Hauptstadtrestaurant Gendarmerie — Restaurant in Berlin

Good food, great space but rude service with sexist attitude to women

If you have read the other reviews, you must know this place serves not too bad food (albeit slightly overpriced) and has a cool ambience with the gigantic art piece with high ceiling. So I'll skip the good parts and detail on the 3 negative points which I didn't expect to encounter.

The waiter refuses to show drink menu. Eventually giving just 1 menu for a group of 13 people Significantly reduced food menu for a group reservation, which they didn't inform beforehand Unnecessarily rude and sexist attitude when handing out menu (also, female nude drawings above uninals in men's WC)

This older waiter refused to show us (13 people) the drink menu. He insisted that we needed to order without looking at the menu (He said "I am the menu"). So I went to ask menu for all of us to another waiter but then the first waiter came back and just gave 1 menu for the whole table. Just absurd and not a good first impression, nor very professional.

Then, they never mentioned that their menu was limited for a large party. We had a vegan person in the group and I wanted to make sure she had at least options. I even emailed before making the reservation, making sure they offer the same menu as online. Well it was significantly limited, and it was only revealed after we had our drinks...

Lastly, the waiter handed menu only to women in our tables first. So for good 5 mins or so, only women on our tables had menu (the limited menu is a piece of paper, so quite easy to carry all at once). When he finally came with more menu, he said "In Germany, it is lady first".... Contrary to that "lady first" claim, when my female colleague politely asked for a group photo, another male waiter rudely interrupted her while she spoke and shouted "Photo after we bring all the plates!", which was quite rude and intimidating, which is a typical toxic masculine behaviour often shown by men towards women. Also, there were nude drawings of women in men's toilet above uninals. While it is pieces of art but the fact that they place them right above urinals, and together with the behaviours shown by the male waiters, I found it rather distasteful.

So overall, the food was mostly good (albeit rather pricy) and the space was great. But I was quite confused and disappointed by the service, which is surely not up to standard of the price range. It still has sort of a tourist trap vibe, and they treat you like one.

My advice is don't go as a group, and don't go with feminist friends nor vegan friends. Go with people who can appreciate female nudity above urinals and most importantly, go with the people who hate ordering...

We went with high expectations but were disappointed with our arrogant waiter. The kind who assesses you how you are looking and dressed). We went with the business lunch menu (private party of 9) to try out the restaurant for the 1st time. Main course (Rotbarbe/Fish with Risotto) was lukewarm and the risotto wasn’t cooked through. Risotto was left on the plate by 2 parties as it wasn’t enjoyable. After serving the main course (salad was an ok appetizer) it came to the waiters mind that there was also a bottle of wine to serve and to open. The ordered extra glass of a different wine was brought AFTER the main course was finished. We let it go back. Best thing of the our lunch was the desert (ice cream and creme brûlée), therefore 2 stars. Waiter didn’t pay any decent attention to our table and seemed to be annoyed by us for any reason and was pretty short with answers but chatted with other people. He took the liberty to freely add a generous tip to the bill (like it is now custom in the US and business people just don’t care as the companies pay it anyway). He seemed to be shocked though as we asked him to remove the tip and glass of wine which came late and was still standing on the bar counter top). He obviously is not aware that tips are an appreciation of the service provided. He definitely did not deserve our appreciation. All in all the experience was very disappointing - service and food wise. We probably should have a gone to the Augustiner Bräu across the street for a...

We were just there last night to celebrate New Year's Eve, and I have to say it was a perfect location to ring out the old and celebrate the start of a new era. For this specific event we had to show proof of vaccination and a same-day test to get in the door, which we appreciated because it shows me they respect the seriousness of the pandemic and are following the new city and state regulations. Once inside, we were greeted with glasses of champagne and warm smiles all around. The food and drinks were absolutely delicious, which mirrors my experience here throughout the year. I'm a fan of their Wiener Schnitzel - one of the best in the city. And while it is not cheap, by any means, I feel that you sometimes have to pay a bit more to get excellent service, memorable ambiance, food that is truly succulent and well prepared...and to enjoy the feeling you are in a special place. Whenever I show up here, I feel welcomed by the staff and I believe the owners are genuinely interested in offering guests a refined, top-shelf dining experience. If I'm in the Gendarmenmarkt area, this is my go-to spot for a fantastic meal, a glass (or two) of wine and some friendly banter with whomever is working that day. If I have guests I want to treat, we go here, as I know everything will be right on point. Highly recommended. Looking forward to my next Schnitzel! And thanks for pulling out all of the stops last night - truly amazing...