The Kudamm seems to be a difficult place. The excellent Savu never caught on and closed for good in the pandemic. Alas. Except for the pizza at Francucci’s, there was no remarkable food left on Ku’damm. You can get that in the side streets, like Brikz.
Now the owner of the front building of Haus Cumberland – probably the most upscale residential and commercial building on Kudamm – brought Joachim Wissler***’s sous chef, Dennis Melzer, to Berlin. The likeable Melzer wants to cook stars here. Melzer cooks French.
We called on a Thursday to reserve a table. We couldn’t, but they said they would call back. They did, and said there was still a vacancy.
We had already sampled the snacks during the soft opening in the wine bar up front. Everything was delicious, but it also had no Berlin, but world city prices. We did not notice a difference to Paris. Why not?!
Our covid passes were checked closely at the cloakroom, which I personally like and gives me a better sense of security.
We ordered the four-course menu for € 98 per person.
It started with an amuse bouche of two tiny pieces of smoked eel on a green gazpacho and an artful arrangement of green apple and radish. A nice start.
Now comes the Domberger bread with fennel and pepper.
It was followed by a very perfect slice of goose liver (Foie Gras). It was decorated with ? – I have forgotten it again. The foie gras was decent, the buckwheat brioche hardly tasted of buckwheat.
Then came the – cold – fish course. May it be our low culinary intelligence, that spark did not fly. Slices of firm char lay on a kind of cumin “butter”. We actually like cumin.
Now the meat course was already coming on two plates, that is, one plate plus a small plate. The saddle of lamb melted in our mouths, it was so tender. We agreed with my son’s opinion: We would have two more pieces of that. The filet on the extra plate was a small bite.
Now dessert was already coming. The only memory of it is that it was very small. Therefore I steal the description from Elisabeth Binder (Tagesspiegel): “Pretty the two sweet-crispy raspberry-pepper rolls, closed with tarragon and bell pepper chips, filled with blue poppy-almond cream. Accompanied by sorbet and pearls of honeydew melon, with melon garland and a melon decoction with poppy seed oil (14 euros).”
To go with the bill was an Oreo, mini donut and a Gugelhupf, which was a bit long in the oven and gave a strong toasted flavor.
Overall, a very light menu. We didn’t feel like we were overeating.
Even in the end, the very nice, very large restaurant was only a good third full.
The lovely service was always attentive.
The Cumberland is a restaurant where you can go with the in-laws and show how metropolitan Berlin is. Best even if they pay! (Then take the big menu so no one goes hungry!).
More enthusiastic than we were was Berlin’s No.1 restaurant critic Bernd Matthies: “Lots of clearly structured ingredients on spacious white porcelain, which at first glance seems like a little trip back in time, but tastes absolutely today.” The city magazine Tip also praised the restaurant.Elisabeth Binder expressed herself rather positively last Sunday in the Tagesspiegel.
Best: Just go there and try for yourself!
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