Kushinoya — Restaurant in Berlin

I visited this restaurant for the first time since its renovation. The interior feels much more modern and sophisticated than before, with a refined and elegant atmosphere.

I decided to go for course A, and compared to when it used to focus mainly on skewers, it now includes wagyu beef, seafood, and even some rice dishes, which made the experience even more satisfying. The lightly seared wagyu sushi was absolutely amazing, it just melted in my mouth. The skewers featuring luxurious ingredients like foie gras, lobster, and Iberico pork were also outstanding. The course even included sukiyaki at the end, making it both generous in portion and rich in variety, a full experience of wagyu and premium kushiage.

Their sake selection has also expanded, offering many rare bottles that are hard to find in Berlin. The staff were very knowledgeable and recommended tasting sets, which made it fun to explore different flavors. Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience, and I’m already looking forward to...

A long-established Japanese restaurant in Berlin that recently reopened — and one of the rare places where “kushikatsu” isn’t a passing reference, but the actual structural axis of the evening. The menu modules (A / B / C) are cleverly assembled: skewers remain the protagonist, but the nights drift into wagyu sushi, sukiyaki, and short interludes of rice dishes before you realise there is a micro-narrative in the sequence.

The interior is almost shy: not loud, not “Japan-themed,” but a composed material palette — charred cedar included — that references tradition without the stage set.

Wagyu sushi here is not a metaphor; it dissolves on the tongue. The skewers are calibrated rather than rustic. The sake list is quietly outrageous: several bottles I’ve only ever seen in Japan, sitting here in Berlin without any fanfare.

If one is in Berlin and seeks not nostalgia, but a precise transposition of a Japanese dining logic — then this is where I would send...

Misleading, small portions, ran out of basics and ridiculously overpriced: Unfortunately, had a very bad experience. Although we had a reservation, we waited 45 minutes for the first course- cabbage leaves. The first kushi was served after more than 1 hour of waiting. This is also when we were informed that they had run out of rice. The pricing is not clear and are not communicated clearly from the outset. Additional costs are mentioned in small asterisks purposefully designed for customers to miss it, yet for the restaurant to have legal backing. Our bill ended up being double of what we had expected. Upon requesting the staff for information on the bill, they told us that they did not inform us about the additional costs, as we did not ask them. We also realised that the billing of the sake was incorrect. This communications approach at a restaurant of such calibre and reputation is extremely...