Restaurant Pasternak — Restaurant in Berlin

Risky business opening a Russian restaurant in Berlin. Not just because Berlin has enough Russians to annex a neighbour, but also because they know how to cook, they know how to eat, and they reward performance, not obligation. So, it's no surprise that this place gets it right. I choose the menu that mimics what my Polish grandmother used to kill, I mean serve my Ukrainian grandfather. I'm sure it was the Peter Stuyvencents that knocked him off early, not her prodigious use of chicken fat and liver. The gefilte fish was decent, and well accompanied. The borscht was a triumph of subtlety and balance, the dumplings (creplach) kicked as much arse as Lionel Messi did for Barcelona. The "strudel " was exactly the same full on, dried fruit, apple, cinnamon and cloves, encased in hard and fast Bruck pastry that my grandmother used to poison, I mean tempt us with. Except unlike hers, this was entirely culinary and worth the shortened life that will surely result from my visit. My friends salmon was salt cured, and part of a pretty good dish for €12. The coffee and drinks are not completely up to par, but the musical dancing waiter, later observed in a sing a long with the other team members brought the fifth star back where it belongs. The menu is as wide as the Siberian landscape, but with much more variety. Enjoy your time here. If you order what I did, it's...

We went as a group of 4 people to Pasternak to celebrate a birthday. The food is good, rustic cousine, the service in general friendly but seemed overchallenged and not always in control of the situation, the restaurant itself has a nice, cozy atmosphere. Completely unacceptable was the fact that without any warning, the waiter just dropped the bill on our table saying "all good things must come to an end, the next people are already waiting" Our neighbours were kicked out in even rougher fashion. An irritatingly abrupt end to an otherwise nice evening. The chief of the restaurant could not offer any solution, just referring to her restaurant as a business. An apology for this eclatant lack of etiquette was not made. All in all, it made us very uncomfortable, we had to finish the evening in another place. This way of rushing people to eat and pay their bill to make place for the next people might be acceptable in a fast food place, but not a place that calls itself a restaurant. Although the food was okay, we will definitely not return and would not recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a place to enjoy their food at...

I saw that my local Russian joint had 1028 reviews at the time of writing and thought: "the last thing this place needs is yet more positive press." It's true: Pasternak doesn't need it. Pasternak is a neighbourhood stronghold, timeless city classic and tourist staple rolled into one. It takes home the cake for the most authentic--or at least the tastiest--Russian(-Jewish) cuisine before its menu is even opened to page one. I take back authentic: they have vegan wareniki, and it's worth coming back for--ten times. Eleven. In a week. They have the courtesy to serve your vodka in a chilled glass, the attentiveness to tick the customer-service box and the heart-stopping nonchalance to sing along to the house pianist's Russian standards. I haven't tried the meat dishes, but this place is parent-certified, lover-approved and remarkably welcoming of the most lonesome of diners. It's a place for all occasions and an occasion unto itself. I just think they could serve a bit more sauce with...