Gasthaus Alt Wien, Berlin — Restaurant in Berlin

The food at this restaurant is really good, with generous portions, but the service is absolutely unacceptable. We had a reservation for a large group and called over an hour in advance to notify the restaurant of a time change and that fewer guests would be attending. From that first phone call, the staff was unfriendly, but we accepted it as our mistake and moved on.

When we arrived, we were not greeted and felt uncomfortable right away as the staff made it clear they were annoyed by the change in plans. We requested an English menu since not everyone spoke German, but the waiter rudely told us there wasn't one and showed visible irritation. We decided to manage with the German menu, but the tone of service was already sour. When it came time to order drinks, the waiter was dismissive and rude, acting as if we were inconveniencing him with our choices.

During the meal, two of our guests were delayed due to work and couldn’t make it. The waiter, instead of understanding, started shouting that the situation was "unacceptable," making us feel even worse about something beyond our control. This level of unprofessionalism was shocking.

By the end of the meal, we were eager to leave. One of our group paid by card and chose not to leave a tip, which, given the appalling service, was completely justified. At this point, the waiter became even more aggressive, shouting at us and calling over another staff member to intimidate us into tipping. It was an unacceptable, bullying tactic that left us speechless.

A tip is meant to reward good service, not something to be demanded through harassment. The behavior of the staff was appalling, and there are plenty of other places in town where you'll be treated with respect—avoid this restaurant...

Our experience was exceptional alright. Exceptionally terrible. It really is an art to provide service and food that ruins an entire evening on this level. So if that’s what they were going for, congratulations. We went here for a romantic evening with my Partner, after seeing all the wonderful reviews, which I am now totally baffled by. Actually, maybe all of the guests around us who got served as we waited an hour and a half for our food had a good time, I’m not sure. Our server told us he had messed up our order with no explanation and no apology. We were also asked why we weren’t happy waiting for our mains as we had a small side salad in front of us to split. When our mains arrived at long last, there were two side salads with them. So why weren’t we given the option not to order an extra one at the beginning especially if that was the supposed reason our mains took so long? The whole ordeal involved many an eye roll and snarky response from our server. Naturally we didn’t leave a tip, which of course lead to an icy treatment from him, turning his head away when we said goodbye. All of this could maybe be forgiven if the rest of the experience was even alright. Unfortunately, the food was mediocre at best, especially for the ridiculous price, the owners were even ruder than the server and seemed to give exactly 0 fs about their customers, and the lighting was dingy. Truly do...

I can't tell you about the food but the behavior of the staff was so cold & unwelcoming that we decided to leave before we order. We entered the restaurant based off their good reviews, they asked if we had a reservation we said not (since we are tourists and unfamiliar witht their reservation culture)... they looked at us with such cold vibe until a guy from behind the bar told us to wait for a few moments... finally the waitress came & seated us inside with so much attitude.,.: there was no english on the menu and as American tourists we don't know any german... we spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out the menu that nobody came by to us to say hi.:: the waitress was so cold & stressed out about taking care of others who looked more like her and not like us I guess? I just did not wanna stay there any longer at the dark corner of their restaurant where so many more spots was Still open... we tried the thai food on thr side of the street and that dining experience was absolutely pleasant and amazing!! Go read my review for that place. Preeda on the other side of the street has the best...