Restaurant Steinhalle — Restaurant in Bern

One sentence review: Tasty, but (supposedly) elitist. Longer review of the prepaid Japanese tasting menu. We were greeted by a polite server and shown to a table outside where we had an appetiser and a drink (paid for separately). We weren't offered a napkin even though all appetisers were creamy or had liquids in them. Afterwards we proceeded inside for the main meal. The space inside is pretty tight, the decor minimal and the lighting is pretty dim, but it still doesn't feel particularly cosy (or chic). Now the food. The great thing about it is that there aren't any dishes on the menu. According to the chef (who greeted everyone in person) all the items are inspired by traditional Japanese tastes and ingredients and are invented by the chef himself, so you can't just find them in a Japanese cook book. Now the size of each portion is really really small. Half the elements of every dish are a (tea-) spoonful big. If you came to the restaurant... hungry, you'll likely only be less hungry after a five-course meal. Another deal-breaker for me is the price. This place is titanically overpriced. The amount we paid (meal = 159, sparkling wine = 21, red wine = 29) could buy you two (or almost two) similar dinners anywhere in the city. Yes, the restaurant was full, and there are enough people who don't care about prices in Bern, but a family with regular jobs would struggle to afford dining in a place like this and therefore they'd miss out on trying out a new experimental cuisine. Mind you that we spent three hours in Steinhalle and we only saw one person of colour in the whole establishment, and that was one of the waiters. That to me is a good indicator of how elitist a place might be. The service. There's no one designated waiter that'll serve you your food throughout the evening and that's probably a good thing -- less waiting. Every waiter knows how to present each dish, but the way they say it sounds like a recital. They just say their text and leave promptly. Every time they clear the table the servers ask how you've liked the previous dish, but it does come off slightly superficial, like they're programmed to ask certain things at certain times. That is the least of my concerns though, I'd much rather know why you didn't foresee a hot towel at a Japanese style dinner or quiet Japanese music in the background or, quite frankly, better value for money. Yeah, it's a business and it's legal, but...

After dining here recently, I feel compelled to address the very uncomfortable, incessant attempts at “upselling” that we experienced.

It started with the drinks order. Immediately we were asked if we wanted a bottle of Rosé, which we politely declined. Starters? No thank you.

Then, with our meal order, would we like Kimchi?, would we like the side salad ? (all as paid extras). When it came to my turn to order, I specified without salad, just to save being asked again (as all my friends had been asked and it was getting awkward), and then my partner did the same.

However, a small salad arrived before the main meals. I thought this was strange and double checked with the waitress, who just said that the salad comes out first. I presumed this was all fine as I had been clear I didn’t want the ‘market salad’ which was an add-on to the main meal. Not wanting to cause more of a fuss, we just ate the salad.

Then, when we got the bill, the salads were indeed charged on there. Despite us having said explicitly we didn’t want them.

This leads us to one of two conclusions: There was a misunderstanding caused by the constant and uncomfortable attempts to suggest “extras” to the meal, where us saying we didn’t want salad was interpreted that we did. The salads were deliberately included in an effort to upsell us something after we declined everything else.

Either way, the pushiness just has to stop. It made us feel on edge throughout and we certainly left with a bitter taste in our mouth after seeing the bill. Do the serving staff work on commission? It sure felt that way.

As regards the food, it was pleasant if a slightly small list of options for lunch. We tried the ramen...

This is one of my favourite places in Bern. I have been here many times over the years for brunch, lunch and dinner and was happy every time. and I will come back for sure, the food is by far the most special you can find in Bern. The last occassion I visited the restaurant was for dinner yesterday, and unfortunately I was quite disappointed by some small details which do not fit at all with my previous experience. I am hoping this was a one off and will not repeat. the welcome drink(it was called like this) champagne was served even before we are seated and we did not have the option to choose something else and it was put on the bill. At least I should have the option to choose my drink that I will have to pay for. none of the wines we drank was explained to us, we were not shown any of the bottles, I even have no idea which country they came from we ordered coffee but were not even offered sugar the waiter came with the bill to the table and reviewed it there and immediately found many things missing and had to correct it, which is ok but I think it would be more appropriate if she checked before arriving at the table and yes, I have high expectations based on my previous experience as we have been spoiled with good service every...