Grill Royal — Restaurant in Berlin

They've hired this idiot of hipster Manager, unprofessional in the way he deals with a very simple straight forward situation.

I lived in Paris and New York for more than 10 years and just recently moved back to Berlin. Compared to similar Restaurants in New York for instance, Grill Royal has a similarly flattering flair but doesn't understand a few things. Because Berlin lacks good places, from time to time you just ignore that service sucks and that food doesn't justify the price you pay. Its a typical Berlin syndrome.

I went there recently with a dear friend for my Birthday. We ordered lots of food and asked the sommelier to recommend a nice dry Riesling. (Btw I grew up in the region where some of the best Riesling comes from.) The sommelier looked like he had to replace the actual Sommelier that night who called himself in sick. He was very nervous. He came back with a bottle and after tasting it both of us reacted the same way: very very sour. A lot of acid. Almost undrinkable. But both of us didn't want to make a big deal out of it so we decided to take the pressure off of his shoulders and said its fine. After half a glass we looked at each other and asked him over. We offered him to taste it himself. Friendly asked him to give us something else, something dry, not as acidy. (This was actually my first time ever to return a bottle of whine) He came back with a different bottle, now his shirt wet from all the sweating. His hand shakes while pouring the new wine into our glasses. In the meantime the subject of our conversation has shifted from pure excitement to a 'what are we experiencing right now?' situation. People next to us started to follow our conversation.

Funny, we thought when the new wine was still full of acid, yet not as much acid as the one before (we thought). With a smile we were once again trying to calm the situation down by saying that its still not what we had asked for but the situation has been outrageous enough so lets settle it. He was steaming.

After another half glass we started to enjoy that evening less and less and asked our waitress over. Clearly all the staff by now was informed about our table. They looked at us as if we´re those difficult people or maybe just some less cultured 40 year olds who want to drink ourselves through their wine list (for free).

Short: She said that every Riesling is very acidy treating us like amateurs playing pros actually drinking Riesling for the first time.

The evening flipped right there. The sommelier standing behind her sweating but smiling. Then our waitress said that they've had many people who drink themselves through their wine stock, its not the first time.

Normally enough for me to snap, but we kept our cool and told her its not really about money here, we just want to enjoy the night, drink some good wine that doesn't make us feel like we've had to vomit while speaking or latest when lying down in bed. So we told her that maybe we should just order something by the glass. Something different. Maybe even a beer. She responded that she would come back with a Chardonnay.

She puts the bottle on the table with the most ignorant smile i've ever seen and leaves. Now believe it or not, that Chardonnay was again high on acid.

So what does that mean? Could we have been so wrong?

We are both educated enough to know about the differences. But why do they treat us that way? I called up a few friends. No one seemed ever impressed with their wine list. Also asking the Sommelier when he started his job, he said he's been a Sommelier at that place since the beginning (at least 8 years of experience).

We asked for the cheque. They through the cheque on the table. All the 3 bottles were on that cheque. We asked the manager over, instead they send that poor sweat girl that seats people. She apologized.

I had to walk over to the table where he (the manager) was sitting with his hipster friends. I asked him to manage the situation, but he just responded in such an arrogant way that we preferred to settle the bill and...

I read about this restaurant and saw it from the water while on a boat cruise, so I went without a reservation and was accommodated with courtesy with the caveat that I could only have the table for an hour and a half. Normally, that kind of condition would concern me, but given the quality of the meal, the wines and the service, I was happy to meet their request and left that night reserving a table for the following night as well.

I noticed that there were several negative reviews citing poor service and concerns about long waits for food. I did not experience either of these.

The selection of steaks, seafood and cuts available surpasses anything I have ever encountered and in some ways rivals or exceeds the steak chains in the US, like Morton's, Ruth's Chris and Capital grill.

Start with a selection of caviar and a massive salad while you consider what steak will suit you best. Meat from Germany, Australia, Pomerania, USA and Japan are all tempting. Pricing is by the gram.

Or order great seafood. I elected to try both fish and meat over two different nights.

The first night I had a marvelous filet of Turbot with their excellent, homemade pommes frites.

The second night I elected to try the Filet of Beef "Bone In," from Lower Saxony, which was one of the best pieces of beef I have ever had.

The choices for steak are extensive, too many to cover here, but you can have anything from prime Waygu Japanese cuts to US Angus sirloins, any way you want them. They offer six different temperatures for steaks from very red to dull gray. Organic farmed meat is also on the menu.

There is a superb wine list with enough by-the-glass and half bottles to please most people.

Service was attentive and friendly.

One final note, added a few months after the visit: It has been my experience that many upscale diners tend to think that if they have the money to spend they can get whatever they want and will make a scene in a restaurant with the objective of either getting a free meal or just getting noticed. The more popular the property, the more this seems to happen. I have been visiting Germany for more than forty years and have, occasion, found that Americans often fit the above portrait. I still believe that in most cases, you get what you pay for, but also get treated based on your attitude.

The tab for each meal, with a half bottle of wine, dessert, appetizer, (lobster salad), killer fries and water came to about 200 Euros each night.

Worth every penny!

Visited...

Grill Royal mostly delivers on its promise. Some of the food was exceptional, the service is of the highest quality, and the restaurant itself is very beautiful! However, for a starting price of around 100 Euro pp (on average. You can dine for much less, and for much much more), the experience was not perfect and left us somewhat undecided, but this of course is completely subjective.

(Very) Detailed review: We started with the Fish soup, and ceviche. We added a fillet mignon main from the specials as an additional shared starter. That fillet dish was out of this world, and was by far the best dish of the night!! Intricate and delicious. The Ceviche for me was nice, but I felt it could have been slightly better balanced. I also wish the fish was slightly less cured. I like it a bit more raw. The fish soup, my wife said, was very nice. It's also served nicely, which enhances the experience.

For mains we both had the 250gr Entrecote (the regular one), and asked for medium. The mains arrived over 35 minutes after we were finished with the starters. The steaks were cooked overall to the asked temperature, but only on average. It wasn't cooked perfectly even, so my wife and I shared both, each one of us choosing the slices closer to our preferred temperature. The quality of the meet was top notch. The aging was perfect! The meet was tender, meety, without any hint of aging aftertaste. It was also perfectly seasoned! Is it worth 50 Euro per steak? You'd have to decide for yourself. We were undecided. We ordered and shared 3 sides and a sauce with the mains that were just ok.

For desert we had the chocolate mousse. It was probably the best mousse I have ever eaten! Served on top of this intense caramel sauce that enhances the deep dark chocolate flavors. Incredible! But my advice is if you're ordering as a couple, order only one and split it. It's very intense. If you share another I'd recommend something tart to cut through the sweetness. I mean it was amazing, but very intense.

The service was probably the best we've experienced in Berlin. I'd say if something could be improved, it would be the cadence of appearance.

The food, plus 4 soft drinks, plus a mojito and a glass of wine was 250 Euro without tip.

This was our 25th anniversary, and we enjoyed the experience a lot, even if it wasn't...