Ascending to Solar

I think it’s time I come out and share this secret. Although publically I’ve gushed about Berlin repeatedly, sung its praises continually, I’ve never been able to commit myself to the city completely. Thing is, there’s an unresolved issue between us. For me, Berlin’s clubbing scene is the best in Europe, no contest; culturally, the city’s world class – that’s indisputable; for quirky eccentricity and Communist-tinged idiosyncrasies it’s in a league of its own. But for dining? Time and time again our dinner dates have ended in tears and tantrums. Terse, impersonal service is a regularity; stodgy, tasteless food a reliability; general dissatisfaction a constancy.

So on those rare occasions when a Berlin restaurant not only doesn’t disappoint but actually impresses it’s something worth shouting from the rooftops. Which is something you might be tempted to do almost literally if you visit Solar.

A few minutes’ walk from the Checkpoint Charlie Museum on Friedrichstrasse, the restaurant’s centrally located yet even the local I was dining with struggled to find it. A fortuitous feature as it should ensure the tour groups nearby stay clear, but something to bear in mind if you’ve made a reservation – it can get busy inside and they’re sticklers for punctuality in this city. When you do stumble past the dilapidated car park and apartment blocks that shroud the building, however, you’ll wonder how you missed it. Housed on the 16^th and 17^th floors of a skyscraper, patrons ascend to Solar on a glass-fronted, external elevator before entering the main dining room.

Understated rather than ostentatious – why bother trying to distract attention from the cinematic views of Berlin outside – the restaurant is mutely but stylishly decorated in chocolate, black and cream, and lit by low-hanging amber bulbs. Ravenous, we focused firstly on the menu rather than the shimmering cityscape outside but our waitress had given us the drinks list instead. Except, actually, she hadn’t. On seeing our confusion she returned and guided us past the 14-page drinks menu to the two pages of food options tagged to the back.

Any concerns we had about the food being something of an afterthought were quashed when our starters arrived. My friend’s sunflower-marinade salad with roasted poulard breast was a meal in itself, a colourful platter of mixed leaves, fresh veg and lovely fatty, flavoursome chunks of meat. My Berlin stew with quail breast was even better. More of a clear broth, it had a homemade kind of heartiness which was jazzed up with the addition of sweet crescents of pear, creamy ravioli and root vegetables. It was absolutely delicious and felt particularly nourishing given that all of Berlin, in its ice-covered, wintry bleakness was stretched out before me as I slurped it.

A glorious sunset over West Berlin

We followed with mains of Alpine trout with cucumber, wasabi, potatoes and lime for me, and the ‘1/2 duck from Brandenburg region’ with turnips, pumpkin and parsnip for my friend. (They’ve an English-language version of the menu with some pleasantly perfunctory translations – fish dishes are listed under the title ‘waterworld’; meat dishes termed ‘countryside’; desserts are titled ‘conclusion’.) Although perhaps not quite as outstanding as the starters, we were again impressed by two well-presented dishes, generous portions and high-quality ingredients. The kick of wasabi and subtle shot of lime zest worked well to enhance my meal, in particular.

We were tempted to conclude our evening with a ‘conclusion’ – mousse of Valrhona chocolate with grapefruit and red bull sounded particularly intriguing – but we decided instead to deflect to the upstairs bar for a post-dinner cocktail. The drinks were great – whatever qualms one might have about Berlin restaurants it can’t be said that the city has a lacklustre bar scene – but the view was the thing. And what an expedient way to cram in some sightseeing! From our perch we could spy KuDamm in the west and Alexanderplatz in the east, the dome of the Reichstag glistened before us and the towers of Kreuzberg stood behind us. Unexpectedly good cuisine, very reasonable prices – without drinks our meal came to €58 – and an effortlessly stylish venue with an incredible view. In every respect a high-class dining experience.

More information on Solar is available online here.