Bonvivant has made a name for itself with unusual cocktails and vegetable cuisine: Now the team at the cocktail bistro Bonvivant is reorganizing. The vegetarian kitchen takes over the young Nikodemus Berger, who cooked himself with energy and fresh ideas after his training in the Le Meridien in his hometown Vienna in only four years to the top of the kitchen hierarchy. After stints at Reinstoff and Le Faubourg, the 27-year-old is now proving his creativity as head chef at Schöneberg’s Goltzstrasse.
The cuisine of the Austrian, who has been a vegetarian since the age of 3, is rich in flavor, seasonal and regional. Here, one can clearly feel the influences of his last station at Le Faubourg, where he cooked with René Klages and most recently with Sebastian Leyer: “The consistency with which Sebastian enforced regionality and the variety he conjured up on the plates was impressive,” says Nikodemus Berger, “even though I’m a completely different type, it shaped me. Now I want to use my talent and experience here to create cuisine at the top level.”
Nikodemus Berger is also looking forward to working closely with bar manager Elias Heintz, who will round off the culinary delights perfectly with finely tuned cocktail compositions. The 20-year-old wants to attach more importance to the “cocktail bistro” category. To counter the classic wine with real alternatives, he is developing a suitable accompaniment for each dish. “With cocktails, we can be much more specific about the flavors that the cuisine focuses on,” he says, explaining his approach. What has remained is the unpretentious nature of the bar, where, of course, you can still enjoy cool drinks independently of the food.
Open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 6:00 p.m., Bonvivant is the place to be. The restaurant has 34 seats, ten people can sit at the bar and 16 at the high tables, while the lounge area seats 20 guests. In addition, there is the outdoor terrace with seating for 56. For special events and larger dinner invitations, there is an additional room with a large, round wooden table.