the sweetness in the apple. A mound of caramel sat in the middle of the plate, providing yet another type of sweetness that was probably not really needed considering the whole plate had been dusted with icing sugar.
Funnily enough, our meal still wasn’t finished when they brought the bill also bringing along a pumpkinseed truffle. The truffle had a really interesting taste, the oil slightly taking out the richness, though adding another dimension to the dish, almost lengthening the flavours on the tongue.
The restaurant had some really great food and service, and it was such a shame that we couldn’t indulge just that little more. You’ll definitely pay a lot more for the meal compared to other places in Berlin, but the equivalent of this sort of food in Berlin, you’d be paying even more in places outside of Berlin.
Name: Horvath
Website: www.restaurant-horvath.de
Found at: Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44A, 10999 Berlin, Germany