Last day in Berlin, dinner at Pauly Saal

breakfastIt has been a different kind of trip because we have been here before.  Instead of venturing out to a new place for breakfast every day we have just met upstairs in the hotel.  I have literally had the same breakfast 3 out of 4 mornings and for whatever reason today was not that good.  Toasted brown rye bread with avocado, chili flakes and a poached egg.  Weird how that happens.  Perhaps a new person in the kitchen.

cakesWe went over to Voo Store because the girls had not gone yet (I went earlier in the week).  Afterward, as true soldiers, we walked 15 minutes in pretty much pouring rain to get to this one coffee shop/bakery Katie’s Blue Cat that is supposedly really good.  We blew through an amazing greenmarket on the way but the rain kept us from any strolling.  We forgot umbrellas too.  Emily had been to Katie’s before.  Probably wasn’t worth the walk but it will not be the first time or the last time that we have stuck it out to go to the location we believe is the place we must go.  Obviously we had to taste some of their wares;  lemon pound and carrot cake.

kitchenI took a photo of their kitchen.  Love the homemade vibe.

sausagesWe decided the weather was not exactly made for walking so we would divide up.  Jessica went to a museum (the exhibit I had seen earlier in the week) and Emily and I went to KaDeWe.  KaDeWe is the oldest and largest department store in Berlin.  The food hall is on the entire sixth floor.  It is good but it is not like anything we have not seen before.  Although the sausage situation is top.  Emily and I went directly up to the food halls and tried a few dried sausages.  Delicious fatty and a serious treat if you like this stuff and we do.

sausagelunch

Then we had a hot dog with sauerkraut and mustard to split.  When in Germany, etc.  We stopped by a few stores on the way back to the hotel.

paulysaul

We had dinner at Pauly Saal.  Pauly Saal is located in a building that used to be a Jewish girls school.  The restaurant is located in the old gymnasium.  Love the murano glass chandeliers and the large glass window opening to the kitchen in the back.  The building also houses Mogg & Meltzer, an excellent delicatessen where we had lunch earlier in the week.  There is also a few galleries including Eigen + Art Lab and The Kennedys filled with photos, videos of the Kennedys.  This is a must place to go for dinner including a walk around everything else housed there.

breadbasket

They bring out the bread basket to start.   A nice mixture of brown bread, flaky cheese bread and white sesame crusted bread.  This is served with salted butter and schmaltz butter (duck fat).

plate of apps

The menu is small yet the physical menu they give you is huge.  Old school.  We started off with a small selection of hand-made specialities.  Some were off the charts.  The poached white fish topped with caviar just melted in your mouth.

salmonapp

We also split the seared salmon topped with caviar, crispy skin and set in a foamy white sauce.

ravioli

Everyone felt compelled to still order an appetizer even though we had all those treats to start.  Everyone seemed focus on the ravioli.   Tyrolean ravioli stuffed with ricotta and artichokes.  The split artichokes on the side were stuffed with a mixture of brown buttered bread crumbs.  This was a half portion.  They split up beautifully for us too. Delicious.

eel

Jessica opted for the roasted eel encased in a crispy dough.   Small salad on the sides with beets rolled with a light whipped cheese.  Also a winner.

rib

For dinner the house speciality appears to be Pomerian ox served two ways.  Emily and I split the glazed thick rib that is like braised beef ribs served with a watercress pesto.  It just fell off the bone and the presentation was beautiful.

saladside

On the side we had a mixture of mushrooms and a salad with shaved celery root.

steak

Someone else split the Pomerian ox sirloin steak.  The meat was just more intense in flavor than a rib eye.

fishoftheday

A few people had the fish of the day.  A mixture of fish and seafood lightly poached in a simple sauce.

chocolate:lemon macaroons

We were so full after the food and wine that we opted against dessert.  They brought over a few treats.  These are macaroons stuffed with a chocolate and lemon creme.  Nice way to make macaroons.

music at restaurant

The restaurant has a nice bar that houses easily 50 people that had a trio playing some music that we listened to a little bit before leaving.  There is also outdoor seating which is quite nice but it the weather that night was rainy.  I am glad that we ate inside, it is definitely the way to go.  Outside would be good for lunch.

soundcloud

Afterward we went to the Soundcloud party to celebrate the opening of their new office space.  Their offices overlook what is left of the Berlin wall which like the restaurant the reflection of history from Nazis to Communism to the next revolution.  What is amazing too is that Soundcloud has over 250 employees representing 30 different countries.  That is exactly what Berlin is today.  A mixture of people from all over the globe creating companies, art, food and innovation in many verticals; old vs new.

Great trip.  Amazing city.  Love returning to a place that continues to grow and change often.

Comments (Archived):

  1. pointsnfigures

    looks awesome. we are starting to make our own fermented food at home-started with sauerkraut. I think that German food (if done well and not heavy handed) can make a comeback in the US.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Not sure it was ever in

      1. pointsnfigures

        Hahaha. In the Midwest it was in. Settled by Germans. Chicago used to have a ton of German places, but they were all very heavy meals. There is a new one that just opened up, The Radler, which is a farm to table very artisan style German place. Nice and light and very good. Hope it becomes a trend.

        1. JLM

          .Go to Germantown in Columbus, Ohio. It was very in but then this was where Washington sent the captured Hessians after the Revolution.JLM.