till's Qype profile

Been here twice — once for lunch, once for dinner.

I enjoyed the food, the wine selection and the interior. Service was great, the waiters know what they are doing. The food has been great both times — even though I "just" got the kebab the second time, it's been the best kebab I've had in Berlin in a long, long time or maybe ever.

The lunch menu is an insane deal. I couldn't believe it at first and wouldn't be surprised if they get rid off it soon.

If you're looking for something clearly above the average, you should check this place.

Food is not bad but certainly not above average as other reviews put it — my pasta came pretty speedy but it was drowned in garlic and overall just average.

Service took a long while initially and also whenever I wanted to order something. Everybody seemed to be pretty stressed — I am not sure why. Point taken: the place was full on a Friday night but I wouldn't call it packed either.

We ran up a bill of a 130 EUR (which was essentially four meals (10-11 EUR each) and at least two bottles of wine) and received nada. :) I know that you cannot expect or demand anything, but it would have been a gesture. Lots of places do that.

Not accepting any cards in this price segment is a huge bummer.

I wanted to go here a couple times and finally made it on my last trip to the city. This time around, this was easily one of the best restaurants I've been to on this trip. The food has elements of soul food, Asian, Carribean and Jamaican — all fusion.

I can't really narrow it done but it was pretty amazing.

They also hooked us up with a pretty amazing desert. I wish I had taken pictures.

The restaurant is kind of small, but that makes it charming as well. It's easy to talk to people on the next table. The service was very friendly, they made great cocktails and every now and then, there's a DJ as well.

I checked it out briefly this weekend – it could easily be my new favorite coffee place. I just have no excuse to go there too often and it'd be a huge detour on my way to work.

Otherwise, there is not too much to add if you know "The Barn" already. This place is a lot bigger and has more inside seating available. The coffee is still awesome, the service is friendly and the people know what they are doing.

And regarding coffee – this place really -is- exceptional and not your average coffee-to-go type of place or cafe. If coffee is your thing, you need to make a stop here and try out the various things they brew – filter, Siphon or espresso drinks.

Once they start roasting (and I cannot wait), it'll be hard for other coffee places in Berlin to catch up with them (if it isn't already). They put a lot of effort into the making and also what they serve. I expect their own beans will follow.

I love this place! It’s virtually a minute away from my front door, the coffee is nice and you can hang out in the sun in the afternoon.

Service is really friendly, free wifi and decent priced sandwiches. What more can you ask for?

They also sell beans and all kinds of coffee accessories for home.

Updated, 2012/01/22

This is one of my favorite spots and it hurts to take off two stars, but I’m doing it for the following reason: the coffee is just mediocre too often.

I wish new people working there would get an introduction or whatever. I’ve had over five coffees lately which I dumped into a trashbin outside because they tasted so bad. :( Galao often works, but everything else is just ruined.

Add to that, it often takes 10-15 minutes to get a coffee.

Every so often there are still a couple “regulars” here who manage to make an amazing coffee. But the overall experience is just too inconsistent.

So first off, we selected this place primarily based on the reviews here, and because I had not been there and most/all other Indian restaurants in Berlin are pretty mediocre.

Anyhow.

The interior of this place is actually really nice. It’s not your average Indian restaurant and generally not what you’re used to when you know Indian restaurants in Berlin.

Service-wise, very friendly and even helpful. There’s a couple things I’d like to address though: first off, it wouldn’t hurt to have a waiter dedicated to certain tables vs. random waiters taking your orders. And other people bringing drinks and food who basically tell you numbers of the items, and I usually don’t remember those. This is minor though and something they can easily streamline.

More importantly: people should get their food at the same time. Waiting for others to get their food is a no go if you label yourself and your restaurant to a higher standard. But otherwise, we can’t complain about the service.

On to the food: we ordered a soup each and a veggie starter from the special menu. My (curry) soup didn’t have any taste what so ever. A let down. By any, I really mean any. It tasted more like water than anything. I seasoned it with the sauces we got with the veggie starter though and it was alright.

