Cafe Berlin

Café Berlin is small place in a great part of town. If you are driving too fast you might just miss it. It occupies the bottom floors of a row house with another restaurant above them. I travel to Germany a few times a year and this place is about as real as it gets outside of Deutschland. Our server Chase was top notch and very attentive without smothering. My wife had Sauerbraten and I had the Jaeger Schnitzel. Both dishes hit the spot and were authentic. We will definitely return to Café Berlin.

Trekked to Café from the burbs via Metro red line. Super easy walk from there to restaurant. Restaurant week menu available as well as the regular menu. Waiter was great explaining all. Very accommodating personalizing apps for us. We went for weiner snitchel and sauer braten. Very, very, good. Took a desert home as too full to eat there. Sadly no apple strudel available. Can’t wait to go again in warmer weather to dine at the outdoor tables.

Very good schnitzel and spaetzle. Even my picky 9-​year old really liked her schnitzel. Nice wine and beer selection.

We loved it. The food is awesome. The staff is friendly and helpful. We love it some much, we are discussing whether we should come back tomorrow. …
We did come back the next day. For the great variety of sausages and the raspberry tart. Given the high quality of the food, the fact that it is obviously made from scratch, the location (Capitol Hill), it is very reasonably priced.
We will definitely come back again

Food is par but it’s incredibly overpriced especially considering the portion. Will probably never be back.

Not the best I’ve ever had, but the best I’ve had in DC. The Jäger schnitzel and spatzel are delicious and make you want to do a dance. I just wish the inside ambiance was better. More lively. And I wish there were more Germans working.

It is impolite to stand at the hostess station for 15 min with staff walking by without even an acknowledgment. Then you are told to pick a seat anywhere and ‘have fun’ ! Pick a seat but still no acknowledgement by numerous staff walking by. I walked !!

We went for dinner during Oktoberfest & the waiters were all decked out in their leather shorts ( Unilocal autocorrects my German spelling!), which was fun – at least for us.
The jäger schnitzel was excellent. Lots of flavor. The sauerbraten was tasty as well, though the dumplings were way too dry.
We’ll be going here again to try more items from the menu. It’s a great place for a hearty meal in the winter.

I love this place. Always a fan of German food. I always look at Unilocal pictures then order so I already knew what i wanted. The wiener and jäger schnitzels are my favorites off the menu. But everything looks good here. They already know what the favorites are so it makes it easier to order just from that list alone.
I would repeat here if I’m around the area. The waiters/​waitresses are in German themed outfits and it’s a nice outdoor atmosphere. Inside is kind of like a bar area but it’s prolly more know for its outdoor seating areas. Nothing beats eating German food and drinks German beer in October.

We’re still in prime Oktoberfest season, so if you’re in the mood for good beer and hearty German grub, there’s time to indulge.
I had dinner here with a co-​worker last night (we’re both German nerds). The place is extremely cozy, especially on a chilly, rainy night like yesterday. It’s small without feeling stuffed, but is definitely working a small-​shop vibe that makes it feel homey.
We each ordered beers, a quarter-​liter for me and a full liter for my friend. Be aware that the draft beer menu depends on what they have on hand, and some pours aren’t available. The Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier I had was lovely. We started off with pretzel bites with mustard aioli that were a tasty snack.
For dinner, I had the chicken cordon blue and my friend had the Jagerschnitzel, smothered in mushroom gravy and spatzle. The portions are incredibly generous and they have all the classics: schnitzel, spatzle, Schweinhaxe, potato salad, the works. If you like German/​Austrian comfort food, this is your place. We each polished off our food, but they give you more than enough. The cordon blue was delicious, not dry at all, and it was served with lightly herbed rice and an orange cream sauce that I could drink. For dessert I had a blackberry torte and my friend had a coffee. The atmosphere was buzzy but not cacophonous, and the servers were all wearing lederhosen outfits. Everyone was good-​natured and cheerful.
And when you have excellent beer and German food, what’s not to be cheerful about?

