Review: Berlin65 brings the German capital’s diverse food scene to the tropics

If your go-to for German cuisine in Singapore is the casual Bavarian eatery Brotzeit, we won’t blame you. It’s a real pity that we don’t have more German-centric restaurants here, considering a freshly baked pretzel is one of the many confectioneries we’d love to have and should have easy access to.

When Berlin 65 opened its doors in late November last year, it certainly stood out with its menu offerings — whatever it is that you were expecting, Berlin65 veers from the usual (or almost stereotypical) German fare such as pork knuckles, sausages and a laundry list of beers.

Instead it serves up meatballs, pretzels and flatbread sandwiches and offers us a glimpse into Berlin’s varied foodscape, which hasn’t really been available here yet — till Berlin65 came along, that is.

The backstory

Berlin65 may have been started by Austrian founders, but both of them have prior experience in German and, more generally, European cuisine in Singapore: Chef Stephan Zoisl was behind fine-dining restaurant Chef’s Table By Chef Stephan and Lorenz Raich was the group executive chef at Brotzeit. 

While the local food landscape may not be well acquainted with German cuisine, Germany has many cultures and cuisines and is often referred to as a “melting pot” of sorts.

The founders were motivated to start Berlin65 when they realised they were craving the Berlin fare they had enjoyed on their trips abroad, but didn’t have many German food options. Since other types of European fare in Singapore can be found more easily, the duo was prompted to provide similar access to common Berlin staples.

Berlin65 currently occupies the space where the famed Tuscan restaurant Burlamacco Ristorante once stood.

Our verdict

As we arrived at the restaurant with an empty stomach and were hungrier than we should have been, we were easily impressed by the dishes we had — even with the restaurant’s heavy-handed seasoning. 

While some diners may not take well to its saltier-than-usual dishes, we understand from its staff that its dishes are intended to taste this way.

With that said, we couldn’t fault the flavours at all, as they were nuanced and overall, well-balanced. When eaten with bread or accompanied with a salad, every dish was enjoyable and worth returning for.

If you had to swing by for just one dish, then the konigsberger klopse (S$26, beef and veal meatballs) would be it.

What it’s good for

Straight out of the gate, the pretzel (S$4.50) was everything you could want from the famous German baked good — it was incredibly soft inside and had a lightly salted crust so satisfying that I nearly couldn’t put this down. 

Don’t be shy about swiping a generous dollop of the accompanying butter onto the pretzel; the combination of both worked well to get us hungrier than we already were. 

If it wasn’t for the fact that we weren’t planning on ordering too many dishes, we would’ve probably ordered another pretzel — it was that good.

As avid fans of fries, we made the executive decision to skip our greens and order the HCMC (S$14) fries instead — it comes with a loaded portion of chicken from the spit, fish sauce, peanuts, and pickles piled on top of a bed of French fries. 

Digging into the dish, we picked up varying umami notes from the fish sauce and salted fries, which was nicely balanced by the thoughtful addition of pickled carrots and radish.

Service was efficient, with our plates arriving in quick succession. 

Soon, the konigsberger klopse — the clear winner in our books — showed up. Made with minced beef and veal, the eight meatballs came in a pool of creamy capers sauce.

It’s a dish that could be polarising for some, given that it was on the verge of being too salty. 

However, given the undisputed tenderness of the meat and the fact that the sauce made for a pretty good dip when eaten with torn-off pretzel bits, it made for an enjoyable dish overall.

If you’re not up for family-style sharing, Berlin65 also serves flatbread sandwiches, which should fill the average diner sufficiently. We ordered the 1972 Berlin Original (S$18), featuring chicken from the spit, lettuce, chilli, tomato, cucumber, red cabbage, housemade tomato-chilli sauce, and garlic yoghurt.

The crunch of the toasted flatbread was satisfying, as was the moreish combination of flavours in every bite. We were especially fond of the garlic yoghurt, for it added creaminess and punchy aroma.

Both drinks we ordered — the warsteiner premium lager (S$12) and elderflower spritz (S$15) — were a hit as well. The lager was subtly malty, refreshing enough to beat the evening’s heat and balance the heaviness of the meal.

The spritz, made with elderflower liqueur, prosecco, lime, and mint, was an easy, bittersweet drink — almost too easy that we had to slow ourselves down to make it last throughout the meal.

And what would a meal be without dessert? 

There was only one dessert option on the menu — the berliner (S$8, German jam donut), which came in vanilla bean custard, strawberry jam and apricot jam flavours. We chose the apricot jam iteration, hoping that the fruitiness would work as a palate cleanser to end dinner on a wholesome note.

It didn’t disappoint at all — the apricot jam was spot-on jammy in texture, and its sweet-sour note was the salve needed to offset the weight of the dinner. 

It also helped that the donut was impressively fluffy and generously filled, so much so that we would return just to re-order this item itself. 

What it could improve on

The evening was going swimmingly until a staff member asked us for feedback on the dishes. 

We enquired if the heavy salting of the meatballs was intentional, adding that we’d understand if that’s how they’re meant to taste.

The staff member quickly defended the dish, saying he didn’t think it was salty, and reiterated his opinion twice, in spite of us emphasising how our perception of the level of saltiness could be a matter of preference. 

While we still enjoyed the dishes — salty or not — his insistence on the dishes being perfectly seasoned with nary a room for objective feedback, left a salty (pun fully intended) aftertaste in our mouths, tainting the otherwise splendid dinner experience.

Given that Berlin cuisine is quite new to our local landscape, we can imagine that it wouldn’t be uncommon for such thoughts and questions to crop up — we can only hope the restaurant takes these feedback more earnestly instead of seemingly downplaying them.

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? It can be a slight struggle to have intimate catch-ups here, with the upbeat dance music playing in the background. However, if a lively gathering is on the cards and your dining party doesn’t mind raising your voice to be heard, then the ambience here will suit the occasion.

Is a reservation necessary? Yes, it’s highly recommended. We walked in on a Saturday evening at 6.45pm, and only the counter seats were available.

How to get there? Berlin65 is a two-minute or 180m walk from Telok Ayer MRT.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

Looking for more dining options in Telok Ayer? Shinrai, a new sushi izakaya spot, serves wallet-friendly Japanese bites. Alternatively, there’s Um Yong Baek, a Korean restaurant known for its homely Busan-style dwaeji gukbab (pork-and-rice soup).

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to Berlin65 at Stanley Street.