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Charlottenburg has long been the grand dame of Berlin’s neighborhoods, with a high concentration of elegant, upscale dining spots frequented by long-time area residents. The past few years have seen new life infusing the area, though, which translates to exciting dining destinations.
Chic foodies frequent this sleek Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant from renowned Berlin restaurateur Duc Ngo, which sits behind a graffiti-covered door. The cocktails are top-notch, the sushi and sashimi some of the freshest in town, and the food is wonderfully prepared; South American--inflected dishes such as sashimi taquitos and variations on grilled beef, while not groundbreaking, are full of flavors just a bit different than what you'll find in Berlin's other Asian eateries.
This eatery makes culinary art from the Japanese snack, kushiage, breaded and fried skewers of meat, fish, and vegetables, accompanied by an array of colorful dipping sauces. The Kushinoya team uses a special cooking process to deep-fry the doughy exteriors of the skewered ingredients without letting them get oily, and offers at least 30 different skewers daily, using fresh, local ingredients. There's an interesting selection of beer and sake to go with your meal. Make sure to save room for the Japanese desserts, too.
Inside an atmospheric 19th-century women’s prison, this vegetable-centric small plates restaurant focuses on ingredients from the surrounding Brandenburg region. Chef Sophia Rudolph offers four- to six-course tasting menus (also in vegetarian versions) that change seasonally and may include such dishes as crispy corn pudding with tomatillo and beurre blanc; à la carte options are also available.
Owner and chocolate maker Kristiane Kegelmann also works as a sculptor, which accounts for the minimalist gallery-like look of this modern Austrian-German restaurant close to bustling Savignyplatz. Dishes tend toward locally sourced ingredients from small producers, best sampled in the seven-course or smaller four-course tasting menus (vegetarian versions available, as well as à la carte options), ideally combined with their fabulous natural wine pairings.
Chef Gal Ben Moshe creates updated Levantine cuisine—a mix of Israeli, Lebanese, Syrian, and Greek cuisine—at his sophisticated restaurant on an unassuming side street off Kantstrasse. The six-course tasting menu, which also comes in a vegetarian version, lets you sample interesting ingredients such as jameed (dried yogurt) and baharat (Middle Eastern all-purpose spice) combined with top-notch meats and seafood.
Every weekend from spring to autumn, in decent weather, the main lawn at Preussenpark in Wilmersdorf fills up with Southeast Asian families (mostly Thai, but some Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Indonesian) who set up cooking equipment and prepare authentic delicacies like beef noodle soup, skewered fried meat, and spicy green-papaya salad. Come with a picnic blanket, cash, and a lot of napkins, and stay for the afternoon. Sundays in summer are especially popular.
