Sian, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

The number of negative reviews of this place surprised me. I have been here about 4 times now and it was always been pleasant. I noticed comments about vegetarian fare above, I am a vegetarian so maybe that makes a difference. The service has always been kind of invisible to me, not overly friendly and not rude. Their teas and fruit drinks are very good, and the food good, and not the same thing that you get in every “Asian” restaurant in Berlin.

3 stars for serving good food and nice tea- last 2 missing, because I just couldnt get. why the waiter was mumbling irritated...
If you set up restaurant. you should be prepared to SERVE!

The surroundings are great,--and the ricepaper-lamps, wow, but still,...who wants to eat in an atmosphere of "You are a PEST"

My trick is to eat there for lunch, never on evenings.

I am a little bit puzzled by the negative reviews of this place. The food is 'boring'? I would save that description for countless other restaurants in the city. Here the menu is small, but the food is fresh and delicious.

Unfortunately, this is just not the restaurant for long dinners —although I have often wished that it was (it is gorgeous, especially the outdoor seating). Go there if you want to eat good food that is served in a speedy fashion in a nice atmosphere.

If you are looking for a restaurant that takes reservations, where you can sit for hours and be waited on, this is not the place to go. The deal is: you arrive, they help you find space at a table, take your order, you eat, they bring the bill and you leave.

I, too, have been put off by their service philosophy, which makes it pretty clear that they only want customers there long enough to eat what they have paid for. There have been many times that I have considered Si An but have gone elsewhere instead specifically because it's not possible to linger a bit. That said, I do keep going back for the food...and for the pretty.

I was here last night and the place was packed, though I cannot really fathom why as the food was pretty insipid. The restaurant's main claim to fame is that they don't use glutamate and that seems to be enough to fool a lot of people.

The decor is best described as contemporary bohemian or modernistic Asian taff. Strangers are forced to share largish tables, service is tolerable, the atmosphere is convivial and everybody else must have ordered something different from me because I really thought my beef noodles were bland and tasted a lot like boiled cardboard. Oh, and finding hairs in our food did not help my mood either.

However, my partners had vegetarian options which they liked and I have to agree that they do taste better (but they had excessive amounts of sugar, which I dislike). So maybe the secret is to order the vegetarian dishes - if you like your dishes a little sugary.

I should also mention that although the food is pretty cheap (I doubt that they can dare to charge more), the drinks are actually quite expensive. Maybe the cheap food's another attraction. Still, it was a buzzing sort of place and everybody (else) seemed to have had a good time, so I have to add an extra star for that. (Oops, I have to give at least one star anyway!)

There seems to be a very split opinion about Sian. So I was especially curious what this place was going to be like and I have to say that my experience was entirely positive.
The food was very authentic, the service was friendly and the setting was pleasant. Maybe it depends on the day…

Dreadful service.
Food is fresh but boring. It does not matter what you eat, most stuff taste the same with different levels of “hotness”. Try the “Sticky Rice” though - this is black rice with Mango and well worth th visit.
Cheap copy of the mothership-moneymakingmachine store M. Vuong in Mitte.
Nice styling though - and the vanilla candles in the toilets are cool.
You cannot reserve a table.
You cannot sit on your own table.
You cannot expect the waiters to be friendly.
The dog shit space in front of the shop is probably the most luxurious in town.