Excellent and fairly stylish German restaurant in Mitte, just around the corner from Nordbanhof. The menu is not extensive, 4 starters and 5 mains to choose from, consisting of various German classics - some of which you will have heard of, and others you may not.

I opted for the cheek of pork with bulgar wheat to start, and followed it up with an excellent rabbit dish, all washed down with a decent dry riesling.

Starters are priced at €6-8, and mains at €14-17, and for the quality of the food, it’s reasonable.

Service could be a little better, so I’ll save that 5th star for a repeat visit.

Austrian cuisine sees a big boom in Berlin currently. Well, there always have been a couple of good Austrian restaurants. But Alpenstueck is a new breed. It lacks any of the usual Kitsch these concepts come with.

The designers of the place just took a few alpine elements and re-sampled them in an urban style. One wall consists of cut wooden blocks, that have simply been piled up from floor to ceiling. The other elements are a lampshade that shows a green-white checkered pattern and a basket with a few blocks of wood. This is as much “Austria” they do visually, so you rather sit down on a table and sample food and drink.

I´ve been to Alpenstueck a couple of times now, usually for business dinners, and I´ve always been happy with the quality of food and service. If the restaurant is packed, you´ll have to wait in between courses for a bit maybe. That´s why I won´t give them the full five star rating.

The wine list is excellent and not overburdened. One of the few occasions where I was always happy with the reccomendation of the waiter. Purists, as an Austrian friend I took for dinner there (being of half-Austrian myself by the way), might criticize some dishes for being “interpreted”, but at the end this is not what Alpenstueck is about.

For private dinners maybe the place is not intimate enough. It suits large groups though. They´ve got table sets, that can seat up to 10 - 15 people.

Months after the opening Alpenstueck is still going strong. I reccomend reservation instead of walk-in.