Clärchens Ballroom — Restaurant in Berlin

Showed up to this place our first night in Berlin and unfortunately that was a huge mistake. We seated ourselves in the outdoor area, which was quite spacious. Took quite a few minutes for a waiter to come over, but not an outrageous amount of time. Ordered a drink (Hefeweizen, which was the only thing I enjoyed about the restaurant!). Later ordered a pizza and a schnitzel. A few minutes later a waiter brought us our pizza and we started to dig in. Found out that the pizza brought to us was not what we ordered, the waiter had made a mistake and delivered it to the wrong table. When our correct pizza showed up, the (different) waitress put all of the blame on us and said we would have to pay for both pizzas. Literally no one at the restaurant took ownership of the waiters mistake and put all of the blame on us (the customers) for not notifying the waiter that he had brought us the wrong pizza.

Anyway, the pizza itself was very bland and dry. Felt like they made it a day ago. Absolutely nothing good to say about the food here, which is why I give it a 1 star. If the food was good or even half decent I would give it a few stars, but both the service and the food suck here! Stay away and go somewhere else instead. The bad service and less than mediocre food will ruin your night and your appetite. We returned our schnitzel after the despicable pathetic...

There was a few issues with a booking I made. My sister in the UK had made a €50 gift certificate for my Canadian relative visiting me in Berlin so she could try schnitzel.

They didn't have the booking in the book. I had to show the email. The hostess really did her best but of course it meant we had a bad aisle table by the door with lots of disturbance. Not ideal for a special occasion.

The server had low training. She couldn't answer questions on the menu. Be warned the vegan schnitzel was sold out by our sitting at 20.00. She didn't know how to handle the gift certificate. She asked in a strange way for the table back at closing, I did 7 years in service 'can I bring you the cheque ladies?' is adequate compared to 'we close. You must leave. So go' at precisely 22.00. Strange phrasing...

Top marks for an alcohol free champagne, to my knowledge the only one in Berlin where a drinker can prost together with a dry version. A lovely male runner took our picture at the disco ball.

I've been for other people's celebrations before it was a little sad to spend €50 on Flammkuchen we'd gone for the schnitzel and mentioned that on the booking. Please please please prep more schnitzel for schnitzeltag 20.00 isn't so late. If you know 20.00 is too late and the booking comes for schnitzel perhaps you could recommend the guest an earlier time...

Our experience at Clärchens Ballhaus began at the door, with the incredible charm of Jasper, the Maitre D'. We happened to be walking by and got curious and once we stepped inside we both decided this was a place to try.

There were no tables available but Jasper (hope I'm spelling that correctly), who was channeling the charisma of Freddie Mercury with all the playfulness, came up with a plan to seat us at the bar area and see if a table would open up.

Our waitress was Paula. Whoever hired her is a genius. She was cordial while bringing a playful levity to our experience. She guided us around the menu (hey this venison ragout, is it a pasta or?) and we placed our order.

Miraculously a center table opened up in the main room and we moved over. First bite of that venison and I almost fell out of my chair. It was delicious, thick, complex, savory, a bit of sweetness, a bit of tartness, perfectly cooked. The potato gnoocchi felt like it was made out of air and butter. We couldn't be happier, all magnified by the majesty of the restaurant itself, which we were told was just re-imagined and re-opened. This is a must-go spot if you're only in Berlin for a limited time.

If you live here, then it's an always-go spot. :)

A big thanks to the staff who made our visit so fantastic! From coat check...