Mädchenitaliener: a Review

[Image description: interior shots of the front dining area]

We arrived for lunch at a quarter past midday after a recommendation from the proprietor at Stetson on Münzstraße, Berlin (one of the main shopping zones in the city) to try out Mädchenitaliener on Alte Schönhauser Straße 12. The place was empty other than a very obviously in-love couple. We enquired of our affable server whether we were early for German luncheon. She advised that we were not. We ordered the apéritif from the specials' board, a cocktail of Prosecco, raspberry purée and fresh mint - tasty and refreshing with a wonderful, fruity aroma.

As a starter, Vorspeise, we ordered a sharing-platter for two. From the photographs below one can observe just how colourful and healthy it was. Nought remained once we had devoured every last morsel.

[Image description: sharing-platter & cocktails]

We ordered a dry, white wine to accompany our mains & desserts. My companion opted for fresh, spelt spaghetti & pesto rosso with fresh mint and Parmesan. I ordered the gnocchi. For the first time in my life I experienced gnocchi that had been sautéed after being cooked to give a satisfyingly crunchy outer texture before reaching the soft centres. Fresh mint had been added which had the texture of Chinese seaweed. Nothing went back to the kitchen. My only criticism was that the portion of gnocchi was too large and slightly over salted.

[Image description: spaghetti & pesto rosso and sautéed gnocchi]

I ordered a panna cotta for dessert, Nachspeise, with was decorated with poppy seeds, freshly grated chocolate, raspberry coulis and topped with a physalis. My chum ordered honeycomb & honey with whipped cream and sourdough. Again nothing remained on our platters other than tell-tale smears of deliciousness!

[Image description: panna cotta and honey, cream & sourdough]

Mädchenitaliener was incredibly relaxed and friendly: so much so, that we ended up conversing with the folk on the next table. Richard and I were there for the longest duration. Most other diners seemed only to want a quick one- or two-course meal. As we left there was still nary an empty seat - surely a good sign.

[Image description: diners eating]

We had a friend coming to meet up with us in Berlin, so we attempted to take her for dinner. Alas, the place was so popular we could not get a seat without waiting at least an hour. Instead we booked for the following night: even then we were the last space available!

The evening's service was not at all comparable with that of lunchtime. We waited in a line streaming through the restaurant, completely ignored by staff. An acknowledgement, even a quick explanation to us all would have been the courteous step to take.

We were not led to table and had menus thrust into my hands. It took thirty-six minutes from reaching our table before we even received our first drinks. Our starters took fifty-five minutes to arrive. Given we were booked in for nine pm we were famished by the time the food arrived. There are no images because we were so hungry we all three just tucked in.

The food was delicious. The mains - tagliatelle with fig (mine), gnocchi (2nd friend) and tagliatelle Lorenzo (1st friend) - were completely consumed. So stuffed, none of us could continue on to dessert.

 

 

[Image description: tagliatelle with fig, top; gnocchi, middle; tagliatelle Lorenzo, bottom]

 

We did give a 5% tip, but explained to our waitress that had there not been such long delays we would have given a 10% gratuity.

The food is well worth visiting this restaurant. If in any kind of hurry however, turn up for lunch NOT dinner.

%P

Frankie & Benny's, John Dobson St., Newcastle-upon-Tyne: a Review

Frankie & Benny’s is a national chain, I have visited occasionally over the years. It’s not haute cuisine, but the food is fair for the price and there is an extensive menu. On this occasion I was with two adult and one child companions.

[Image description: screen-shot of © Frankie & Benny's web-page for the restaurant reviewed, with location map - the purpose of which is to differentiate the specific branch critiqued here.]

From outside with all the windows one could see plenty of dark wood and banquettes; a cross between American diner and Italian restaurant - the food offering is basically the same.

We all immediately felt the warmth on entering after the mere three degrees outside. We were greeted quickly enough and asked how many our table would be for. My young chum answered, and we were led to table. Menus were placed on the table, before we had even had a chance to sit down, rather than offered to each of us in turn. Furthermore, the young female greeter failed to check to see whether or not the table was acceptable. As it happened the banquette was too low for myself (the disabled one) and we needed to move to a table with a sturdy chair. We could not attract anyone’s attention, despite us all still standing, so one member walked half-way across the room to discuss with the original greeter. She did not return to guide us nor again to check we were happy with our choice.

The drinks waiter came over and enquired what we might like to drink. We ordered a bottle of pinot grigio rosé and a child’s refillable lemonade. There was then a fairly long wait in which time we all had an opportunity to select our meals. A heads-up: the meal-offer separate menu meant that some of the dishes are cheaper to order with a starter than the price of just the main course from the primary menu. So cheesy garlic bread was ordered too and shared between three of we diners, who had not intended to have an appetiser.

Three wine glasses and the lemonade and a bottle of wine in a wine-cooler were placed on the table and the waiter rapidly walked off. All the wine-glasses were delivered wet, covered in water-droplets - something I have never seen at any restaurant prior to this occasion. As the glasses had not been dried and polished, it meant that it was highly unlikely that they had been checked. Mine of course had lipstick remains on the rim. After several minutes I rose and went over to the manager, who quickly scuttled away, but took some time to come back with a dried & polished clean receptacle. No apology though. My female companion then checked her glass to find remains of pink lipstick on hers. Then we discovered that the incorrect wine had been delivered - the waiter had not shown us the label when bringing to table - but then again it was also the wrong colour; white instead of pink. By this point I was annoyed, we still had not placed our food orders. I went over to the manager once again and made sure he understood our complaints and that this would affect our tipping.

Eventually two burger dishes (one adult, one child), a calzone and a fillet of salmon (for the writer) were delivered. Alas, despite making it very clear that the child wanted no tomato and no ketchup on the burger, it came with said sauce. Of course it had to go back to the kitchen for them to start again. In the end the child ate most of his meal and was fully sated; no complaints with the meal he finally was served. His mother ate her burger too with no complaints. My companion consumed his meatball calzone with gusto. It looked fabulous. He said the pizza base was really light, and we both considered that it appeared like genuine Italian pizza base. Scrummy! My thick salmon fillet was perfectly cooked, tender, succulent and tasty. Alas the accompanying potatoes were undercooked and harder than firm. The garden peas were either incompletely reconstituted or had dried out in the wait. The broccoli turned out to be two soggy floret-lets. Most disappointing.

We did not bother with dessert - we were not even asked.

We were only asked once whether we needed more drinks, when most of the wine was still in the bottle.

In summary: atmosphere was good (about a quarter to a third full for early-mid evening - on a Friday); food over all was fair (two good [child’s burger & calzone], one average [adult burger]; one below average [salmon]); service amiable but not what should be accepted across the board from kitchen-, waiting- & management-staff; toilets very clean and not malodorous.

The bill came to £67. We left a £3.50 gratuity (about 5%), half what is our usual starting-point - it would have been nothing if the staff had been less than affable. I advised the manager on departing that his whole team needs to work together to improve affairs.

Would I recommend or revisit? On reflexion, probably not.

*

Please note that there are several branches of F&B in the Newkie area.