Ixthys, Schöneberg, Berlin

I give this place 5 stars. Not because it is the most incredible food I ever had, it is great but I had better, but for the amazing atmosphere with the two old ladies who cook for you while you wait in this small room reading all the christian texts they pasted on the walls, reminding me a bit of the mix between an Asian temple and the home of a highly delusional person. I won’t go further into the subject of religion versus delusion here. What I am trying to say, is: this place is really special and is definitely worth a visit! 4 stars for the food and the 5th for being a landmark.

Nothing special from the decoration of the restaurant. But they served really good korean food. The price was quite expensive for Berlin but it was really worth to go there to eat.

5 stars because of the unbelievably tasty korean food - it makes you bear the walls covered with christian propaganda and the ugly interior. Great!

This funny little place has great Korean food, the best I've found so far in Berlin. It's definitely prepared with love. The bibimbap is absolutely delicious. A few other dishes we've ordered have been slightly less exciting but still solid tasty food. The kimchi is also very tasty, I'm an addict! It's very small, so you might have to stand around for a while to grab a table. I don't think they do reservations. Because it's quite busy it's also not the sort of place to hang out at for hours on end (also, they serve no alcohol to linger over ;) ).

If you are not religious ignore the surroundings and the wait (each dish is prepared separately with love and care) because the food is super fresh and delicious. Trust me just go there and try it. It excels in spicy dishes but there are non spicy dishes too.

I always toggle between number 16 the Bimbambap and number 14 the spicy pork and rice. I forget the name but it is to die for, very spicy.

Number 12 the udon noodle soup with chicken is also a winner. I go there all year round but somehow I like it better in winter. It warms up your body and your soul. You feel cleansed. The food is so fresh, can’t say enough about it, you just have to go and give it a go.

Forget about the search for the hottest curry in town, go to Ixthys and you’ll be happy! The set up is very basic but it is no reflection on the excellent Korean food you will experience :) Man I think I might have to go there this evening!

This is a tiny Jesus-loving (they have God and Jesus things all over the place) Korean restaurant across from Winterfeld Platz. The food is definitely homemade as I have been here twice now. I have tried the bi bim bap both times. It comes with kimchee and a broth soup.

Last time the kimchee was sooooo spicy I almost couldn’t eat it but this time it was less spicy and more salty. Absolutely delicious.

I will have to try something different next time. Maybe they’ve got bulgogee…

From 1 (worst) to 5 (best)
Food taste: 4 I ate only Bibimbab.
Food variety: 3 Quite many but never try other.
Price: 3 Reasonable.
Mobility: 4 Easy to reach with public and private transport.

Recommendation and comments:
I will always return for Bibimbap. Not sure if they take reservation, I think it is run with a concept of papa’s store.

There is no reservation. Just look for any empty seat (there are not many especially during lunch hour), look at the menu list, and go to tell the cook what you want. But last time (31 January 2009) we went there, a girl came to take customer’s order. We, as usual, have shouted our orders in front of the kitchen.

You are looking for authentic Korean food? You found it!
There is hardly another Korean restaurant which has such perfect bulgogi as Ixthys.
All dishes are served Korean style except for the missing side dishes. You can order some but not many.
The ambience is like at the little street food shops in Asia. And usually you get the best food at those shops. Same here.
I don’t care too much about the furniture and those things.
Though the bible cites everywhere bug me a bit, the food compensates it all.
More than the half of the customers are Korean which is the best proof of quality the Ixthys can get.
Korean care a lot about their tradition and especially food.

I will warn you: I will not be able to write as glowing a review of this restaurant as it deserves. My words will fail me.

A quick background…a friend who works at the Deutsche Oper asked a Korean colleague one day where she could eat good Korean food here in Berlin. “The absolute best is a place where you would never imagine it to be. On Winterfeldplatz, a quick walk from Nollendorfplatz, is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with benches inside, no real waitress, an atmosphere like a storeroom rather than a dining room, and Bible verses covering every inch of the walls. They have a very small menu. But, the food that comes out of that kitchen is better than my own grandmother could make.” The man was, of course, referring to Ixthys. He was also dead on in regards to every aspect of the place.

The food, oh, God, the food! I have never in my life eaten such a Be Bim Bop. It comes out in a stone bowl, sizzling hot. The Kim Chi, too is phenomenal. I feel that I now know what Kim Chi should taste like, and that all these years I have gotten some store-bought, generic imitation that should have made me outraged.

If you read my reviews, you know what I place high priority on: the food. And, once you taste it there, you will look around at the verses on the walls and the simplicity of the place and see it all not as a hole-in-the-wall, but as your own little portal to the other side of the world. I always imagine that I have been there before, invited by a Korean friend to his home, where his mom can be trusted to always make me a fine meal, eager to fill my belly when she sees me. Did you ever see “Like Water for Chocolate”? The food of this place gets enchanted, embedded with the good intentions of those who cook it, I think. I can almost taste it. Something about this place just puts a smile on my face—it must be the love in the food.

One of the strangest restaurants I’ve ever been in, pretty much a one woman operation, but its the religious quotations and wittings that make it unusual. Whether is the wittings on the wall or in the menus its everywhere. In the case of the menu there actually more religious instruction than items to eat.

The dish I had was tasty but not so much so that I’d rush back again and at 8 euros it wasn’t particularly cheep despite the café feel to the place.