French Specialities in the Heart of Berlin at Sucre et Sel:
Finding a place to eat in Berlin is never a problem. There are thousands of restaurants and fast food joints in the city covering all types of cuisine. If you’re not particular about the type of food, you’ll not have to travel too far to find your next meal. Pizza bars, hamburger cafés, doner kebab shops and currywurst stands abound in Berlin. But, we were after a restaurant with a nice ambience, and so we walked and walked until we came across Sucre et Sel, a French bistro, near Rosenthaler Platz.
A French Bistro in Berlin
Sucre et Sel is a small French bistro that offers “spécialités françaises“. Although the menu board outside included a number of meat dishes like Confit de Canard and Entrecôte with garlic butter, we saw a couple of vegetarian dishes that we could have. As a last resort, we could have cheese and salad for which they have good reviews.
The bistro has a nice and warm atmosphere. One of the walls was covered with wine labels from all over France. The place was quite packed, but the maître d’ found us a table next to the colourful wall. We found ourselves dining in the company of French icons like Jean Reno, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Gérard Depardieu and others.
What we ordered
The couple next to us were hoeing into their huge plate of duck confit which looked delicious, but as non-meat eaters we had limited choice. Tony chose a goat’s cheese salad and I went for a vegetarian soup.
For our mains I chose the ratatouille whereas Tony went for the goat’s cheese quiche. Some ten minutes later the waiter came back and said that they had run out of soup and so I had a small salad instead.
Best Ratatouille
The starters were fine, although Tony commented to the waiter that the goat’s cheese was a bit cold. I initially had reservations about having a ratatouille for a main, but when the dish came, I was more than happy. Although we had to wait for quite a bit, when the food came, it was clear that the ratatouille was freshly made. Unlike the traditional ratatouille, which has a strong tomato base, Sucre et Sel’s version has grilled aubergine, courgette and capsicum sitting in a tasty bouillon, topped with freshly made puff pastry with a slice of goat’s cheese on it.
It was the best tasting ratatouille I’ve ever had. Tony enjoyed his homemade quiche which was more substantial that he had expected. For dessert, we shared a creme caramel.
Authentic French Bistro
Sucre et Sel is a relaxed restaurant with an authentic French feel. When Tony asked, in German, about one of the dishes on the menu, our young waiter was embarrassed and said “I’m sorry, I don’t speak German”. He had just arrived straight from Lyon and hadn’t learnt any German yet. In fact the guys who run the bistro are French and throughout the evening instructions were going back and forth in French. I have a soft spot for the French language and it was a treat to hear it at dinner in Berlin.
We enjoyed our meal at Sucre et Sel very much and we were the last to leave the restaurant. The one kilometre walk from our Monbijou Hotel was well worth it but next time we’ll know to take the U-Bahn to Rosenthaler Platz (U8).
Address:
Sucre et Sel
Torstraße 132, 10119 Berlin
Website: www.sucreetsel.de
10119 Berlin, Germany
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