I’m definitely a fan, I think we have gone three or four times, so consider this review a mish-​mosh of all of them. That is important since the last time was a little off, but I forgive you Café Berlin! We will return!
First the good
Great patio, have only ever sat outside, though the inside looks quite adorable. I love the place in the evening, and it was so cute as we sat there amidst the twinkling lights two little girls passing by were begging their dad, «I want to eat there, daddy, please!»
Fantastic spot in spring and summer. Good, inventive takes on traditional cocktails. This most recent time I had a Berlin 85, a twist on the French 75, with woodruff syrup. Always has a table ready when you are tired after a day out doing some physical activity.
The charcuterie plate is a must get. We have really fond memories of last year’s maultaschen served in a pan with spinach leaves and strawberries. The sauerkraut balls are a bit weird but good.
I speak German, and cook German food regularly, but it is still nice to eat the things you won’t make. It is one thing to make spaetzle out of a box, or red cabbage in the crockpot, but hells to the no I am not going to make a sauerbraten! So it was a bummer to order the rinderroulade with dumplings recently, and have it be way too salty and the dumplings dry — quite a trick considering they are boiled in water! MIne are usually exceedingly slippery! Due to the saltiness of the meat, even rolling them in the gravy didn’t help. I had to just return the meal. By then I was not in the mood for a replacement — ironically they had dropped a big chunk on the way out of the kitchen and were very apologetic, and wanted to take it back, but by then we had been waiting quite awhile for our food. My feelings in telling them about it was really, «For your own sake, don’t serve this again tonight!»
Another mis-​step that evening was the weird ‘potato-​cheese’ spread sent out with the bread that tasted exactly like cold mashed potatoes… on bread… in-​ter-​esting. They did bring me some butter upon request. The Colonel was happy with his pork chop, but it too was very dry. I took a bite, but no joke had a hard time swallowing it.
Our waiter was a fun guy but not 100% on the ball. He asked if they could do something for me, «like a shot» and I said, «A shot would be fun. Surprise me.» And then it never came. When I reminded him of said shot, he said, «Oh its already on your bill, its not out yet?» And at THAT point the Colonel became annoyed — we had been very polite and friendly and not asking for anything in lieu of the terrible entrée and to be told the ‘fun’ shot was on our bill? The other guy brought it out, again very apologetic — that poor guy seemed to be everywhere — behind the bar, out on the floor. I know they were gearing up for Oktoberfest, and the papal visit was already having an effect, and the place was jumping, but it wasn’t slammed/​slammed, there were a few open tables here and there. The couple next to us had some issues, and made a joke about how long their pretzel took, it came when they seemed to be about done with their meal…
They did take the price of the rinderroulade off the bill, which I think was appropriate. Again, we consider the place a family favorite and we will go back!

This restaurant used to be a stuffed shirt; it was dour and fogyish and I avoided it.
However I enjoy German cuisine, so returned in the past year to see what’s up. I’m happy to report that there have been significant changes. The food has improved; there’s a new, joyful spirit about the place; and staff are trying their hardest to make the experience of dining at Café Berlin, well… fun!
The menu has undergone a reversal. Traditional German favorites are now front and center, and the «Neue Deutsche» dishes that were pretty lost for taste have been switched out for better ones and represent only a minority of the offerings. To which I say: «was hast du so lange?».
The small plates and appetizers are safe but authentic. Appreciate the «your choice» boards (metzger platte); recommend trying the lightly smoked Westphalian ham, classic hard German salami, and homemade pickled vegetables. The fried, breaded brie with pears and preserves, called gebakener, is good. For entrees, Deutsche wursplatte is hearty as is schweinekotelett. And a citrusy fish dish, called heilbutt, does just that – kicks butt. It’s halibut, truth be told.
Café Berlin has re-​invented itself to a certain extent. The inside is still a bit tight in terms of seating, but the patio is appealing. And who doesn’t like German suds in a convivial environment?
And get a load of this – they intend to celebrate Oktoberfest for 6 full weeks. On each Saturday, there will be a sucking pig roast commencing at noon, and special Oktoberfest dishes will be available throughout the time period. It runs from September 19 to October 31. So check the website and get those lederhosen ready.
Weg zu gehen, Café Berlin.

Me and my girlfriend enjoyed Café Berlin alot! Being a military brat I’ve been longing for some good authentic German food since I moved back state side. Lets just say that’s not the easiest thing to find in DC at least in my experiences. Café Berlin came around just in the nick of time! The food so far is the closet I’ve been able to get to traditional food since I’ve moved back so I was very happy and excited! They also sell imported beer, giving you the option of a pint or a liter. Another thing I liked about Café Berlin is that its set up how I remember restaurants being in Germany. Nice quite inside seating or you can sit outside in the Beir Garden which can be very relaxing on a nice day or evening.
For my meal, I had the jäger schnitzel with spatzel which is a pounded thin fried boneless pork chop topped with a savory mushroom gravy. The schnitzel had a nice cripsy breading on it and was nice and juicy on the inside, it was served on top of spatzel that was nice and light; almost like a fluffy noodle. The gravy was Amazing! it had a nice deep brown color to it, and had great flavor; the schitzel and spatzel soaked up the flavors from the gravy making the dish even more enjoyable. My girlfriend had the Saur-​braten which was also very delicious! The slow cooked meat with the purple cabbage was great together and very flavorful; I would recommend either of these dishes to anyone, even if you’ve never had German food before. Since I’ve been craving German food for the longest time, this meal gave me a soul food type happiness! I really missed this stuff! If your ever in the area I would recommend checking out Café Berlin, not the best German food I’ve had but good flavor and the closet thing I’ve had to authentic since I left that beautiful country!

