One of the many restaurants, on my ever-growing list of places to eat in Berlin was Neu. Selected by Michelin for their Bib Gourmand award, meaning a place with good value, I finally got to try it one evening I was in Berlin. My first attempt failed by attempting to go eat there on an evening they were shut, we walked down through the courtyard, fingers crossed that they would be open.

Surprisingly, they weren’t particularly busy on the evening we went. Admittedly I think it was a fairly dinner by Berlin standards, around 7pm and about one third of the dining tables had been filled by the time we ate and left. Neu’s interior reminded my a lot of Alpenstueck – clean white lines and very modern furnishings. The food soon to follow would reflect that.

My dining companion was in a bit of a rush, so we skipped starters and both succumbed to the tempting steak on the menu. Although we were surprised when an amuse bouche arrived at the table. I can’t remember all the details exactly, however I believe it was a light tomato mousse, served with a crisp bread and freshly chopped tomatoes. Despite being worried about the tartness the tomatoes might have – after all, we weren’t in Italy or Spain of all places, each bite brought a bit of surprise with plenty of flavour and sweetness throughout.

I heartily approve of all of their bread selections. Served with your typical mayonnaise side dressing (people don’t seem to like butter as much here), we had two or three different fresh breads to choose from. Delicious!

Our steak finally arrived, and what a huge dish it proved to be. The steak sat atop a crunchy piece of sourdough bread, smothered with a salty goats cheese layer, topped with a lavish and generously dressed salad and a couple of poached tomatoes on the side. Although slightly fatty, my steak had been perfectly cooked to my rare request and literally melted in my mouth. Let’s just say it didn’t last long.

I really want to come back here and try all the different courses they have to offer. Although not an extensive dinner offering, everything we had they executed perfectly well. I’ll also have to come back here for the breakfast/brunches they do on the weekends.

Name: Cafe Restaurant Neu
Website: http://www.restaurant-neu.de/
Found at: In den Heckmannhöfen, II. Innenhof , Oranienburger Str. 32, 10117 Berlin