We also split a starter, they were small veggie “burgers” on a little salad. I forgot how much they cost (I think 7 EUR’ish), but they were a little too basic to be on the special menu and a little too expensive for my taste. I’m also not sure how Indian they really are. They were seasoned really well though.

The mains were a veggie curry with their home-made cheese and Chicken Madrasi. Spice-wise, a typical Indian exerpience … in Berlin. I asked a waiter prior to ordering, maybe you can’t expect too much, but I was hoping for an honest recommendation and I can’t believe he’d be into that.

My standard is pretty high since I work with Indian people, I’ve had a lot of Indian food and attended a couple Indian weddings and other festivities. The food at Radas is in my opinion better than Amrit’s fatty sauces and soups but it would still be pretty outrageous to serve this food otherwise.

Just to clarify: the food is not bad, or anything. But except for the name, it’s just not very Indian.

Generally, I’m not sure what people expect from Indian food in this city. When recipes are watered down and don’t have any of the spices and taste you love about it, why get Indian food to begin with?

It seems like most people (on Qype) are impressed by a hot plate or a smoking pot when they order food. Maybe that’s all that counts? (If you disagree, feel free to leave your Top 3 Indian places in Berlin.)

For drinks, we got two of the non-alcholic cocktails off the cocktail menu. Mine had mint and lime and brown sugar in it. A mojito without the rum. I liked it a lot.

Anyhow. We got an espresso (I know, very Indian ;)) to finish it off and paid 55 EUR (for two, including tip).

Overall – the place’ interior is very nice, service is friendly, but it’s just too overpriced for the cooking. And that’s essentially why I take two (2) stars off in my rating. It would be nice if they chopped off half of their menu but did whatever is left extremely well instead of just OK. If food is labeled to be hot, just bring it out hot. Focus on North- or South-Indian cooking.

The place seems busy and popular though. Rasas was packed when we arrived. People going here are your average upper/middle-class Charlottenburgers, aged 35+. But it’s not like you would not expect that when you know the area a little. Of course this is not something I can hold against Rasas. ;)

Since I live across town and drove 20 minutes to get there, I can say that it wasn’t good enough to come here again any time soon. But I wouldn’t really object to going there. If it had to be “Indian” (note, quotes), this seems like a safe bet.

In the end I wish there were not just OK, but outstanding Indian restaurants in this city. If Rasas is really the top of the line, then the bar is still pretty low.

As far as interior design is concerned, this place is not my favorite but I didn’t go there to discuss that, I went for the waffles. They come with two options: regular or vegan (or vegan and non-vegan) with lots of toppings on top.

Overall, pretty stellar. Be careful about what you order, the people behind the counter don’t know too much about what is vegan (half of the toppings they suggested were not), but that’s fine.

Otherwise, the place is cramed, coffee is “alright”, it’s self-service and it sometimes takes a long while for things to come.

Anyway: Just wait for the waffles, they are well worth it!

I really like this place, food is great, coffee is good and the people are chill.

I'd say stopping by for an espresso is a must, but pasta only if you're not in a hurry and don't mind waiting for 40+ minutes.

Nice. Just got introduced to this place. No bells and whistles. Good (fresh) food and friendly service. I'll be back. :-)

I am really not sure if I should score four or five for this place.

First off, they probably make the best Latte in all Friedrichshain. At least so I think. But here comes the problem, if you drink a second one, because the first one is so damn good, you always feel paralyzed from it.

They also serve bagels and sandwiches which are all pretty damn good.

Now off to the weak spots: they really could open earlier than 10 AM and what's up with being closed on a Monday?

Update 2011/03/07: Took a star off (3/5). Whenever I went here in the last 12 months this place was filled with soccer moms occupying a minimum of 2 tables at the same time by bringing their buggy table-side.

On the weekends, this place beyond packed and should be avoided at all costs too. Even a coffee to go can take 10 to 15 minutes. Service is pretty slow - always - regardless of the crowd. More importantly, the coffee isn't as good as it used to be. Or maybe my taste just got better. Who knows.

IMHO, other places in Friedrichshain took the lead from this one pretty easily.