A Great Escape Berlin
Words and shots by Joe McPherson
Samosas with Roasted Pepper Mayo
When dining, the flavor of the food is just one factor that makes a great experience. The atmosphere of a restaurant enhances or detracts from the food. Otherwise, we’d all just eat at home. The restaurant and café Berlin occupies enviable real estate for a dining establishment. Planted at the edge of the hill overlooking the entrance to Itaewon, the dining room takes advantage of its precarious perch with large windows and a subdued interior that focuses the gaze on the view outside. It’s a perfect place to catch up with a friend or enjoy some repose with a cup of tea.
Their teas are some of the stars. Specialty tea concoctions (W7,000), formulated by a traditional medicine doctor, each claim to give the drinker a special boost in certain areas, like stress relief. Add to that a bar that serves a pleasing Beefeater and tonic (W6,000), and you can have your poison plus antidote.
Despite its moniker, you won’t find wurst und kartoffeln at Berlin. Instead the menu brims with exotic dishes and twists on old faves. The appetizers alone are praiseworthy. The Samosas with Roasted Pepper Mayo (W6,000) are light crispy shells with savory vegan fillings. The roasted pepper mayo should be bottled and sold at the supermarket. It’s instantly something I want to use for everything. In fact, I saved it for dipping other food items. The Thai-style Chicken & Mushroom Dim Sum (W6,000) is comforting with just the right amount of heat, with earthy mushrooms and chicken, wrapped in neat transparent bubbles of delicate rice paper.
The real treats come with the main courses. The Thai Green Curry Vermicelli (W10,000) entices with a rich and creamy sauce pushing strong basil aromas, served with micro-thin angel hair rice noodles. The curry tastes so good that I wish they had some bread to mop up the leftover yumminess.
Fish Tempura and Chips
Berlin also serves Fish Tempura & Chips (W16,000) with salad and wasabi mayo, a Japanese fish and chips. That makes it worth the trip. Ask for a little soy sauce to replace the malt vinegar, and you have the perfect Anglo-Nippon creation. The fish is light with a crust that shatters. The chips go great with that roasted red pepper mayo mentioned above, so see if you can save it from the samosas or make an extra special request.
Whether it’s dinner, a snack, a cocktail, or a relaxing tea, Berlin creates a haven for conversation and contemplation away from the business of the streets below.
Language English menus and English-speaking staff
Smoking Allowed
Beggie Great veggie appetizers and mains
Accessibility At the bottom of stairs with no handicap access
Reservation accepted
Good Great unique atmosphere with sophisticated bistro dishes
Bad Watch out for the wanna-be artists
Prices W6,000 – W26,000
Phone 02-749-0903
Address 457-1 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 140-858
Popularity: 1% [?]
Durkee in Korea (18)
Gina (17)
Minhee (10)
Admin (8)
Jure (8)
Dave R. (4)
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Charles Montgomery (3)
Allison (2)
James (2)
Oh! This sounds jazzy. I’ll be sure to check this out soon!
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sounds good, but why no shots of this great atmosphere?
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I was just there and a lot has changed……with the menu that is. Just last Feb. I order the Sirloin salad and everybody at our table was jealous of my wonderfully made salad. I order the same thing this past weekend and was disappointed! The meat had changed, the salad was small and there was nothing wonderful about it. I order the beef and rice and once again was sad, it was tasteless. It came with Tom yam soup (1 of my fav) and again nothing special, something like spicy water. I stopped there, not wanting to send everything back.
I really liked this place, but I now have to say, “I am not a fan”.
To be fair, the chicken with bean sprouts ordered by my husband when down with no complaints at all…lol.
Hmmm……if you go, just don’t order beef/sirloin anything.
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