As an visitor from the U.S., I was craving authentic German cuisine on our first night in Berlin…read more Since our hotel was in the shopping district of Berlin, we had less than a 15-minute walk to get to Berlinchen. Upon arrival, we were asked where we wanted to sit, though we were advised that sitting outside was cooler than sitting inside. So we did just that. As they receive many tourists, they had the ingredients in English under each dish. Our server was friendly and showed us all the photos of the dishes on his iPad, which was helpful as we were not familiar with many of the dishes. He also let us know what items were not included on the menu and showed us the photos.
We all ordered still water (in bottles), the Berliner Weisse, and beers. For myself, I ordered the Beef Gulasch with egg noodles (Rinder-Gulasch mit Pilzen & Spatzle). My husband ordered the giant currywurst with french fries (Berliner Currywurst XL mit Pommes frites). My parents ordered a salad and one of the non-menu special dishes that had pork loin, gulasch, bean sprouts, and mashed potatoes.
The Rinder-Gulasch mit Pilzen & Spatzle had an enormous portion of egg noodles compared to the amount of the beef gulasch. However, since the gulasch was on the saltier side, eating the gulasch along with heaping amounts of the egg noodles helped balance out the taste. The beef was also tender and paired well with the texture of the egg noodle.
The Berliner Currywurst XL mit Pommes frites was... interesting. I was expecting the currywurst to have a meaty texture, but when I bit into it, I found the texture spongey like tofu. If I was told the currywurst was vegan, I would have believed it. I think they should have included more of the sauce (ketchup) that came with it, but again, this is Germany, and you have to request and pay for anything extra here. My husband, who typically eats heavy, could not finish this plate as we were all sampling each other's food and he really liked my Rinder-Gulasch.
When we come back to Berlin, we would love to try the other items on their menu. I highly recommend this place!