Restaurant Tim Raue — Restaurant in Berlin

Given the buzz, I was very excited to dine at Tim Raue. The disappointment began almost immediately. My seat faced a large canvas of trash bags. Perhaps I am not hip enough and too old, but the buzz of young waiters attired in black, wearing Keds, gave at best a sense that one was in a highly self-regarding contemporary art gallery in a global city. The cubicle-like banquette was not all that comfortable. Never mind: I came to eat, not to luxuriate in a plush environment.

I ordered an eight-course tasting menu (my companion went with the 'signature' tasting menu). Amuse-bouches were Tim Raue's variations on little dishes one gets at Chinese restaurants. They were pleasant - and piquant - enough, though each of the six or so tiny dishes were flavored too bluntly for my taste (most annoyingly, over-salted).

The wine pairing commenced with the first dish ('imperial caviar'). The sommelier brought out Dom Macle (a Jura wine). Pardon my conventional thinking but I'd have expected a glass of champagne (preferably crisp and unoxidized - I realize that the restaurant cannot afford to serve Krug so perhaps Taittinger?) or perhaps even vodka. Surprised by his choice, I asked what he was thinking about the particular wine pairing. He stammered a few inaudible words and left. I like Macle (and many Jura) wines but - while good on its own - its alchemy with the caviar dish was puzzling at best.

Shrugging my shoulders, I was happy to give the benefit of my doubt. The second course, 'white asparagus' was unfortunately poorly prepared. Limp and fibrous, the imperfect dish was accompanied by a Sancerre. To be sure, it was from an excellent producer, Pascal Cotat, and asparagus can go well with sauvignon blanc. The problem was more that when I asked why he picked this wine, the sommelier couldn't really say much of anything. Not a word about why Pascal and not his brother François. Not why Sancerre rather than other regions' sauvignon blanc. Or why not Grüner Veltliner or Alsatian Riesling or whatever.

Rather than piling more examples, I will just summarize. Tim Raue is probably a great chef (one of his signature dishes that my companion ate - a langoustine dish - was superb). However, coming from the land of Asian-inspired French cooking - the San Francisco Bay Area - Tim Raue's 'fusion' can be great when he checks 'Asian' flavors (such as soy sauce or wasabi), as in the langoustine dish, but well-nigh unpleasant when he uses them bluntly.

The sommelier's choices for the 'signature' tasting menu seemed generally excellent so I am not sure if he didn't spend any time thinking through for my tasting course. More troubling to me, however, is his unwillingness to articulate his reasons for choosing a particular wine to go with a particular dish. It's possible that his English is poor, but when he switched to German he wasn't much better. When asked about the Bordeaux white he selected for Hamachi, all he could say was that the candied-fruit flavor went well with the 'jade sauce' for the fish (the fish, incidentally, was overcooked - surely a bad sign in a high-end restaurant).

The final dish probably said it all: Thompson grapes in a meringue made of calpico (Japanese sugary drink reminiscent of lassi). Edible.

Finally, before the final dish the waiter came and took away my specially-printed menu and said that the penultimate dish wouldn't be coming. I can see that anyone can make a mistake but did he have to tell me right before the dish was about to show up?

I can only hope that the restaurant had an off night but I'd guess that it's coasting on its laurels after it earned two stars from Michelin. In one word:...

This review is for the uninitieted in these kind of restaurants. For the ones that are looking for an experience beyond what they can imagine; for the ones that like to eat good food and had have good food. My review is not going to be read by the pretentious that give this restaurant awards; even if those awards are well deserved. This review is for you, the one that's looking for something else in this reality; for the ones that something deep down tells you that there's meaning on the smalls things in everyday life. Tim Raue is one of those rare places on earth that automatically reminds you that the world is more than it seems. Their food tastes like memories. How so? I really don't know. The only reference I have is the movie Ratatouille. Remember the scene where Anton Ego had the first bite of the signature dish and it automatically took his mind into his most cherished childhood memories? That's how Tim Raue's dishes taste like. If you're an Asian food fan, whether it be Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese or any other Southeast Asian cusine; if you've ordered any of those for a movie night, for a time were you were sad and looking for confort food, whether you were looking for a quick bite, or if you're lucky: had the opportunity to try those cuisines in their country of origin; this place will take you to that exact place at the first bite, not only flavorwise, mentally, as these flavors are sensed not only with your tongue, but your soul, and your experience will only go up from there. Don't get confused, when you reserve for restaurants like these, you have to be aware that every bite you have it's a bite of the chef's soul and its love for gastronomy, which by extension it's a bite to your own soul and your love for yourself. If you're in here just because you want to show off to someone that you've been in one of the best restaurants in the world and then talk thrash about it because your pride demands it, go ahead; pay €500 to be a pretentious prick and keep this place alive; but if you want to experience what your sense of taste can do to your experience as a human and you're lucky enough to afford it and conscientious enough to appreciate these kind of art, you're not going...

TLDR: terrible food quality, mediocre ambiance, bad service.

Let me elaborate:

I have been to at least a dozen michelin starred fine dining restaurants across Europe and north America. So I think I do know what I am talking about (saying this because the waiter attempted to discredit me as I gave them feedback on food quality). This restaurant generally charges similar amount as fine-dining restaurants in NYC or London, about twice of what you would find in Spain (e.g. Barcelona, San Sebastián), but in terms of quality it is not qualified on anyone’s list.

Two problems: the most egregious one being taste! I don’t know how they can serve course after course with such overly salted dish. Essentially, all you can taste is extremely salty and sour. I understand restaurants tend to have sharper taste, but I seriously question anyone with a normal palette would find the level saltiness and sourness acceptable. Yes, of course you do expect each course being beautifully presented but under that facade is just terribly salty and disappointment.

The second problem is service, particularly the arrogance or defiance when customers give them feedbacks. There was another group when we dined, who also find it salty. They expressed their opinion and got lectured by the waiter that they didn’t know how to appreciate their food (they need to mix the ingredients up). I overheard the waiter’s arrogant response. So when I voiced my opinion, I prefaced with the fact I did mix and still find it way too salty. But got the same answer.

Oh, atmospher. We were seated in the basement with no windows, which would have been fine. But we were seated at a corner under overly bright spotlight directly above our forehead with no ability to dim it down. And it is HOT. We we asked if we could dim the light, the waiter said no he couldn’t. When we asked if he could turn the AC lower, the waiter said, just you know other guests will complain it being too cold.

It was an extremely disappointing experience. I can’t comprehend how could this restaurant earn its 2 stars?! My...