Fratelli La Bionda — Restaurant in Berlin

In Berlin we have many good Italian restaurants, I mean real ones, not those pizzeria/restaurants that make fun of foreigners pretending to be Italians and that have seen Italy only in some post card. When I go in a true Italian pizzeria, it's always a pleasure when they simply destroy every other fake pizzeria in Berlin. However I was born in Italy and I pay attention in details, a lot of attention, because it's through details that you see passion.

The inside is cozy and the air smells of the pizza oven, I took an Aperol Spritz, a beer "La Bionda" and a pizza "Emiliana". In one year, the Spritz cost went from € 4.50/2cl to € 6/2cl, the "La Bionda" beer from 3.20/4l to €4/l and the pizza "Emiliana" from €11.50 to €14 with the addition of cherry tomatoes.

While I understand that some raw materials can be imported directly from Italy, I find the price of the Spritz unjustified. I do not think they used a bottle of Prosecco Mass Bianchet (double s) for a Spritz, this bring to the fact that an Aperol bottle cost €12/1l in Edeka and a decent bottle of Prosecco, €8/75l and since we do not need a master barman for a Spritz... "Roba rara, roba cara, ma qua no xe rara"

A pizza that in Italy is generally called "Bresaola e Rucola" here is offered by replacing Bresaola with raw ham (San Daniele) and called "Emiliana" but it is unclear why, in fact on pizza there is nothing about the Italian region Emilia Romagna . Raw ham is San Daniele instead of Parma ham and the cheese flakes are Grana Padano instead of Parmigiano Reggiano, maybe "Emiliana" is the name of a girl, I hope.

The presentation of this pizza is an emblematic difference between an Italian Pizza Maker and a non Italian Pizza Maker.. The slices of raw ham are arranged by giving them a volume, rucola has enough room to breathe so it does not come cooked and the Grana Padano cheese is cut to flakes (Foreigner Pizza Makers who understand nothing, sadly grate this cheese and place ham slices flat over rucola) Everything looks great.

When it comes to neapolitan pizza, I like it juicy, but it's a matter of personal tastes. The dough was good, the cutting edge was crisp but two things left me puzzled. The menu does not say that San Daniele ham was DOP and I'm not sure it was San Daniele DOP, I found it tasteless and not so much seasoned. The cherry tomatoes on the pizza were supposed to be cherry but looked more like "datterini tomatoes". The pizza had only one unique insurmountable problem, the cherry tomatoes were cold.

Price for the same Pizza is lower compared to other Italian famous pizzerias in Berlin, however €14 it's a little...

I had the pasta alla norma, which includes a sauce comprising eggplant/aubergine, tomatoes and basil.

I thought that the dish was a bit bland and lacked a dimension of flavour that I look for in a pasta dish from an Italian restaurant, it was quite mild on the flavour front. Alla norma sauce is typically more mild and more gentle than other sauces, but even with that in mind, I thought the flavour profile was lacking. The pasta was cooked to a good al dente level and had a nice bite to it.

I did have a try of some pizza, and that was very good, the base was a nice thickness and had good chew to it, and the sauce was sweet and rich. I would recommend a pizza over pasta at this restaurant.

The staff were nice, we were with some German friends when we attended, so I can’t comment on whether this restaurant is good for non-German speakers, but the wait staff acted friendly.

We sat outside, which had a nice ambience, but the tables are very close together and I would bump into the person behind me whenever either of us moved. The ground was uneven which made my chair wobble.

Overall, it was a nice meal, but I don’t feel the need to come...

We have been going to the restaurant for a couple of years now. Mostly because of their delicious pizzas. Tonight we went for the first time since the lock down in March. Completely disappointed.

First of all, I asked if the burrata was pasteurized because I'm pregnant at the moment. The waiter said yes of course. So I ordered my usual favourite pizza. Just to be sure, I went into the restaurant and asked the cook by the oven the same question and he said no, burrata is not pasteurized. We checked the container together and found out that it is indeed raw milk. It was extremely concerning when the first waiter randomly just told us an answer without making sure.

When we saw the pizzas placed on our table, we found that they were about 20% smaller than before. When I asked why, this waitress said, "This is already a good size which you will find enough." Maybe they are trying to make up for the lose since the lock down months? Overall the service has also gone down hill.

It's very unfortunate but we will not...