As part of a birthday weekend getaway, my husband treated me (us) to a birthday dinner at the…read moreMichelin-starred Le Ciel. I felt like an Austrian princess the entire time, with staff on hand to catch a napkin before it fell to the floor and live piano music for the duration of our meal.
Our meal started with a selection of freshly baked bread, two types of butter, and amuse bouche. Appetizers were steamed broccoli with bulgar/ smoked eel greaves/ etc and the lobster with pickled veal tongue in a lobster bisque and crispy rice with marinated palm hearts. Both were exquisite, especially the lobster. I savored every bite, especially knowing that it would be a rare find back in my new home of Berlin. For our main courses, I had the Pike Perch with asparagus/ citrus lemon/ saffron and my husband had the Arctic Char.
For dessert, we opted for both the Milk and Honey. Milk was burnt milk ice cream with cardamom, dried barberry, Beetroot granule, peanut cream, roasted milk, Amaranth cress and crispy oat. Honey was cookies with Mara de Bois strawberries, dehydrated chocolate mousse, rose jelly, honey cream, and fried batter pearls. Both were, for lack of a better word, also exquisite. On top of all this food, the chef also sent out a couple of additional dessert bites, which went great with our decaf coffee.
If you have a special occasion to celebrate, or if you just want to "treat yo self," Le Ciel is a great place for it. To date, this was one of the best birthday dinners I've had.