Itarei Restaurant - Japanese x Italian Fusion — Restaurant in Berlin

It’s a cozy place with an interesting fusion concept combining Italian and Japanese cuisine, with prices slightly above average. However, it fell short of expectations, leaving me somewhat dissatisfied. We ordered Vitello Tonnato, Spaghetti with Red Caviar (which was presented as if it were ramen), and Caesar Salad with a large piece of Chicken Katsu.

Unfortunately, while all the dishes were good, they didn’t quite reach the taste quality one might expect from an authentic Izakaya or Trattoria. It’s a pleasant spot to visit, but it lacks certain qualities that one would anticipate at this price point, both in terms of service and food quality.

The waitress recommended the noodles with caviar, assuring me it was ramen. When I questioned her, she explained that ramen is a type of noodle—though technically, the noodles are called Chukamen, not ramen. She neither apologized nor attempted to clarify further.

The Chicken Katsu in the Caesar Salad tasted good, but the ratio of salad to chicken was off, with far too little salad compared to the amount of chicken. The Vitello Tonnato was also well-prepared, but the portion of Tonnato sauce was almost nonexistent.

The highlight was definitely the bread with miso butter! Both the sourdough and butter were exceptionally well made and delicious.

Perhaps there was a language barrier, but the waitress serving us in English wasn’t particularly friendly. However, I spoke German with another waiter, and he was much friendlier. I would not recommend, especially considering there are some way better Japanese places in the same price range...

Update in response to the reply by the restaurant. It is incredible they lied. I saw with my eyes that the cook dug his nose. It is precisely such lack of integrity that shocked me. Yet the audacity to question my strong reaction.

The cook dug his nose twice and touched ingredients without washing his hands. I was shocked by what I saw and told the waiter who casually said sorry and went to the open kitchen to talk to the cook. I cannot hear the conversation but was surprised I did not get a follow up on that. I then approached the same waiter expecting them to assure this is not normal because they seemed to brush it off. In our argument he revealed that he told the cook not to pick his nose when customer is looking implying the cook should do it when customer is not looking. He also implied that I should not feel angry if I am unsure if ingredients the cook touched are not for my order. The service staff are unprofessional and they act like it. There is nothing nice about the food. In fact this is the second time we returned because of a 50 percent offer and we were hoping that the food would have improved from 6 months ago when we first visited. Unfortunately this time the experience went beyond...

Summary: disappointing especially given the extraordinary high rating; the fusion of Italian and Japanese cuisine lacks in creativity with a nice atmosphere inside and outside and friendly service

Best dish (- negative / = ok / + positive): = the best was the sashimi but the price was too high; the capers were nice but it didn’t really make the dish “fusion”, a more signature touch would be nice

Dishes: = udon verde: nice mushrooms and good fresh pesto but not well seasoned; I had to add salt = tempura salad: nice crunchy tempura shrimp, good salad sauce, but nothing extraordinary; presentation of the dish is lacking creativity

Atmosphere: nice seating outside under the trees really cool interior design

Service: very friendly service

Price: too pricey for the quality...