Great Italian food, though there may be communication errors if you just speak English. The menu is a mixture of German and Italian (on a single chalkboard that they bring around). Luckily, there were a lot of cognates, and our waitress tried her darndest to translate some of the more obscure items for us. In terms of the food, the beef carpaccio was an excellent starter. The spinach salad was good, but I don't think it was worth the money. And the cheeses... oh, the cheeses. The burrata was amazing. Drizzed with olive oil and pepper and incredibly fresh. The mozzarella in the caprese salad was also good, but the rest of the dish left a bit to be desired (especially when trying to share). For our entrees, we had the truffle butter tortelli, which was amazing but with very small portions (don't understand how that can be considered a main). We also shared the tagliatelle (with veal, I believe), which was better portion-wise. Our waitress brought out those first two together because she said the pasta cooking times were the closest. That made sense, until the beef fillet we ordered took forever to come out. We were sitting outside, and it got to the point where they were closing the sidewalk side of the restaurant, and we had to move closer to the restaurant front before we got the beef. I don't understand how the beef can take longer to cook than the pasta, but whatever, it was still tasty. My only other major complaint was the wine selection. The Montepulciano that the waitress recommended (mid priced) was actually pretty bad. All in all, a good meal, albeit a bit pricey. Order family style. Get the truffle tortelli for sure. It's also cash only, despite what Yelp says. read more

In over a dozen years of fine dining experience in the US and all around the world, never have I been treated so horribly as I was in this establishment. My girlfriend researched moderately priced restaurants in Berlin close to the neighborhood we were staying and booked a table for three at their 9pm seating. (It's a small restaurant and they only take two seatings.) After having the unfortunate experience of walking over 15m in a torrential downpour, we finally made it to the restaurant and checked in with the host who gave us the option of a table in the front or the back. We chose the table in the back and sat down. Then a waitress came over and asked us what we were doing there--quite rudely--and we explained that we were told to sit there by the host and that we had reservations. The host came over and they spoke in German to each other and sorted it out, but no one apologized to us. We were given cocktail menus, and ignored. We asked for the wine menu and were told that there was only one and it was being used--we were totally baffled--and then ignored again. Finally, we asked if they could bring us water. The waiter came and poured water, then placed the bottle back on the table so quickly, it nearly tipped over. We all looked at each other, and after the unpleasant experience of the restaurant ignoring or being hostile to us, we didn't think the service would improve and we were thoroughly disgusted, so we decided to leave. I left 2E on the table for the water and we all walked out. When I got to the door the host/waiter, started yelling at me and saying that we needed to say good-bye and that we couldn't just leave. I said, I'm sorry, I don't speak German. He said, That's fine, you can speak English. I told him we left because we were being ignored and we didn't want to stay in a place that we were not being served. Then he accused us of not paying for the water and I told him I left 2E on the table. He told me it cost 6E, not wanting to have a problem, I reached into my wallet and said, Fine, I will pay you the rest. He said, No, just leave, we are done. I have no idea why we were treated this way--you can only come to this restaurant by making a reservation, and by treating us so horribly, I'm certain they were left with a table that could not be filled at such short notice on a night where there was no foot traffic because of the awful weather. To add insult to injury, my girlfriend, the one who actually made the reservation, got a follow up survey via e-mail and you couldn't click on the option of "no, it was not a good experience." Again, I'm totally baffled as to why we were treated this way and it doesn't seem like this is even remotely the experience of other Yelp reviews--partially the reason we booked this place was based on the positive reviews. However, based on this experience, I couldn't recommend anyone to come here. On a side note, although I only experienced the service and not the food or drink, I have serious doubts about a so called fine dining restaurant that literally stores its bottles of wine upright and near the ceiling. read more

TL;DR food poisoning I went for a birthday dinner last night. I'd been previously a few times and had OK experiences, despite the quality of food not quite living up the price. This was not enough reason for me to decline an invitation to join friends there on a special occasion. That will be my last visit. Once again, the butter sauce on my 15 euro pasta was much too tight. There was basically no water/stock content, only grease completely separated from the butter solids. This turned the pasta into a messy, sticky ball that I needed a knife to eat. The salt was heavy-handed, but I enjoy that most of the time. Their bread was embarrassingly dense. One of our party ordered the bass entree. It was the saltiest thing I have ever tasted at a restaurant by far; completely inedible. We asked the waiter to try some. He refused and took it back to the kitchen with some attitude. When he returned, he admitted it was "a little salty". I worked in fine-dining kitchens for over a decade and I would have been appalled to find out something like that left my station and hit a table. They offered to replace it with another dish, refusing to cook the same thing for her correctly. The dish they sent to replace the fish was definitely off-menu. It was some kind of shrimp pasta. I'm very happy I didn't try a taste, because both people who ate it ended up with food poisoning. One is in the hospital right now. It appears they were so offended by polite and accurate reports of their own horrible cooking, they threw some expired shrimp into a pan and served it to my friends. They are still puking their guts out today. Avoid this place unless you want to reward delusional service and aggressively mediocre italian cooking, or are possibly in need of a violent "cleanse". read more

