Cafe Berlin
| Address: | 322 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA |
| Phone: | +1 202-543-7656 |
| Site: | cafeberlin-dc.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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A Private User
This is DEFINITELY a neighborhood place. Typical Capitol Hill......decent, but not outstanding. I have lived down the street for 10 years, and been here a number of times. If you are looking for ginger-bread house decor and servers dressed in Bavarian costume, this is NOT your place. Decor actually dowdy and somehwhat tacky(as are dishes and flatware) Home Depot NOT Zum Deutschen Eck!...yes, has linens, but wash-n-wear, NOT crisp and pressed. Server-clones wear embroidered button-down white shirts, all with pony-tailed hair. boring and flavorless, and would appreciate better menu knowledge. (after all, German food is somewhat of an unknown to the under 40 crowd) No busboys or help, which means service can be spotty. Food is really German-Austrian-Hungarian, and can be quite tasty(but not always). I like the goulasch and the seasonal sausages. Meat dishes can be dry, especially pork. The food in one of the beer hall tents at OktoberFest in Munich better--and the food there is considered to be on the same level of US fast food. Desserts are just not sweet enough for my taste and lack flavor. Beer/wine selection authentic and unique, and served in apporpriate glass ware. Thomas, the long-time chef, and the quirky bartender-hostess-manager(think punk red hair on a sassy 55 year old woman from Nuremberg--a riot!!) are both from Germany, and try REALLY hard(appreciate them very much!). and most entrees under $20....although they charge downtown prices overall. Think youre going to get a breadbasket full of German dark rolls and breads? think again! stale white rolls only. I had the very tasty OktoberFest platter at the Old Ebbitt last month..twice the food for 1/3 less the price of Cafe Berlin! Beers start at $6. BEST BET: LUNCH or happy hour on the patio(Just watch out for the steps). Interior actually cramped, mis-matched and tacky, like I say. Parking very hit or miss, depending on Senate schedule. Oh..and they forgot about the music..where is it?
JA
Jamal John
Me and my girlfriend enjoyed Cafe Berlin alot! Being a military brat Ive been longing for some good authentic German food since I moved back state side. Lets just say thats not the easiest thing to find in DC at least in my experiences. Cafe Berlin came around just in the nick of time! The food so far is the closet Ive been able to get to traditional food since Ive moved back so I was very happy and excited! They also sell imported beer, giving you the option of a pint or a liter. Another thing I liked about Cafe Berlin is that its set up how I remember restaurants being in Germany. Nice quite inside seating or you can sit outside in the Beir Garden which can be very relaxing on a nice day or evening. For my meal,I had the jager schnitzel with spatzel which is a pounded thin fried boneless pork chop topped with a savory mushroom gravy . The schnitzel had a nice cripsy breading on it and was nice and juicy on the inside, it was served on top of spatzel that was nice and light; almost like a fluffy noodle. The gravy was Amazing! it had a nice deep brown color to it, and had great flavor; the schitzel and spatzel soaked up the flavors from the gravy making the dish even more enjoyable. My girlfriend had the Saur-braten which was also very delicious! The slow cooked meat with the purple cabbage was great together and very flavorful; I would recommend either of these dishes to anyone, even if youve never had German food before. Since Ive been craving German food for the longest time, this meal gave me a soul food type happiness! I really missed this stuff! If your ever in the area I would recommend checking out Cafe Berlin, not the best German food Ive had but good flavor and the closet thing Ive had to authentic since I left that beautiful country!
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Samuel G
The restaurant issued discount coupons that they not only dont honor, but trick you into ordering the full value of the coupon and only then make you to pay for the full amount. After you complain, the arrogant manager will explain to you that the Groupon is running something and they have nothing to do with it. ?????? The food they serve has nothing to do with German food. The cook doesnt believe in fresh ingredients (potatoes boiled the day or more ahead of time, frozen veggies in the middle of the summer and so forth), and love to compensate the lack of freshness with SALT. I do know and love German food, but this was not it. Do not order flannel steak. You will end up with a tasteless chewing gum.
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Kimberly Lyda
Rude staff not worth it... Today is Sunday, nice sunny day. About 5 PM. I called 10 minutes before arrival to ask if there was place to sit outside. Rude lady said "we dont take reservations for outside", ok fine, when I arrived I was rudely told "what you dont see we are busy", like I am asking to bring my own bed to sit outside, like they were doing me a favor to even look at me. I just wanted to know if they can sit me outside and if not, how long it takes to wait. They are disorganized. Nothig out of ordinary... Now they can eat their own sausages... I was regular client stopping by 3 times a month. Now I will never come back to this place again!!! I never seen rude Germans like they are!!! Wow...
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Scotty ST
Ich liebe Bratwurst und Bier. I have been here a few times over the years to get my German food fix. The food is prepared nicely and is very filling. I recommend getting a sandwich at Cafe Berlin. The sandwiches come with potato salad and soup. There is plenty of food to eat and you will leave stuffed! Today I got the bratwurst sandwich. The sandwich comes with 1 bratwurst covered in sauerkraut and mustard. The bread of the sandwich is made out of pretzel. The staff was friendly and were helpful with what to choose on the beer menu. The beer menu is vast and there are beers on draft and bottled. When you come through the entrance of the restaurant door, remember to use the door knob!
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A Private User
What an amazing place! I was extremely pleased and happy to see that Cafe Berlin is close to the cafes I ate at while visiting family in Bavaria many years ago. Some of the reviews are extremely misleading, obviously these people cant appreciate that this isnt a McDonalds and you are going to have to wait for your meal, which could be very different from our American fast food meals and a true, European meal. I ordered the Wiener Schnitzel with Pummes (homefries), my personal favorite, and it didnt disappoint. It was a reasonable price for a DC restaraunt, walking distance from work, and I recomend this to anyone who is looking for a great German place right on Capitol hill!
CH
Christiane Vital
Never got a refill on our drinks .she never came and asked the whole time we was there if we needed more drinks.we had to ask a different person for our check because she never came back..then I asked them to split the bill between 2 cards. When I looked at it my bill was 54 but when there splitting it they charged me 62 ..when we went to the front to asked why the bill says 54 and we get charged 18 and 44. The lady was rude had an attitude...then she questions me why I only have them 3 dollars on tip...they do not deserve any tip..and after I drove 3 hours to come to eat there..it was very disappointing and I will report this issue
