Klinke Berlin Fancy drinks and cabbage rolls almost like at grandma's house

When you open the door and step out of rainy Berlin into Klinke's warm and fragrant dining room, you are instantly reminded of your grandparents' parlour. However, it is certainly not the interior design that evokes this feeling because the restaurant in the heart of Kreuzberg is modern and classic at the same time - an elegant bridge between the different sides of Berlin.

It is much more this feeling of welcome, the pleasant murmur of voices and the pleasant atmosphere that bring back fond childhood memories. The incredibly kind and warm service also contributes to this, trapping us as if we were finally revisiting the Klinke. How nice that the concept of the cuisine also fits in with this familiar feeling. German food, meant to be shared, accompanied by freshly tapped beer, a nice glass of wine or one of the refined and unique drinks.

When you hear how this restaurant came about, you no longer wonder about this secure feeling of family: Lilo, Moritz, and Jette are three siblings from Kreuzberg who realise their culinary dream here and simply bring the cuisine they like to the table. Their family name: Klinkenberg - so that's cleared up, too.

If you've been paying attention, you'll almost know where the name of the restaurant's favourite drink comes from: Limoje tastily demonstrates that German cuisine and fancy drinks go together quite well. The drinks menu has something for everyone: non-alcoholic beers strike the perfect balance between refreshing and tasty, as does the slushie of the week, which is simply fun. Just like Frozen Riesling and Frozé - dangerously good.

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When the food arrives at the table, the first glance inevitably falls on the specially shaped plates, which are a copy of the Victoria Hills in Kreuzberg, another allusion to the origins of the three Klinkenberg siblings. The tableware provides the perfect stage for the colourful round of dishes presented to us. 

The fried chicken on mustard mayonnaise with cress is a perfect blend of crispy and tender, the beef goulash could come from a butcher's lunch menu in its creaminess. With the cheese dumplings to go with it, you completely forget that you're sitting in rainy Berlin and not in the dining room at grandma's house. The cabbage roulade with millet is vegan and still conveys the Sunday roast feeling. The side dishes like cucumber salad and buttered vegetables also represent the "home" feeling with a little unique twist, without ever wanting to deform the original too far.

And since, as we all know, there's always room for dessert in the second stomach, you can't do without the Kaiserschmarrn, of course. After all, you've collected warmth that will make the next few grey weeks more bearable. And when that runs out, it's back to the Klinke in Kreuzberg. 

Ronja C. Kolls

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