I’d eaten at the much acclaimed Horvath’s at the beginning of the year. It’s an unusual find in Kreuzburg, focusing much more on the higher end of the market offering modern twists to Bayerish cuisine.

It’s more of the place you’d take your parents to meet your partner for the first time, rather than as a casual night out. Fortunately Berlin is as happy serving a bunch of geeks (seven of us to be exact) as they are entertaining German families.

We opted for a mix of the the tasting course menu – me, of course, hoping to try as much as we could given the time. The courses end up much more than the six expected courses.

They first brough a bread basket to the table, a mix of wonderfully different styles including one that had notable chunks of black pudding throughout. My favourite, of course, a lighter bread surrounded by a crisp crust lightly dusted in flour.

Just as unusually, their “butter” proved to be a combination of cream cheese, some butter and some toasted pumpkin seed oil. The oil proved less popular at the table as it was surprisingly bitter, not the smooth subtle flavours one would normally expect of a more classical olive oil at the table.

It’s a while since I wrote this up, so the details of each dish are less forthcoming, however I hope you enjoy seeing some of the pictures anyway. Here I think we had a pureed celeric with some fresh celery and apple. As the first dish, it proved refreshing to the pallette.

Round two, a chunk of duck liver with a majoram glaze and a caramellised corn pudding accompanied by some other pureed vegetable stuff (I think). If you look closely you can see there was a very thin sugar crust layering on top that provided both the element of crunch and sweetness to an otherwise very rich dish.

Next followed a really delicate dish confit fish filet with dark berry sauce, and mushrooms. The dish had been finished off dotted with lots of capers and two chunks of a very small sour cream cream. Mmmm. Delicious.

Next up was a softly cooked venison strip. I honestly can’t remember what it sat upon but I do remember it being amazingly tender and very well cooked.

Our next course would make vegetarians envious with generous chunks of aubergine with a generous selection of fresh chanterelles sitting on some more pureed turnip.

Being Bayerish food, one doesn’t expect too many vegetables and predictably changed with the next round, a duck breast accompanied by a selection of pototo and red cabbage.

Some of us then had the additional cheese course, a strong blue cheese that went really well with the small sultanas dotting the plate.

Dessert finished off our meal with an amazingly fresh red carrot sorbet, a soft cake, and a couple of other puddings. Everyone was so impressed by the strong flavours of the red carrot sorbet, someone even asked for the recipe.

With tea arrived a small selection of biscuits and soft caramels but I literally coudln’t eat anymore.

An enjoyable evening and a place I would definitely return to again.

Name: Horvath’s
Website: http://www.restaurant-horvath.de/
Found at: Paul Lincke Ufer 44a, Kreuzberg, 10999 Berlin

Apparently an institution in Berlin for a place that does very traditional German food, Chris recommended this place over Max and Moritz as its apparently filled with more locals than tourists. We came here in a fairly nice day, so all the tables were unfortunately taken. Inside, the interior is bright and airy so it looks just as good, but we couldn’t enjoy the sunshine as a result.

I can’t really remember what else was on the menu, but seeing as it was still in the heart of asparagus season, and Beelitzer Spargel (asparagus) was all the range, who was I to argue. I ordered the schnitzel with 400g of the big beasts.

Of course, like any good place, they served some awesome great beers, and I got to indulge in Schwartzbeir (black beer) along with my food. Mmm.

The schnitzel was well cooked and accompanied by a hollandaise sauce, particularly decadent (not the dish to have every night). More than the that, you can see the giant asparagus spears and they were the true stars of this dish. Flavoursome, and just cooked so they still had some texture. Delicious. I’ll have to come back and try a few other places.

Name: Weltrestaurant-Markthalle
Found at: Pücklerstrasse 34, 10997 Berlin- Kreuzberg
Website: http://www.weltrestaurant-markthalle.de/

Schneeweiss, literally translated as ‘Snow White’ sits in the heart of Friedrichshain, the more edgy and upcoming part of Berlin. Situated in a neighbourhood with plenty of other cafes and interesting looking bars, it hints at the resentful gentrification settling upon Berlin. It’s clean, white interiors (hence it’s name) provide a stark contrast to those buildings around them.

