Berlin, Germany (Gastrosofie). We from Gastrosofie generally try to understand, explain, even alter the food and drink in a world of commodity and spectacle, if need be. Above all, we rise like Icarus, to be free like a bird; but the Beletage of the culinary world is our special place, of course, and if it is heaven high on top of Berlin as now to be known certainly a welcome exception.
For that, some of us even overcome their fear of heights and other hurdles and travel in outdoor cabins to the top floor, precisely: the 16th. Being uplifted to a restaurant, a bar, a lounge – and then feel uplifted from sunset to nearly sunrise: nothing could be nicer.
So, looking over Berlin is the Solar, which more than its up going, glazed elevator in a courtyard near the ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof provides a panoramic view of the metropolis on Panke, Spree and Havel and a sunset to marvel over.
It’s hard to say what Solar Berlin is all about, because in addition to eating and drinking down in the restaurant, up at the bar and in the lounge, one can also easily smoke amidst the scenery of Berlin: standing, sitting and lying down. Then there’s a DJ plus equipment being carried up to the dance floor (now as a dancer you could eat downstairs and still hear the music). The Solar Berlin has a name for cool cuisine, of course, but also for culture clash and clubbing, where to see and being seen seems no less important than fine but not to fancy food and drink.
The dining room with neither frills nor frolics is as famous for its breath-taking views as for mouth-watering dishes from the menu. After or above all, the Solar Berlin offers a magnificent 270-degree panorama that leads you to look at a menu of palate pleasure for very satisfactory 79 euros out of the purse.
To start with, a greeting from the kitchen run by Jon comes to our table. For statistics, Jon Kremin, but first names are enough in the Solar. Now what is this? Its Onsen egg, more precisely, the yellow part of an egg of a quail. Fine if the yolk is cooking at 64.5 degrees Celsius for three quarters of an hour. Time to continue with „Label Rouge salmon” with peas and mustard served by our waiter, who introduces himself as: Roger. Oh and on till over and out, be pally when being presented with the plate at the Solar. So we dine, and for wine decide to drink a Chardonnay from Weingut Hess made in the Rheinhessen region.
We continue with „Calf and Imperial Caviar“ that carries one or the other confiscated potato slice, seeds of oilseed rape and – if our tasting is not mistaken – mayo with chives. Nice to look at and certainly very tasty.
The delicious caviar and calf is followed by a delicious lovely lamb, well just a little bit of it – and roasted in its own skin. „Lamb with Tasmanian pepper“ is the name of this main course, which also includes kohlrabi. The mountain pepper from the other side of the world gives the dish on the 16th floor a fine, intense sharpness. It smells like dill and comes with a bit of cumin taste. Yes that’s quite daring, but doubtless delightful.
Now Roger presents us „Rosa US-Tafelspitz“. This Spitz does not bark or bite, nor wave his tail. A culinary tale to tell: the piece of rib beef roasted with macadamia nut butter, which we find on the plate like white beet, is encircled by a sauce with a long-forgotten herb called purslane. This delicious course passes well throughout the palate as the red from the Bodega Otto Bestué, which will run down the throat rapidly as we are not really sorry to say.
And here it comes again: a “greeting from the kitchen”. A kind of cold shell or quince soup with frozen Korean balls that melt on the tongue like the plumage of the Icarus in high flight and leaves us in high spirits being so well served top of Berlin. Greetings back to Jon Kremin and colleagues who are creating a young and creative, cheeky and fresh kitchen on the 16th floor and at the height of the times. We raise our glass Mouton Cadet Réserve, a dessert wine of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, to the welfare of these heroes at the hearth.
„Pumpkin with amaretto“ or pumpkin cakes, pears and fig sorbet in amaretto complete the round of a long evening at Restaurant Solar with a coffee specialty and a sweet Banyuls Grenache Noir at our cosy corner table overlooking the capital.
And finally: another “greeting from the kitchen”. Will the delicious high-altitude flights carry us into the supersonic? Let us sound up and take a digestif drink! And say thanks to Roger.
Over and out: no way! Do go up one floor: drink and dance until well after midnight, for sure. We will, but now its time to prepare for landing. Back to earth then with the elevator. See you soon up at the bar in the Solar!
Solar Berlin Sky Lounge & Restaurant
Stresemannstraße 76, 10963 Berlin
Infos: www.solarberlin.com/en
Contact: Phone: +49 (0) 163 7652700, Mail: info@solarberlin.com
Opening hours: Sundays to Thursdays from 6 pm to 2 am, Fridays and Saturdays from 6 pm to 3 am
Remark:
Christopher Prescott – text based on an article by Stefan Pribnow.