Gentrification at its most! Food is tasty, but definitely overpriced. Be ready to pay over 10 EUR for three white asparaguses (literally), or even more for 3 scallops in fade sauce. For a moment, you may think that you just sat at a cheap version of minimalist Le Bistrol in Paris, but tasting the food will bring you back to reality. Food quality is average for a trendy place that made it to TimeOut. This cash-only (not even EC are accepted) bistrot possesses a Prenzlauerberg-like pretentiousness, Mitte-level prices, and a clear intention to whiten Kreuzberg! Be ready to deal with the typical I-am-too-cool-to-be-serving-you kind of waiter, leading you to believe that some spots in Berlin increasingly resemble Paris... A couple of waiters though are patient and helpful, without being servile. The pasta, carpaccio and gnocchi dishes are decent enough to get 2 stars. read more

I really wanted to like this place. It's cute and cozy in my neighborhood. Several friends recommended it, so I was excited to try it. Sadly it was really terrible. The appetizer was mediocre, the beer selection minimal (I think it's known for its wine list). But the main dish was terrible- no flavor at all. The other guests at the table were also perplexed at the quality of the food. The service is typical Berlin style, so that didn't bother me. But honestly the food was not only not worth the price (it's above average price for the neighborhood), it was straight up bad. Maybe we caught them on an off night? Not sure, but won't return. 2stars for the ambiance. read more

Great atmosphere and good food. This a very hip neighborhood resturant that attracts the hip locals. The downside is that it tends to get loud at dinner time. read more

We were recommended the restaurant by a friend and as this was our first trip to Berlin and we were looking forward to it from the sound of write ups on the place. The Maitre D on arrival was friendly and the place was smaller then expected but giving it a very cosy atmosphere. Music was good and the wine list extensive though not cheap. That's as far as the good went as we were very unfortunate with the food. Our mozzarella starter was too cold, having come too quickly out of the fridge, giving it an initial tangy taste when you first bit into it which was a shame as it tasted lovely. Both meat dishes we ordered were terrible. The beef was overcooked and the pork shoulder was so tough in parts that even after chewing for ages you had to spit it out. The vegetables were overcooked reminding us of the old joke you once made about British home cooking. All in all a let down... read more

Really nice deco, friendly staff .... too expensive food and very little portions, if you are ready to pay 10 Euros for 3 asparagus with nothing else, no potatoes no vegetables as side dish, only Parmesan cheese on the top but literately 3 small white asparagus. 12 Euros for 3 small clams, same thing no side dish nothing, only the 3 little clams with butter and that's it. I personally refuse to pay that price in an ' underground ' decorated restaurant in Berlin, thankfully this is not PAris, or London we want to pay for good food, with reasonable portions. La decoracion y el lugar son muy bonitos, el staff amable, lastima de los precios tan caros por tan pequenas porciones, 3 esparragos blancos sin ningun acompanamiento (nada de patatas, de verduras ... NADA ) solamente un poco de parmesanos por encima por 10 Euros. 3 almejas con mantequilla, igual sin NADA de acompanamiento por 12 Euros, uno se ve obligado a pedir mas pan por que se muere del hambre. Estamos dispuestos a pagar por buena comida y porciones razonables, por suerte Berlin aun no es como Paris o Londres con sus porciones de comida pretenciosas y mininalistas, asi que no vuelvo a ir. La déco est sympa, le staff aussi, dommage ce trop cher pour des petites portions, 3 asperges blancs sans aucun acompagnement rien de tout sauf un peu de parmesane ' gratinee' pour 10 Euros, 3 petites coquilles Saint Jacques pour 12 Euros sans aucun accompagnement, on se croit a Paris ou Londres avec des portions si prétentieux et minimalist, dommage ! read more

The food was wonderful but the service was crazy bad. We were asked once if we wanted an aperitif and then sat suckin' down the slowly melting ice water from empty glasses for the rest of the meal while the servers chatted across from our table behind the bar. Major lols. read more

