Panama, Restaurant, Berlin, Germany

6,5 points

6 points by Alexander van Dülmen

IMG-20170509-WA0001I am pleased that my friend and acclaimed script-writer Elisabeth Bartel accepted my invitation not only for a dinner at Panama but also to write her first review on my blog. 

Working on a screenplay with the word “Panama” in the title, it was kind of obvious that “Panama”, a fairly new restaurant in Berlin’s center, would be the ideal fit for dinner. Already when you enter the enchanted back yard, off a busy stretch of Potsdamer Straße, you feel you have come to a special place. We were lead to the second floor, which houses the main part of the mid-size restaurant with the half-open kitchen behind large glass windows. The atmosphere is bright and easy going but also quite loud, catering to a younger, international crowd.

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We asked the chef Sophia Rudolph to pick the menu for us. What followed was an eclectic order of courses. There were so many little dishes sampling incredible and highly creative fusions of ingredients that it would go way beyond the scope of this review to describe them all. Every dish looked like a piece of art, combinations of colors, forms and textures artfully arranged on the plates. A feast for our eyes, too. Among the best were a beautiful steak tartare combined with sweet and fruity sauces,

wp_20170429_20_21_45_rich-e1494314637646.jpgslices of black codfish done to perfection, little chickpea balls with beetroots, grilled chicory with porcini or

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a boudin topped with sweet potato mash and pink onions that almost tasted like chocolate.

WP_20170429_21_04_47_RichAnother favorite of the evening was a chicken of such amazing texture that we had a hard time deciding how it was done. My guess was right – it was cooked sous-vide before being briefly grilled on charcoal. A true delight. All of them demonstrated the creativity and dedication of the charming and beautiful young chef Sophia Rudolph (who has been working at Weinbar Rutz in the team of Marco Müller for some years Weinbar Rutz, Berlin) and her team. The food was served by two very friendly waiters, one from San Francisco and one from Seattle. Their combined West Coast charm did not fail the trick of making us feel very welcome. A great choice of White Wine – Fürst Centgrafenberg Riesling 2013 – kudos to Alexander who of course has a special knack for delicious grapes – rounded off this absolutely pleasant and delightful dinner experience.

WP_20170429_21_56_39_RichOnly the desert was not quite to my liking, but I am a chocoholic, so that is probably just me.

Please find more about “Panama” at http://oh-panama.com/de/willkommen/