Berliner Haus — Restaurant in Denver

When I heard a restaurant had opened in Denver serving Berliner döner kebab, I wasted no time driving down from Longmont with a friend of mine to try it. We've both spent time in Germany and had lamented the fact that Berliner döner was seemingly impossible to find here in the US. The kebabs from Berliner Haus absolutely lived up to our high expectations.

I tried the chicken kebab, the beef & lamb kebab, and we shared a grazing plate, as well as an order of baklava and their custard pie. The chicken kebab meat has a curry flavor to it which isn't the most traditional but it was delicious and I've definitely seen places in Germany that flavor their chicken like that. The beef & lamb kebab is perfect though. If you've never tried döner but you know you like gyros, then you'll love it. The guys working the stand, who were very friendly and enthusiastic about what they do, told me they ship their Turkish bread in from Miami because it's difficult if not impossible to make from scratch at 5,280 ft (I've tried doing so at home and I can vouch for this).

The bread is perfect. It has a soft, airy interior with a crust that's just the right level of crispy. It's thin but has a strong structure which is essential to hold in all the delicious meat, veggies and sauces. The vegetables - tomato, cabbage, onion, and cucumber - tasted very fresh and perfectly compliment to the meat. The sauces available are garlic and spicy chili. I recommend getting both on your sandwich. If you've never had döner before, I want to tell you that there is a perfect bite you get at the end due to the pocket shape of the bread and the way the sauces and drippings from the meat and veggies flow down to the bottom and soak into the bread. It's delightful.

The grazing plate consisted of Mediterranean finger foods such as dolmas, pita bread with hummus and a phenomenal baba ganouj for dipping, as well as a hard cheese whose name I can't recall at this moment, grilled halloumi, dates stuffed with whipped feta (incredible, my favorite part of the grazing plate), and olives. If you're with a group of people I would highly recommend it.

Though the custard pie was delicious, the baklava here is a strong contender for the best I've ever had. The pastry is perfectly flaky and airy and the pistachio filling has that perfect sweet, honey nut flavor that you want rom a good baklava. Even if you're not hungry after finishing your kebab, do yourself a favor and grab one for the road.

Overall, Berliner Haus is worth a try if you've never tried Berlin-style döner kebab. If you have tried it and, like me, have been longing for it since returning to the states, Berliner Haus is the answer to your prayers in the Denver area. If you live in or around the Front Range I'd recommend making the drive to Denver just for these kebabs. They'll take you back to those drunken nights in...

Came down from Longmont, was totally worth the drive. Ended up eating lunch there, bounced around Denver a couple hours, then came back for round two to take home for dinner.

Just the bread itself is delicious, and then put the kebab in and *chef’s kiss. The flavors are somewhat novel to an American palate but in an interesting instead of off-putting way, there’s a touch of curry in the beef/lamb and a decent amount of curry in the chicken (I personally prefer the beef). Portions are very generous too.

We also got an appetizer platter and the baklava and custard pie (they comped the pie too, very nice). My highlight of the platter was the grilled halloumi, but the eggplant and dolmas and a different cheese were all great too. The baklava was yummy of course, nothing innovative but well executed. I found the custard pie underwhelming, especially compared to the sugar overload of the baklava, but it did have a certain purity to the flavor that can be good in a specific way, similar to pasta with olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Also, the guys who run it are very friendly. We chatted with them while waiting for our food, and they checked in if we were enjoying the meal (we were). As mentioned, they didn’t charge us for one of our desserts, even.

I’ll definitely be coming back. Made sure to grab a sticker to put on my laptop or water bottle. I never write reviews, but I wanna give these guys as much word of mouth...

Today, I approached the cash register and asked if döner was served only as a sandwich or on a plate. The cashier was rude and angrily pointed with his finger, saying, "Our menu is on the wall!" Since there wasn't any crowd, I couldn't understand his hasty and angry attitude. This was very upsetting. I also saw that the döner wasn't cooked upright on the machine as advertised on Google, so I asked if it was being served. The answer was "yes," but I couldn't be sure if the döner was actually fresh because I couldn't see it being cooked. Being Turkish, I always need to see that döner is cooked in an open area and that it's fresh. I assume it's bought ready-made, thawed, and then cooked. I haven't eaten there for two reasons; First, the bad attitude of the cash register clerk, and second, I'm unsure of the...