Der kleine August, photo credit: Marie Staggat
Why have do many restaurants that opened in Berlin in recent months have ‘brasserie‘ or ‘bistro‘ in their name? Even places like Almi Bistro and Jolie Bistrot – both less than or just over a year old and both located in Prenzlauer Berg – aren’t strictly speaking French, rather they serve a modern, ingredient-focused menu with an unmistakably French sense of ease. For these places, it’s all about the flavours and the atmosphere, and they boast style of cooking that’s refined while also remaining entirely quotidian. Food that’s sometimes indulgent and escapist, absolutely contemporary and always grounded in the relaxed conviction that a crème brûlée and a bowl of French onion soup can be heaven on Earth.
Lunch as a Way of Life
Restaurant Volk in Mitte, photo credit: Alexander Meyer
Oliver Chesler, a musician from New York, has run Volk on Brunnenstraße in Mitte with his partner, Margaux Arabian, since 2019. It’s a seafood restaurant and a place where the effortless excellence of French cuisine reveals itself in a simple detail: their house-made French fries are prepared using just one specific variety of potato, imported directly from France.
“If we run out of those potatoes, then we don’t serve French fries anymore,” says Margaux Arabian. She grew up in her mother Ghislaine Arabian’s two-Michelin-star restaurant in Paris and, as a result, developed an appreciation for these subtle distinctions from an early age. “I feel like I’ve fried every potato grown in Brandenburg and never found anything comparable.”
What else is on the menu at Volk? Frog legs, lobster claws and around half a dozen varieties of oysters, naturally all imported directly from France as well.
The fact that a place like this is still able to be affordable may, in part, be thanks to these direct imports. But above all, it’s down to Volk’s attitude. Although it’s chic in its own way, it’s also one of those do-it-yourself kind of places that once made us fall in love with Berlin. The kitchen is in the building next door, and you have to walk through a second-hand shop on the way to the restrooms. I even know someone who bought a silk dress there before ordering dessert.
Meanwhile, on the corner of Mommsenstraße in Charlottenburg, it feels as though you’ve stepped directly into Paris. Even more so if you’re sitting on the terrace in the quintessentially French seating at newly opened Théodor.
Avec Plaisir
Brasserie Théodor, photo credit: Marie Staggat
It’s a good thing Pierre Girard is sitting at the table. He’s the wine expert at Théodor, as well as at the wonderful wine bar Der Kleine August on Auguststraße, which is the place that serves what is arguably the best French aperitif in the city: cheese, salami, tinned sardines, pâté. When asked which French products matter most, Girard doesn’t hesitate: “Baguette et beurre – baguette and butter.”
Margaux Arabian’s potatoes at Volk, Pierre Girard’s butter at Der Kleine August and Théodor – perhaps, when we talk about French cuisine, it’s not really about the flashy ingredients like the lobster from Brittany, Charolais beef or Périgord truffles. Instead, it’s about an ingrained appreciation for everyday quality and a particular way of life – about finding something divine in the simplest things.
It’s about an ingrained appreciation for everyday quality and a particular way of life
Which brings us to Sébastien Gorius, a merchant of the French art of living, whose shops in Schöneberg, La Cantine d’Augusta, and Charlottenburg, Augusta Savignyplatz, are devoted to exactly that. So what do the French have that Germans don’t?
“About a thousand years,” he says. “Some of the cheeses we sell here have been made in essentially the same way since the 13th century.”And what else? “There’s this deeply rooted habit of celebrating food, even on an ordinary weekday. Here in Berlin, everything has to be quick: a baguette eaten during your lunch break, half standing up. In France, people will happily sit for an hour and a half, even two hours, and open a bottle of wine first.” But wouldn’t that work for Berlin? Both Sébastien Gorius and Pierre Girard agree that French cuisine in Berlin would have to remain affordable. Even in Paris, Girard points out, “some Michelin-starred restaurants offer a three-course lunch menu for just €30.” Both end the discussion with a recommendation for an everyday French meal. Pierre Girard suggests the lunch menu at Brasserie de Paris on Kurfürstendamm, while Sébastien Gorius recommends the hand-cut fries at the pleasantly rustic La Buvette.
Á Manger! Our Favourite French Spots
Augusta Savignyplatz
Photo Credit: Marianne Rennella
This is a Francophile’s dream deli where, in true French fashion, gourmet food begins with butter. It’s also a wonderful spot for a glass of wine, as is its sister location in Schöneberg.
Must-eat dish: Anything from the cheese counter.
Carmerstraße 8, Charlottenburg, details
Brasserie Le Paris
Brasserie Le Paris
Relaxed, unpretentious, and fairly priced, this gem of a spot tucked inside Cinema de Paris, it’s one of the nicest lunch spots in western Berlin.
Must-eat dish: The plât du jour
Kurfürstendamm 211, Charlottenburg, details
Bostich
Photo Credit: Valentin Cheli
Palm-tree lamps, oysters and buttery mashed potatoes, stepping inside this restaurant is like getting a little escape to the Côte d’Azur without having to leave Berlin.
Must-eat dish: The shrimp rolls
Ludwigkirchstrasse 10, Charlottenburg, details
Der Kleine August
Der Kleine August
Deep wine expertise without a trace of wine snobbery, this is the French wine bar Berlin had been waiting for.
Must-eat dish: Pâté pastry
Auguststraße 23, Mitte, details
Entrecôte
Photo Credit: Thomas Frede
A wonderfully timeless restaurant from the days when people simply called these kinds of restaurants steakhouses.
Must-eat dish: Hand-cut French fries to accompany the entrecôte
Schützenstraße 5, Mitte, details
La Buvette
Photo courtesy of La Buvette
Friendly, approachable, effortlessly cool and firmly rooted in the neighbourhood, La Buvette brings a perfect little slice of Paris to Berlin. There’s even a charming little wine bar just around the corner.
Must-eat dish: Steak frites
Gleimstraße 41, Pankow, details
Lamazère
Photo Credit: Brasserie Lamazère
This is one of those places where Berlin’s restaurant crowd gathers, which is a testament to owner Régis Lamazére’s enduring appeal.
Must-eat dish: rice pudding
Stuttgarter Platz 18, Charlottenburg, details
Manon Brasserie
Photo Credit: Clemens Niedenthal
This somewhat new brasserie opened by celebrated restaurateur The Duc Ngo is located inside Hotel am Steinplatz.
Must-eat dish: The cordon bleu made with cheese sourced from Augusta Savignyplatz
Steinplatz 4, Charlottenburg, details
Mastan
Photo Credit: Florian Kroll
Quite possibly Berlin’s most French restaurant, the chef, Yann Mastantuono, previously headed the kitchen for Alain Ducasse.
Must-eat dish: Pork neck with Basque blood sausage
Gneisenaustraße 67, Kreuzberg, details
Monet Bistro
Photo Credit: Clemens Niedenthal
This is the kind of simple neighbourhood bistro you’d find all over France, and one that’s relatively affordable.
Must-eat dish: Chocolate mousse with blood orange and sea salt
Grünberger Straße 40, Friedrichshain, details