We went along for their Sunday brunch, where they have a buffet offering pretty much everything on their normal menu, that focuses on atypical Austrian cuisine, although without the wiener schnitzel. Drinks are excluded from the menu, although they offer you a menu so that you can pick.

The restaurant seats large groups, and until I went to the restroom, didn’t really how extensive the entire place would be. I could only imagine how this place might evolve on a late Friday and Saturday night, when the bar area opens up and the back room fills up. This morning probably represented a much more sedate and the average Berlin crowd on a weekend – young hipsters and groups of people catching up. Several people bringing dogs into the restaurant as well (not just the small ones).

Although doing several different types of coffee, the nearest to a reasonable ratio of milk and coffee they offered was the cappuccino. I have learned hard the lesson about ordering a latte macchiato, the drink where Germans let milk dominate the coffee.

They had plenty of stuff on offer on the buffet – many types of salads (half of which contained meat), cold meats and cheese and different types of breads. They even had a whole pretzel stand (the large variety) that seemed popular with the crowd.

Further down stood plenty of micro salads including the many traditional German ones (potato! beetroot!) and good portions that let you try them all without getting too stuffed.

On another table opposite the bar, they offered the hot stuff that included a number of dumplings, some hot stews and some roast pork. I tried a small bowl just to sample them all but was filling up fast.

Germans like their desserts, particularly their “kuchen” (cake) and Schneeweiss offered many including several sweet slices, and other lovely tasting morsels like a creme brulee.

It’s hard not to enjoy the vibe of a restaurant like this. One that is obviously popular with locals (I only heard German speaking tongue). One where you can enjoy the local delights, and take your time doing so.

Name: Schneeweiß
Website: http://www.schneeweiss-berlin.de/
Found at: Simplonstraße 16, 10245 Berlin, Germany

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

A small deer on a white sign on a typically dark Berlin street marks the spot for Michelin Bib Gourmand recommended Alpenstueck. I was scheduled to meet Jo, Nigel and his wife after their viewing of the Blue Man Group and although they asked if we had a reservation, tables on a Sunday evening were quite easy to come by.

The deer motif runs throughout all of their menus, representing an icon for their focus on South German foods.

The others were running late, so I had a bit of time to take in the atmosphere. They brought bread, not accompanied by oil or butter, but by a mayonnaise blended with, what I think was some fresh dill. The bread tasted like it was freshly made, my guess is on the premises given they also have a bakery open from 7 in the morning during the week.

Another thing I noticed was the open kitchen views from our table, something I really appreciate when dining in any restaurant. The waiters were very friendly, checking to make sure I had something to drink or if I needed anything whilst waiting. More on that a bit later.

Several things caught my eye on the menu, and since I hadn’t had a schnitzel for sometime, I figured this place would be a great place to try it. When the others arrived, we placed our order and waited for a while. Unfortunately we sat, waiting for our food, until the waiter came back to our table with bad news that he’d somehow lost our order and needed to take it again. Being that it was already a late meal, I was a little disappointed by this and we were offered no recompense in our meal.

When the food finally arrived, the schnitzel was freshly cooked and quite delicious. I’m guessing that it’s not that hard to cook well, but the meal was definitely flavourful and not excessively over cooked. The swabian potato salad was nice, although strangely cold in contrast to the rest of the dishes. The food elements to the meal were quite reasonable although slightly more expensive than your average Berliner restaurant (€19.50 for the schnitzel). The killer though was the bottles of water, not realising each 750ml bottle cost €7.50. Extortionate! I’d rather have had a bottle of wine from their extensive list instead.

I’d like to offer them another chance, but on this visit, they managed to disappoint in a couple of areas.

Name: Alpenstueck
Found at: Gartenstrasse 9
Website: www.alpenstueck.de