We could not have been happier to see each other for dinner. What had been a regular monthly meet-up had been loooong delayed due to another wave of the coronavirus in Germany. But now things finally seemed to be improving, and restaurants were starting to open again.
Our first destination after the long break: Night Kitchen, a Tel Aviv restaurant located in the artsy Heckmann Höfe in Mitte. Just like its surroundings, Night Kitchen oozes creativity, especially of the floral kind. It’s filled with flowers, paintings of flowers, and plants, and has a lush, cozy feel to it.
While gulping in the warm summer atmosphere, we studied the menu. It was tricky to decide what to order, it all sounded so delicious. But, you know us: We persevered!
The appetizers
We plumped for Challah Bread, Ceasar Salad, and Tomato Carpaccio as shared appetizers. Our expectations were high – we’d been told the carpaccio was delectable. Sadly, it didn’t quite measure up. The tomatoes tasted kind of plain, and all the spices and sauces that came with the dish couldn’t quite make up for it. BUT the challah and salad were total winners. The bread was so soft I could have crawled inside and snuggled up in it like a little dough-loving bear hibernating for the summer. But that seemed logistically tricky, so I just enjoyed it with the accompanying dips. (Just as good.) And the Caesar salad, oh the Caesar salad! The dish is often considered a rather boring fall-back option, but the Night Kitchen’s take on it is utterly divine, the mixture of herbs and croutons, absolute heaven!
The mains
But a meal is not a meal without mains!
We went for just one veggie dish: the Zucchini Burrata, along with a seafood lover’s dream: Crispy Pepper Calamari, Hraime Fish Patties, and Black Beans Octopus. The dishes all looked amazing, and they were also perfect for a steamy summer evening: They didn’t leave you feeling like you couldn’t move afterward.
So…lucky us, there was still room for dessert…and thank God for that.
The dessert
The Tahini Bars and Malabi Cream Custard were a perfect way to round off the meal.
The tahini bars melted in the mouth and were delicious with their homemade chocolate and tahini fudge…highly recommended! And as for the malabi custard… Well to be honest, for me, it had too many competing flavors: rosewater, peach, basil and coconut. I kind of felt overwhelmed… But some of the others loved it!
At 10 pm sharp, we were asked to vacate our table. Time for ‚Nachtruhe‘, as they say here. So, we ended the night with a glass of wine by the river, happy that we paid the Night Kitchen a visit, and even happier in the knowledge that we’d only have to wait one month until our next night out together discovering another of Berlin’s culinary delights.
