MeatEater's Qype profile

Wow!
The most beautiful bar in Berlin, no doubt about it.
The design just makes you wanna have another drink and another one after, just to stay in the place. The vibes from the place are transforming the crowd into very open and outgoing persons. The prices are surprisingly medium and some would even say cheap for such a nice bar (Johnnie Walker 4 CL was just 4€).
Located in a friendly quiet residential part of the Mitte, it is intended for locals and only to know-about visitors, so you can have a lot of fun there meeting some local friends from your area or some interesting tourists. I did not have a cocktail since it’s not my favorite, but a friend told me they make the bests in town.
Very nice for a drink or 10, almost everyday of the week.

One of the best places to have a decent breakfast. The selection of newspapers in great (though German) and the variety of food is big- from croissants to special lunches served already at 11:30.
I especially like the breakfast which comes with cheese, ham, boloney and other meats. With some vegetables one can build a sandwich to fit their taste exactly. The fresh orange juice is very good and not expensive.
The employees are always nice and welcoming, and they also speak good English.
The location is especially nice on the weekend when there are no school boys and sitting outside on the sun is very relaxing.
They also have wi-fi, but you have to ask the waitress for the password. Very easy location and I would recommend reserving the big table on the window if you come with a big crowd for brunch over the weekend.

This small and elegantly designed place used to be the gate away place for all the meat lovers wherever they are.
The ribs were amazing, service was good and the atmosphere was also amusing. I dined there back in 1999, then again in 2001, 2005, 2006 (twice), and last weekend.
When I arrived the bartender was not so nice, to say the least. He thought I was being rude because he couldn’t hear me and said something like- 'will saying please kill ya?’. Of course I was pissed, but stayed to be seated on the bar, served by the other bartender. I took the house steak and my friend the spare ribs. The food arrived about 20 minutes later (place was getting empty all of a sudden, at 21:30 a Friday night). The side dishes took another 5 minutes to arrive. But we started feasting: my steak was OK, not as I remembered and my friends’ ribs were a bit rare. but still, it was a meat heaven.
Remembering the place in past years makes me a little bit sad. When you walked in you felt much more comfortable and the staff was much more friendly. The food was all much better, even to be nominated best meat on earth, really.
But nowadays, I guess the place is slowly harvesting, towards the inevitable day of end, when there ribs and steaks are no longer the best in Amsterdam. Perhaps that day has already arrived and I was sleeping through my watch, missing it.
Grade for food was 4, but service and ambient dropped a star.

I had a very nice dinner for two there. The french starters were very good (cookie saint jacque) and what really amazed me was that the manager came himself to change our bottle of wine which was sour. The main dishes were OK, so that’s the reason for the lost of a star.

The Felix is the club for the more stabilize community in Berlin. It doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be a rocker, artist or a rocket scientist to enter, but perhaps you should find more suitable places.
In the beginning I though it was cool to wait outside in the cold to enter a club. Then I understood that in this club you don’t have to look good, dress really good and be awfully willing to spend your bucks- You just need PATIENCE. You’ll wait, you’ll get in, the simplest equation (as long as your shoes have no holes).
When you get inside, give your jacket to the garderobe, otherwise you’re gonna spend a whole night sweating or looking after your stuff (2 of my friends left their jackets in the VIP lounge and lost it). I’m not a big fan of dancing, but it is really nice seeing all sorts of people, from very young ages to geezers cruise the dance floor. Of course hits are mostly tuned, but still, everyone looks happy when Billy Jeans is played or some other 80s and 90s hit.
I dined there once with some business colleagues on a Friday evening and continued to the party. This was very impressing for them, and gave them a feeling that in Berlin anyone, no matter of what age, race, social-economic status, sexual pre-fences or other, can have a really good time. Adding the VIP groupies who look cheap and act expensive, the visitors had a really nice time spending their benjamins on some German/Russian easy girls.
I visit the Felix once in a while, but not as I used to. I avoid summer visits (although they close mid July-early September), and go there only when I have visitors or a really good excuse to celebrate with some local friends at a high expense.

I disagree with the saying Grill Royal is overrated. first, you pay what you get for: comfort, view, crowd, good food. Indeed, the food comes last because it has nothing new to say: high quality products cooked by a trained kitchen staff. You can’t order 'bad’ food in Grill Royal, but the quality certainly rises as the price does as well.
It is a nice location to see some celebs, but taking your girlfriend/ wife there is weird, unless you go in groups. Sitting alone watching all the so-called models and some 'look how rich I am’ men is nice for a while, but not for a whole evening.
In Berlin there aren’t many popular restaurants with such a high service and hospitality. I think it is nice when a good looking hostess welcomes you, and the open window to the kitchen is also adding to the adventure.
As to the food- I tried eating some others than the filet steak, and found myself over and over disappointed I did not order the 360g steak. Although it is expensive, it’s worth the price asked. Don’t forget to ask for the sauce and make sure to have enough place for such a feast.
Reservation are needed about 3-5 days in advance, and if you can’t get a place, contact a hotel concierge, that will do the trick.

It is quite difficult to find a truly sunny day in Berlin. Even when you think it’s gonna be a blessed day, somehow around noon you notice the sky is getting a bit grayer, and then all of a sudden, in a 2 minutes procedure, it starts dropping: the Berlin’s annoying rain. It’s not the London Wetter as the locals name London’s drizzling, but stronger and much shorter.
So, when a day with full sunshine and no traces of any clouds are at sight, I have to visit the strandbar. If I have to work that day, I take a long break, reading material or make appointment there. This 30 minutes sun break, sometimes longer, gives me the energy I need to continue for the next cold winter. I’m like a flower nurturing on sun to complete its photosynthesis, except the fact that I don’t drink water there, rather a Beck’s.
I graded the place just as 4 because it is rare to find a good weather. Other than that, it is just wonderful. Even when the 200 beach chairs are already taken, the lawns are huge and there may also be a free seat on one of the benches, hearing the river Spree moving closely. The view is amazing, including the museum island and its fabulous structure.
It is definitely one of Berlin’s summer pearls.

I used to sit there a lot when I was searching for a new apartment in Berlin. The Wi-fi connection is good, but kinda slow. Besides, you get a feeling of being alone- everyone’s on their macbook and no one’s socializing- depressing! The drinks are OK, nothing to be amazed of, and the food is quite boring. It is made fresh (one can see their kitchen from Torstr.), but even if you buy there at 09:30 am you get a feeling the food was cut last night. Worst of all for me, they don’t serve normal coke, which is too prenzelberg, and they’re located in Mitte, hallo!?