Hi,

I will be in Berlin in March for 2 nights on business and am looking for recommendations of places to get a bite to eat and also things to see on my two evenings there. Will be staying on Freidrickstrasse/Unter Den Linden area and will be on foot.

Will most likely go for a wander around to see the main touristy sights for a couple of hours each evening before dinner, like the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdammer Platz, site of Checkpoint Charlie etc and hopefully explore the dome in the Reichstag. Is there anything else I should absolutely make a point of seeing?

Food wise, I'm not picky, but would ideally like something authenticrather than generic/chain. Cost wise, I work for a large medical charity and don't feel it's ethical to blow our fundraiser's hard-raised cash on lavish meals, so ideally sub-20 euros all in, if possible.

Thanks very much for your advice.

The most ethical thing would then be to use your own buck to pay for your dinner at any place you like, wouldn't it?

To answer your question is a bit difficult. There are hundreds of restaurants around, most of them are not chain. Berlin has a great choice of ethnic restaurant (in particular Asian, Turkish, Italian). Some of my favorits in this part of Berlin are the Goodtime (Thai, Indonesian) in Hausvogteiplatz, the Hasir in Hackerscher Markt (Turkish) and all the great choice restaurants in Oranienburger Stra�e (where you will further get very unusual sights - at least for an American ).

......... in the area of the Bismarckstrasse/Opera House?

We will be visiting Berlin over Easter for an opera and a concert at the Opera House, but my FIL will be arriving separately and much later than us. We plan to reserve the Hotel Leonardo.

Does anyone have any recommendations for simple gutburgliche restaurants in the local area or any reasons why NOT to stay at the Leonardo?

All advice greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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There is a decent Italian restaurant right on Bismarkstrasse, in the block immediately east of the Deutsche Oper - unfortunately I don't have the name.

(By any chance are you seeing Rienzi? Lots of buzz about that production).

Yes! We are going to see Rienzi! FIL is a devotee of Wagner operas and he lamented about 5 years ago that it was the only one he hadn't seen. I made a promise that if it was being produced in his lifetime I would treat him, and we booked our tickets back in October!!!

Can you let me know a little bit about the buzz you mentioned or where I can access it? I miss a lot of opera news (living in the Alsacian sticks!!) and FIL doesn't have access to internet. VERY MANY THANKS!!

As you probably know, Rienzi was Wagner's first success (after the juvenile Die Feen and Das Liebesverbot. Wagner himself had second thoughts, and ultimately decided to ban the work from being performed at his custom-built Festival Opera House in Bayreuth. Wagner was trying to match the very long French grand opera of the day, and Rienzi came in at 5 1/2 hours (!)

Like most recent productions, this one is truncated, down to about three hours (many of the marches and processions are repetitions, and the consensus is that they can be cut without harming the basic work.

The producer, Philipp St�lzl, makes extensive use of videos and other multimedia to relate the events of 14th century Rome to more recent German events - examples:







If you don't read German, you can run these reviews through Google Translator and get decent translation in your native language:


http://www.kulturradio.de/rezensione..._Tribunen.html


http://www.morgenpost.de/kultur/berl...er-Rienzi.html



This last one has summaries, and includes comments from Katharina Wagner, Richard's great-great granddaughter , who staged Rienzi in Bremen two years ago:

http://www.deutscheoperberlin.de/?pa...=pressestimmen

Thank you so much! We (OH and I) are even more fired up for our trip - being able to read the German fluently. As for FIL, we've got some translation work to do in the meantime!!! Incidentally it seems from DeutscheOper's website that they've got the running time down to 3 hours plus an interval .......... which is rather a relief!! I'm getting a bit long in the tooth for all the Ring marathons!!!

BORCHARDT
Franz�sische Str. 47
10117 Berlin

you have to make reservation.

Many thanks!

This is an excellent recommendation for those attending either the Komische Oper or the Statsoper Unter den Linden; however, I think that the OP is attending a performance at the Deutsche Oper, in the West, and wanted something close to that venue.

Why oh why does everybody recommend this sh*itty Borchardt? You only get decent service there, if you are a celebrity. Don't go there. And it is not even close to Bismarckstrasse.

Go to Restaurant "Florian" in Grolmanstrasse oder "Essen Fassen" in Knesebeckstrasse or "Nussbaumerin" in Leibnizstrasse. I know them, it's my neighborhood. The best gutb�rgerliche K�che you can get here.

I agree with daysleeper. I like Wendels at Richard Wagner Platz. myself. Its a 5 minute walk the the Oper.

I used to live in Berlin in that area and have some recommendations for you. First off, I stayed at the Leonardo hotel a bit after it opened. The hotel is only about 8 months old so everything is new. Its a nice place, not luxurious but good for the price. I think I paid like $70 per night via orbitz.

Right across Wilmersdorferstrasse from the hotel, you have to check out Rogacki. Its actually more like a meat and fish market, but they have an amazing selection of food you can eat at the back. If you watch the Berlin episode of Anthony Bourdain's show, Rogacki was his favorite place in Berlin - as is mine. More for lunch time, you eat standing up at counters. Incredibly fresh seafood dishes, along with blutwurst and leberwurstm, sausages, salads, prepared meats, etc. Its the one place I visit every time I go back to Berlin. You absolutely must check this place out since its like 50M from the front of the Leonardo.

About a 15-20 min walk or short taxi ride is Schnitzelei. Great german food and my German colleagues proclaim it as the best place for schnitzel in Berlin.

Also, if you go to the plaza in front of the Savignyplatz Sbahn station (again 15-20 min walk from your hotel), you will find about 15-20 restaurants in the area. I personally like 12 Apostle for the great pizza (try the 'Judas' pizza - very spicy but good), Mar Y Sol for spanish, Paris Bar for upscale brasserie and Mr Hai and Friends for vietnamese. There is not a whole lot else to recommend along Wilmersdorferstrasse where you will be staying - I've been to many of the small places on that street and did not really like any of them. Instead make your way to Savignyplatz Sbahn station or Kantstrasse between the Charlottenburg and Savitnyplatz stations. There are quite a few decent asian places along this street.

If you plan to check out other parts of Berlin, then I also recommend Gugelhof and Lebensmittel in Mitte.

Ottenthal is a nice place for Austrian cuisine and wines. It is located on Kantstra�e across Theater des Westens, not far from Zoologischer Garten station

You could also go to the basement of Galeries Lafayette department store in Friedrichstra�e (one or 2 blocks from Unter den Linden). This is where the food halls are and there are many counters where you sit down and have a bite (bistro-style). Not as big and nice as KaDeWe but ok.