A work colleague living in Berlin put me onto this great little restaurant that I wouldn’t have found out otherwise. the who. Focused on wholly Italian cuisine, you must walkout through several courtyards before uncovering the place. As one could only imagine in Berlin, the restaurant is themed out as a laundry with tea towels hanging everywhere, and strange memorabilia hanging around the corners.

The menu is short offering great value at only €13 for an entire three course meal. Being small, and printed, I’m guessing that it changes just like any good Italian kitchen should as the season and availability of ingredients change. The format is simple – order at the small counter and then grab a table. Some people grab a table first, and of course, that makes sense considering how popular the place packed out very quickly.

Each table held a large bottle of olive oil, salt and a pepper grinder for those wanting to add extra seasoning to their meal.

Our three course meal started with a fresh bowl of tomato soup, strong in colour and rich in flavour and texture. Fresh, sharp in flavour and quite a hearty sized starter that was a good indicator these people were serious about their food.

We diverged for the main meal, where I opted for the fish, wrapped in prosciutto served with seasonal roasted vegetables. The fish, firm to the touch flaked easily, the vegetables adding the depth and the crisp, saltiness balancing out the entire dish.

My sister was extremely happy with the skirt steak as well, served with some wilted greens and quite a large mount of mashed potatoes. It would have put me to sleep, but it disappeared quickly and I’m guessing that’s not because it tasted bad.

Dessert was a simple pear slice served with fresh cream and sprinkled with demerara sugar. I didn’t really like the slice mainly because it felt like they couldn’t decide between it being a slice, or a steamed pudding and the excessively soft textures didn’t let it win any points.

A unique dining experience and I’d be interested to see how the people and the atmosphere might change in the evening times.

Name: Lavanderia Vecchia
Website: http://www.lavanderiavecchia.de/
Found at: Flughafenstr. 46, D-12053 Berlin