Café Bilderbuch is the apple of Schöneberg's eye when it comes to Gemütlichkeit (or coziness) but…read moreI'm afraid that the hype doesn't quite extend to its food. As the name of the restaurant suggests, the atmosphere is picturebook perfect: imagine that you've walked right into someone's antique living room/dining room/personal library hybrid (complete with comfy armchairs and bookcases) and you have Café Bilderbuch. But only come here for a meal on a slower day if you have time to kill because the service can be a little slower. One of the male servers is also a little brusque.
The breakfast options are a little unimaginative, though they are very stereotypically German. Think bread, meat, cheese, and smoked salmon. I did like, however, how the menu was printed in a newspaper format and how each dish's name had a German fairy tale theme. I had Der Froschkönig, which consisted of smoked salmon, trout, eggs with caviar, olives, butter, bread, and a glass of orange juice for €8.90. It was nice that the orange juice was included, but I still felt like it wasn't very filling for what I paid -- it was basically a generous amount of smoked salmon, a single hardboiled egg, and a few pieces of fruit.
But what's more disappointing is the fact that the restaurant is open until midnight, but the dinner menu is pretty much barren. There must've only been about five or six options when I went there for dinner last week. I had Omas Hühnersuppe -- it certainly hit the spot on such a cold winter's night but my grandma's chicken soup is packed to the brim with ingredients unlike Café Bilderbuch's version. It was, however, only €6.90 (which was actually cheaper than my breakfast!) but the dinner menu leaves a lot to be desired. While you might miss out on some of the live piano nights, I'd only recommend this place for brunch if you'd like to get a taste of a typical German breakfast and typical German customer service.
