O perfil de bbd

We were at lunch here sometime ago, mainly because a visitor fancied Italian and it was close-by. This restaurant is on the ground floor at the triangular tip of a skyscraper in the Potsdamer Platz area and one enters through a revolving door at the apex. This is sort of interesting in that the place spans out in front as you enter, but the decor is staid with dark furniture so the impact is somewhat lost on us.

Anyway, the rent must be very high here as the waiter was only too eager to recommend the specials of the day, which were also the most expensive dishes. My friend did try one of the recommendations but to be honest it was nothing too special. I had a pasta dish which was done al dente and that was quite fine. Perhaps they tried the hard sell on us because we spoke English as the place does smell a little like a high-class tourist trap and the goodbyes were rather superficial as if they don’t expect us back again. It may be also that we weren’t dressed well enough as the few other tables all wore business suits.

However, if you are in the area, and you fancy Italian food, then this place and Moreno Carusi (across the road in Leipziger Platz) are probably the two best Italian joints in the vicinity. I might try the dinner here one evening as the wine list looks quite interesting and if I wear a suit and speak German, then maybe the service might also improve!

Juleps is justifiably popular for the service and cocktails, although I think one can get rather better cocktails elsewhere but probably not served with such friendliness.
The atmosphere is American and the place is owned by a Canadian who has done his best to recreate a Chicago diner experience. The menu is not overly complicated but the food is not at all bad and portions are rather generous. Again, the service is very friendly and pleasant and they do come over a few times to check that all is well.
It is certainly a gregarious place to meet with friends for a bite and a slurp or two of the cocktails, and certainly one of the better places in Berlin to chill out.

Good authentic mainland (Peking and Sichuan, not Hong Kong/Cantonese) Chinese food. Nice simple decor, good service and you get proper Chinese home-cooked food in Germany (which is a long way from China).
Prices are not the cheapest but it is not at all expensive for what you get and what you get is pretty well fed. The Peking Duck is only 35 EUR for 2 persons, which cannot be considered very expensive, though it is not terribly authentic either. But one can see it is indeed home-cooked and full points for the effort.
But overall, it is really best to stick only with the Sichuan dishes, like the lamb cooked in dried herbs. That was really quite yummy!

Mesa is part of the Grand Hyatt, and is somewhat a little less endearing than their other restaurant Vox. Saying that, it is comfortable enough, with the usual dark-ish ambience favoured by modern establishments.
The place serves German tapas, or rather small portions of German dishes pretending to be tapas. It is an interesting concept and can be quite appealing for those with dainty appetites who couldn’t finish a full plate of Käsespätzle or handle a whole Rostbratwurst. The downside is that these little “tapas” dishes are not cheap. A large bratwurst at a Xmas market is, say, around 3 Euro and the tiny half-pint version here costs 6 Euro. Still, you won’t have mustard and ketchup dripping down your jacket so it may be worth it.
Taste and quality wise, it is not too bad and quite authentic apart from the soups which tended to be too salty.
I guess it is a classy elegant place for those who want to introduce guests and visitors to an interesting tasting session of various kinds of German food, but at a price.

Location looked hopeful at first but the stupid unfriendly staff and general filth of the place caters more for sad, inadequate people who need to pretend to be cool hanging out in some blatantly “alternative” hell hole with shit music, just to be different.

The entrance fee is 10 Euro per person, by the way. Ridiculous, and it would only support the unsavoury habits of the bunch of rather disorganised airheads called staff mooching aimlessly around the place.

But apart from that, it is a great location if you need to visit a junkyard, listen to the crappiest trance in Berlin and mingle with the sort of people who would come here. I had no choice as some friend of a friend had organised a birthday party here and I had not been here before. However, there is no fear that I will ever come again.

My ex-boss recommended this place and he likes his food so I had to check this place out. Firstly, don’t think this is a cheap rib joint like Tony Roma’s. It would be like comparing the Dorchester to a kebab stand. The prime rib here is slow-cooked in low heat for some 10 hours before it is brought out and cut in front of your table. So the texture of the meat is rather of the melt-in-the-mouth ilk and very tasty if you can appreciate the delicacy of the way the meat has been handled. If you wish, they even grate fresh radish on the meat and it was delicious and rather better than the sauces proferred. For salads, you can opt for their set cooked veg or choose yourself from the salad bar – I would recommend the salad bar.

Service is lovely, ambience is nice if a little staid and the best value drop is the house Carmenere by the glass – it worked out cheaper than buying the bottle so someone hadn’t done their maths too well but we did not mind. :o) Oh, and don’t expect any change from 100 Euros for dinner for two – but it was worth it and I will be back.