I'll keep this very simple: If you don't eat at this restaurant in Berlin, then you're insane! One of the best meals of my life. The food plus the ambiance - you really cannot, absolutely cannot, beat it. LOVE. read more

After careful research, booking a reservation, and walking twenty minutes in the rain to get there, my party was essentially turned away from this restaurant. As someone who has dined in various Michelin star restaurants, such as alinea, providence, and hatfields, I expected at least a decent experience from a restaurant as lauded as Der Goldene Haun. After being seated, another hostess came up and demanded our reservation name again and acted as if we were not supposed to be seated. Then we waited ten minutes with no help from a waiter. When we asked for a wine list he said there was only one and it was occupied. We had to ask for water. He sploshed it down on the table and walked away. Completely dumbfounded, we had not even seen the menu yet after at least fifteen minutes so we packed up and left. I am right now writing this from the weird street food place down the block and I am happier to be here than with those assholes eating octopus carpaccio. Also to the owners, please note: how can you claim to know shit about wine when you store bottles upright near the ceiling? In short, service despicable, and I can only guess than anything to follow would be lacking as well. read more

Eating at "Der goldene Hahn" this week was one of the most terrible experiences I had in a long time. The staff was arrogant, impolite and not capable serving us the way one expects for a high-standard restaurant. We constantly had to ask for things e.g. we asked for bread -- they gave us bread in a basket; we had to ask for oil -- they put a bottle of oil on the table; we had to ask for salt and a plate to put the oil in -- finally we could eat the bread with oil but still no napkins or drinks on the table... 1.5 hours later two of us got their dish: roasted lamb. There was no other description on the menu. After asking the waiter we expected pieces of meat from the lamb plus veggies and potatoes. What my friends got was nothing like that. On the plate were 3 pieces of bones with cartilage and fat --impossible to cut and eat. The veggies were bits of spinach and snow peas, the potatoes were missing -- all for a price of 17 Euros (ca. $24). My friends complained and gave the dishes back to an arrogant waiter who apologized but explained that's the way this dish is being cooked and it's certainly just our expectation that is not fulfilled. Only 15 minutes later he came by and asked my friends if they would like to order something else instead. The other two dishes we had tasted okay. We ordered pasta with roasted wild boar -- except we couldn't identify the meat since it was mixed and hashed ingredients. The best thing that evening was the white house wine. Overall the experience felt like they were trying to fool us and I felt being treated like a stupid teenager that doesn't care about good food and a good restaurant. I have been there last year (December 2010) and I had an okay experience, my friends have been there once in a while, too. In order to eat well my friends ignored the arrogant service... Now you can't even trust the food anymore. And be careful, from a bunch of people I also heard the restaurant sometimes tries to fool you and charge you more on their bill! read more

Super cozy spot with a fantastic vibe. Great bartenders, we ended up eating at the bar since we didn't have a reservation and it was perfect. Will absolutely go back when we're in Berlin again! read more

Pretty good food. Wide selection of dishes. A bit expensive. Good music, good atmosphere and decoration.

Eating at Der goldene Hahn this week was one of the most terrible experiences I had in a long time. The staff was arrogant, impolite and not capable serving us the way one expects for a high-standard restaurant. We constantly had to ask for things e.g. we asked for bread they gave us bread in a basket; we had to ask for oil they put a bottle of oil on the table; we had to ask for salt and a plate to put the oil in finally we could eat the bread with oil but still no napkins or drinks on the table 1.5 hours later two of us got their dish: roasted lamb. There was no other description on the menu. After asking the waiter we expected pieces of meat from the lamb plus veggies and potatoes. What my friends got was nothing like that. On the plate were 3 pieces of bones with cartilage and fat impossible to cut and eat. The veggies were bits of spinach and snow peas, the potatoes were missing all for a price of 17 Euros (ca. $24). My friends complained and gave the dishes back to an arrogant waiter who apologized but explained that's the way this dish is being cooked and it's certainly just our expectation that is not fulfilled. Only 15 minutes later he came by and asked my friends if they would like to order something else instead. The other two dishes we had tasted okay. We ordered pasta with roasted wild boar except we couldn't identify the meat since it was mixed and hashed ingredients. The best thing that evening was the white house wine. Overall the experience felt like they were trying to fool us and I felt being treated like a stupid teenager that doesn't care about good food and a good restaurant. I have been there last year (December 2010) and I had an okay experience, my friends have been there once in a while, too. In order to eat well my friends ignored the arrogant service Now you can't even trust the food anymore. And be careful, from a bunch of people I also heard the restaurant sometimes tries to fool you and charge you more on their bill! read more