Pulcinella — Restaurant in Berlin

I visited Berlin a month ago and I made a note that when I had time I had to write a review, that's how good it is. Make sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment, it is popular and doesn't have a lot of tables.

I had the lasagne, and tried my friend's dish (I can't remember what she had) and both dishes were excellent, best lasagne I've ever had. I also had a glass of the house red as I was once told that you can judge a restaurant on what the house wine is. It's the restaurant's recommendation so it should be good and pair well with their food, and this house red did not disappoint.

Two people were working, the owner and the chef. It is small, can maybe seat about 20 and even then it's cosy. It feels very authentically Italian. The owner obviously likes his job and while we were there he had a glass of wine with some customers. Ok maybe some would say this is unprofessional but I would take a relaxed waiter/manager who is friendly in an Italian restaurant over one who is stuck up, it helps with the atmosphere. My only negative comment is one man to serve 20 people, as the restaurant was quite full, is not enough, so it was difficult to get service when we needed another drink or the bill.

Atmosphere 5* Service 4* (I want to give 5 but being objective about it I have to take one off for how difficult it was to get service when...

This is a place we picked based on the ratongs here and actually, it can easily live up to its rating. On a good day, with some more attention, this place can be five stars for what it is. A really cozy atmosphere, nice staff, nice food. Why did not I give the five stars? We were there for an early dinner, not many people, the crew could focus on us, as we ordered more and more, somehow the attention evaporated. Antipasti was ok, felt like some leftover from the fridge, basically good, but somehow not in its full bloom. Bread was plain dry, like it knocked, otherwise good. Why not give the guest fresh bread? My main course, some veal, perfectly tender, with this and that, a little bit on the German side with spices. We had porsecco, for 30 EUR, it was a bit under, too dry, tasteless. We were 4 and paid around 210 Eur + tip. Expected a shot of grappa, or Limoncello for the girls. They could have brought up half a star on that. They missed it. I hope they have better days, anyways, this was just a random Friday late afternoon with family. Perfectly, mediocore. We...

I was a bit hesitant about walking in because there was no one inside and I wasn’t sure what to expect from italian food in Germany, but the host/server was very welcoming and attentive which was a good sign. I ordered the pasta with steak, cherry tomatoes, arugula, and parmesan because I saw someone else’s positive review on here so it seemed like a safe option. The ragu was delicious, had a nice depth of flavor that reminded me of some home cooked sauces I had in Italy. Meat was perfectly tender which is not easy to find at this price point, and the veggies tasted fresh and flavorful. My only qualm is that there was a hint of parsley that i felt didn’t really fit the rest of the flavors, but overall the dish was excellent and I cleaned my plate. My server was excellent which I found notable because I’ve heard so many stories about Americans getting rude service in Germany so I was a bit nervous about eating alone and not speaking german. I hope to go back and try something else now that I know how good...