Kanaan — Restaurant in Berlin

Our favourite Berlin restaurant - unfortunately you did not live up to our expectations this time around.

Tonight we went for the belly dancing show and set menu offer.

Positives first: Very generous portions, be prepared for a big feast and lots of lovely flavours! Their lemonade is very fresh and delicious, definitely recommended as a refreshing aperitif. The belly dancer show was so energetic, excited that we finally got to see it! Great fun!

Our prior experience, both at the old location and new, has been nothing but positive. Attentive staff, busy vibe and amazing food. However, there were some issues this time around that has made us wondering if this was our last visit.

Our reserved slot was 18.00 to 20.00. We were welcomed and seated immediately upon arrival but then had to wait nearly 20 minutes before staff took drink orders. The starter wasn’t served until almost an hour after we arrived. To our knowledge at the time this left us possibly with only an hour to finish a 9 course meal. The dessert was served at about 20.00, so luckily it wasn’t as tight as feared. Yet again when we had finished our meal we also had to wait a long time at the bar to get to pay our bill.

Unfortunately staff did not have time to pay much attention to our table during our stay. By the time we left staff had not taken a single drink-order from us, we had to make the request and generally it took some effort and waiting to communicate, as they were super busy running back and forth. Even presenting the menu and taking orders they appeared in a rush, talking very fast and «on the go».

Starter: The seasoned bread was nice but dry. Some of the dishes that we expected to be served warm arrived cold at the table. Unsure if it was supposed to be like that, but the grilled cauliflower, falafel and roasted potatoes would have been nice served warm. The potatoes were somewhat chewy and falafel was not moist like before, unfortunately dry. The hummus was lovely, like before, however served with much added tahini now which camouflaged the hummus flavour and made it somewhat bland.

Mains: By the time our mains arrived we were starting to feel full already. So great value for money, but quite overwhelming.

Dessert: Coconunt pannacotta with pistachio crumble and a fruit sauce was lovely, but then again we were very, very full at this point.

All in all we spent the majority of our visit waiting, and less time enjoying the food and taking the time to process and taste the lovely foods and flavours. Such a shame.

The large portions are great if you have a big appetite and are a fast eater. We could’ve enjoyed half the size and therefore miss the opportunity of a la carte.

The belly dancer was definitely a highlight, thank you for the entertaining show and spreading love!

Edit: Would like to add that the staff was very friendly also this time. They were constantly running and probably did as best as they could given the number of staff available and dinner set-up, serving a full restaurant within a very...

MARKETING KILLS GOOD HOSPITALITY - A LONGTIME CUSTOMER’S FAREWELL

To the owners: You just lost a loyal customer who’s supported you for years through price increases because I believed in what you were building. Last night showed me you’ve forgotten why people choose restaurants—it’s not just the food, it’s how you make them feel. I’ve been coming here regularly, watching you grow, always happy to pay more because the experience was worth it. Then you introduced this 12-course sharing menu with deliberately misleading marketing copy: “designed for sharing” and “available for a minimum of two guests.” Any reasonable person booking for 4 would assume they could order 2 menus to share. Your own words suggest this. But when we arrived, staff demanded we order 4 full menus—48 courses for 4 people. That’s not hospitality, that’s a cash grab disguised as a dining experience. Here’s what you’ve created: A system that forces customers to waste food and overpay, then dismisses their concerns when they object. Your staff couldn’t even acknowledge that your marketing is confusing, let alone offer any solution. To fellow diners: This isn’t about the €66 extra we’d have spent. It’s about a restaurant that’s lost its way. They’ve prioritized revenue extraction over customer care, forcing you into a rigid, wasteful system with zero flexibility. The Palestinian and Israeli cuisine is still excellent, but you’ll be treated like a transaction, not a guest. We walked out hungry after years of loyalty. That should tell you everything. The real tragedy? Great food and genuine culinary heritage being overshadowed by tone-deaf business practices. You had something special here—a neighborhood place where people felt welcomed. Now you’re just another restaurant that thinks trendy concepts matter more than treating people decently. Fix your misleading marketing. Train your staff in basic hospitality. Remember that your longtime customers made you successful in the first place. Bottom line: When restaurants choose profits over people,...

I used to really love Kanaan, but the more I would go, the more I realized how poorly managed this place is. The menu forces you to order too much food. You can only order the brunch if two people order it together. Then if there are 4 people, then all 4 have to order the brunch or no-one can order the brunch. The brunch is huge, so unless you are starving or like to eat a lot, it is too much food. The entrees on the brunch cannot be ordered á la carte, so you if you don’t order the brunch you can’t have it and are stuck with a selection of appetizers. It is so upsetting to be force fed all this food. I don’t understand their logic. They want us to spend more money by making us order in excess, but honestly if they would just let us order what we want, we would probably spend just as much. It’s not like they can’t accommodate, they can, but they have some crazy owner on a power trip. On top of that, the food is inconsistent, tasting different each time, so it’s hard to rely on it being good from one day to the next. I’ve talked to the managers and staff several times about the menu and my frustration, but they refuse to do anything about it. It is not even the money, it’s about being wasteful and glutinous. Every time, we leave food untouched because we simply can’t eat all the items they bring us. Look at the menu yourself and you will see what I’m talking about. It is simply too much food! I will not be returning sadly, as it is nice to support a business that has a message of peace, but they have lost the plot, if they are...