Our new favorite restaurant! We just got back from Europe and craved the German/​Austrian food that we had in Munich and Vienna. I’ve wanted to try this place before, but since we came back with a craving, we had more reason to try it.
We were extremely pleased with the food. Everything was delicious and filling! The meat was tender. The sauce/​gravy was very flavorful. Their dishes are like comfort food. Hits the spot.
Good service as well. Our servers were very natural and real with a good sense of humor. They made the effort to connect with you (unlike most other servers in DC that sound like robots).
To start, we ordered the Wurst Appetizer (sliced grilled German sausages with spicy mustard) and Gebackener Brie (breaded, fried brie cheese with house made preserves and pears). For our main dishes, we got the Jagerschnitzel (pork loin, pounded thin, pan fried, breaded, with bacon mushroom gravy, and spatzle), Huhnerschnitzel (chicken breast, pounded thin, breaded, pan fried, with mushroom cream gravy, spatzle, and vegetables), and the Schweine Medallions (pork tenderloin, crispy onions, mushroom cream sauce, and kasespatzle). They were all good! See pictures that I will post.
We also ordered beer and dessert. Beer was good. Ordered a half liter each. For the dessert, they do not have a printed menu. The server came up to us with a tray of the different desserts that they have available (they had several flavors of crumb cakes, German cheesecakes, and a fruit parfait). It was funny and adorable at the same time. We picked the blueberry crumb cake. It was good. Next time we will try the German cheesecake, which is made with German cheese.
We were in a food coma after the meal. Everything was good. We will definitely go back there to eat.

We came here for a few drinks right before closing and the people serving were great! Great service for closing time and they just finished hosting a large party. The beer was delicious and came in giant mugs. We orderes their pretzels and bier cheese; pretzels were good, bier cheese was too bland for me. I would come here again and try other foods and have a beer, the staff was so friendly and welcoming

I enjoyed a good dinner here at Café Berlin. It jumped out at me on the Red Bus «places to eat» map, and so I Unilocaled it.
It wasn’t too far away from where I was staying, and within a stone’s throw from Union Station. Capital Hill is within walking distance as well.
I liked that it is situated in what appears to be a series of apartment flats. Makes it feel like you’re at home. They have plenty of seating inside and they have a small bar, but the popular choice to dine, based on my observation, was at the front outdoor café section.
I grabbed a seat at the bar, and ordered a large Warsteiner on drought. It hit the spot after a long day of traveling.
I ordered weinerschnizel, which is somewhat of a staple for me. I love how the meat is pounded and breaded. Love the texture. I also recommend the spinach salad, which arrives with a really good tangy dressing, pecans and cranberries. Very good!
I finished it off with an apple crumb pie dessert, which was just okay. It was a little too dry.
All in all, it was a good dinner. I would recommend sitting out on the café, particularly in May when the weather is nice.

We enjoyed a great Mother’s Day Brunch here sitting outside. Our waitress, Meghan, was outstanding as was all of the staff. The Brunch menu was very well prepared and the food was delicious. Highly recommended for a nice German meal.

I can’t believe I left a mediocre review three years ago. I revisited last night with seven friends and we had a great time. The place wasn’t crowded and we sat in the back, perfect for the group since we were able to have a nice conversation.
I almost got the wildschwein (wild boar) but stayed conservative and opted for the wiener schnitzel instead. It was good and came with steamed vegetables, but my friend who got the kassler rippchen (double pork chops) had the whole table staring at and drooling over his choice.
They have some nice beverage choices catering for beer, wine, and cocktail lovers. The bottle of Alba chardonnay from Chile my friend and I got wasn’t my favorite; it was un-​oaked and too crisp for a chardonnay for my taste. I followed up with the gin and jam, which was served in an actual jam bottle with gin poured over the rocks. It was interesting. I’ve heard good things about Café Berlin and how authentic the food is compared to other German joints in town. Plus, it has a really nice ambiance, not to mention the cute entryway and the outdoor patio. The whole place feels very understated but high in quality.

A local friend, and admitted German-​phobe, brought me here for dinner and drinks.
I’ll tell you now that I’m a fan. The atmosphere (even with the smart-​mouthed gals) was fantastic.
We sat at the bar and ate instead of in the dining room and I’m glad we did. Two regulars engaged us in conversation about brew, German fare and interesting stuff to do in DC.
We both had the sauerbraten with different sides. We went through all of their draft biers, which brings me to this warning: if you order the regular ½ liter side draft, be warned that you’ll be heckled by McKayla about drinking a «girlie» beer. She gives everyone a hard time, actually.
This is a nice place to have a few drinks, a good meal and some engaging conversation with the locals.
And go ahead and order the bigger beer if you feel like you must.

We met a friend here for lunch today and it was very good. Service was perfect. Food was all very good, drinks were good. We talked about going back before we had even left. Too cold to sit outside, but inside was very nice. I would say what we had for lunch, but I can’t spell any of it.