Restaurant Samowar — Restaurant in Berlin

Good food, but there were several problems/issues with our experience, mostly concerning service. We dined on a slow Tuesday night. The front window of the restaurant caught our attention -it was very pretty, cozy, candle-lit and quiet. Only two of the 8 or so tables were occupied. We went in and indicated that we wanted to sit up front but were told we couldn't as we had no "reservation". We were taken to a table in the back of the restaurant which felt more like a pub as it was close the bar and had rather loud Russian pop music playing, bright lights, and no lit candles. (Our request to have our candle lit was met with a strange pause and seemingly reluctant approval). We waited a while for the waiter to bring menus and waited a long time for our food to arrive as well. Our trips to the bathroom helped pass the time. My guest and I both noted how the front room still had 6 or 7 open tables. (Also, FYI: there was no soap in it the womens' bathroom and no toilet paper in one of the stalls. Bathroom supplies must be routinely checked by the restaurant. Guests should not be responsible for passing this kind of information on to the staff. Period.). Finally our food came. The food was satisfactory in taste. My lachs dish was especially beautifully presented with sliced egg and veggie garnishing. The kvas (a traditional rye beverage) was really interesting and worth a try. About half-way into our meal our server delivered salt and pepper mills to the table which made the food MUCH more enjoyable (too bad they were not brought to the table WITH the meal). After we were finished eating, we were asked if we wanted dessert and I said, "No just the bill please." Later the server returned (not with the bill) and asked if we wanted a vodka before leaving. My guest and I both said no. He made the offer again -describing a full slate of vodka selections. We said no again. He asked if we wanted something sweet instead. My guest said no --explained her need to sleep. He said, "just a little tiny something for 'digestion'. I'll make it very small for you." (implying that it would be gratis). And so we said yes believing we were getting a shot on the house but, to our surprise, the bill reflected something else. We would have said something at that point, but we were really tired and just wanted to go home. As we left, we noted how the front cozy room was still mostly empty. We also noticed that it seemed only young people were seated up front and older people in the back... That was a bit disturbing. So, just be aware of this and INSIST on a table in the front room if indeed the cozy front room is what drew you to the restaurant in the first place. I would consider another visit to Restaurant Samowar, but only if the owners are willing to provide proper incentive, namely, a cozy table in the front room and "a little something for digestion"...

What I am about to share with you, review readers, might be a bit long but I have waited more than a month to share my experience in terms of Samowar Restaurant to be 100% objective cause I was, of course, a bit angry first days after the incident happened. Here I go;

A few months ago I joined a group at Internations to go to a restaurant with reservations which was organized by a guy who has no benefits of organizing this event. 20 people claimed to come to this event and our organizer made reservation for 20. Making restaurant reservations is a way of life — but, for many consumers, so is breaking them and in most cases, a reservation is a no-strings attached situation for consumers. Probably therefore, there were just me and our event organizer on time. He got a last minute calls from 9 people about not showing up for the reservations and the rest came all late. Hence, He directly went to talk to the manager of the restaurant due to the situation and then he was forced to pay the price of that 9 people. The amount was like 300 Euro and I felt bad for the guy cause he just organized that without and profit. That’s why I shared the cost with him in which I ended up paying 150 Euro for regular food.

First of all, I am fully aware that a restaurant is a business after all and although they are happy to have large parties, it’s a shame to lose out on other potential reservations because some customers do not show up for their reservations but if a restaurant wants to punish those who fail to show up, they shouldn’t be doing that on those who show up. They should reward them instead, if there is a punishment….

To be fair, He could have just left the place as well once he got the information of 9 people not showing up. Cause this reservation was just based on telephone call and no credit card no personal information or etc.. I, honestly, suggest him while we were alone waiting others and he did not find my advice ethically right. It is a pity that this restaurant has no business ethics.

All in all, personally I care about business ethics, especially amongst restaurants. Cause providing food and drink service is highly related to the health and If a restaurant’s only priority is money, then a restaurant can chose money over your...

The interiors are so beautiful snd perfect for a cozy fall or winter evening. But since it’s summer, we sat outside.

The food is really well made. We ordered borscht, blini, vareniki, and the assorted pickles. Everything’s was prepared to the point and served beautifully. The pickles, which included delicate yellow patisson squash were tender and lightly salted, exactly like homemade.

The cake ‘Napoleon’ at the end was gorgeous! Light and flaky with a proper cooked cream.

Everything was beautiful presented. My only wish would be that borscht was served with traditional black bread instead of the white bun, which was cute and delicious, but bland bread is what I expected.

Also, the presentation of the mors could be a bit better. I asked for a hot mors and what I got is a tall glass with cold mors at the bottom and hot mors on top. Served hot in a cup with some decoration would have been more satisfying. The taste (unlike all the other dishes) didn’t blow me away.

All in all a beautiful place with utterly delicious food and very friendly service. Thank you very much!

PS. Unfortunately we forget to take photos as we were trying to wrangle a little messy toddler and eat at...