Bandol sur mer
Berlin
Reviews
Finally, a place in Berlin that truly masters French cuisine using local products. The interior is intentionally sober, letting the real magic happen on the plate, isn’t that what gastronomy should be about? I traveled here for my birthday and couldn’t have wished for a better experience or better wine recommendations. Wow!
As a person who occasionally like to indulge in fine dining & Michelin rated restaurants, I was somewhat disappointed from the experience here. Unlike the fancy atmosphere of most its counterparts, the setting in this restaurant is deliberately laid back. Cozy small restaurant space, 6-7 tables with no dividers. Open kitchen, no table cloths. The tasting menu is 7 courses (not including side courses) and takes 3 hours. This is way too long and weary, and a perfect dinner should not last over 2 hours in my opinion. The portions are not big, but with so many courses and flavors, by the time we reached the anticipated Wagyu dish (#6), I was already very close to my capacity, and the dish itself was disappointing. Slow cooked(?) Wagyu short ribs, that although very soft, also had a fibery texture that I didn't like. Overall I did enjoy most of the dishes, which can be characterized by strong umami flavors. Most courses were accompanied with an equally strong and very nice sauce. The desert was also disappointing and stuck to my teeth, although the pre-desert dish was fantastic. The service was very good, but not impeccable: we did have to wait though 1 or 2 courses until the bread crumbs from the bread dish were finally cleared from our table. Price is 169 euro not including wine. Wine pairing is additional 102 euros, which unfortunately dissuaded us from opting it. We ended up ordering a bottle of really exquisite white wine (105 euro) and would have ordered more were it not for the price. (P.S. given the not so cheap pricing for the meal, charging additional 9 euros per person for water seems somewhat petty.)
Outstanding dinner for our taste buds with innovative flavour and texture combinations. Add to this a perfect and generous wine pairing combined to a sympathetic service and you have all ingredients for an unforgettable evening.
