Berlin is not a great food city, its just not. Although, I'd love to be convinced otherwise and I keep trying to convince myself that somewhere in the city there is a restaurant that will knock my socks off. I haven't found it yet.
This time around we went to Fischers Fritz which is a one star (we heard rumours that they were hoping for two this year but they didn't get it) seafood restaurant. I walked out with very mixed feelings.
Fischers Fritz is located in the Regent Hotel right on Charlottenstrasse, great location. The dining room is over the top opulence, its the way the Regent hotel rolls.
I'm always pleased to see children and babies welcomed at fine dining restaurants. As long as the kids are behaved, why not? Its great education for them, especially when the staff are welcoming towards them. But I found it a little bizarre that framed in the archway as your first glimpse into the restaurant at a table right in the front where no one could miss it, was a table of three, well, four if you include the baby (maybe three months old) in a bassinet on the floor with the mother sitting on the floor with it. As I said, no problems with the kid being there, the baby was relatively well behaved and even the occasional crying didn't bother me. But why seat them there? Why not put them in a corner or somewhere a bit more discreet? Simply seemed jarring to the image of this opulent room where you are coming for a very fine meal when you're greeted by a baby kicking and gurgling away and its mother sprawled out on the floor next to it.
Never mind.
Here are the cheese crisps served with your apertif. Nothing tremendously special.
And the lovely amuse, sashimi of turbot on a bed of lentils and grains. A creative take on sushi.
Now, this is an area where Germany can really shine. Their bread, the multigrain and their dark loaves can be phenomenal. But I wasn't so bowled over with this, it was good, no better.
Our next amuse was lovely but I'm embarassed to say, unmemorable. I didn't take notes (I rarely take notes. I'm so much more intent on just enjoying my food and usually the photos are reminder enough) during this dinner and am now at a loss as to what this was. I only remember enjoying it.
Mr M's scallop starter - Chou Frise Et St Jacques, Raviolo of Lardo stuffed with truffled cale roasted scallops and white foam of Chinese garlic. Huge scallops as you can see, good flavour and perfectly cooked.
My incredible salad - Salade Venetienne Et Homard - Seasonal salad Venetian style with Bretonian lobster, sardines and black truffle. Absolutely delicious, great textures, wonderful flavour, and the generous tumble of black truffles was so fragrant, I smelled the dish coming toward me long before the choreographed service placed it in front of me.
Okay, up front, I need to apologise for this terrible picture. In between starter and main course, I took a picture of Mr M. For which I took the macro setting off my camera and then when I snapped this pic, I totally forgot that I took the macro off and was befuddled as to why I couldn't get it into focus. I finally gave up. However, this was a good dish. Chevreuil Et Chanterelles -
Saddle of Brandenburg venison with purée of chestnuts chanterelles and sauce Rouennaise. Tender, good flavour to the venison and what you can't see hiding under the tuille is a gorgeous mound of chanterelles.
And this (also taken without the macro on). Lovely. St. Pierre et Cacao de Chuau - Filet of John Dory poached in nutbutter and braised vegetables with Pancetta chilled cream of Chuau cacao and coffee flavoured olive-oil . The coffee and cocoa flavours went really well with the John Dory
Pre dessert, berry compote with yoghurt.
Fruit de la passion et coriandre - Blanc manger of greek joghurt and passion fruit, crushed ice of coriander and red chili-pepper . This was merely interesting rather than delicious
This is the coriander ice. Couldn't eat more than a few bites of this. As I said, interesting not delicious.
And the petit fours that finished the meal off. The meal had its hits and misses but this is still a solid one star meal. However, it was boring. Other than my lobster salad, there is nothing here that I would return to eat twice, and that brings me to my other major criticism. That lobster salad alone cost 40 euros... which maybe that one dish is justified in charging however, the other dishes are just as outrageously priced and didn't come anywhere near merit. Our meal (and I wasn't drinking, Mr M had three glasses of wine with the meal) came to £190 (that's close to $380 at the exchange rate right now). I don't mind paying that kind of money for a meal but the meal must justify the price tag. Boring, one star food does not justify that sort of price tag. So I remain unconvinced, Berlin just isn't a great food city. Fischers Fritz - Charlottenstraße 49 Tel. +49 (0) 30-20 33 63 63 |
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