The Tim Raue Experience

The Tim Raue Experience

Last weekend an older dream finally came true: I finally went to the restaurant of the famous Tim Raue. I first came across his name when I moved to Berlin and I was checking out the most amazing culinary experiences this city can offer. Soon after I also watched the episode about him on Netflix's Chef's Table and got very very intrigued by the concept and the flavors he was experimenting with. We cannot say we are experts in Asian Cuisine, but we did travel to South Korea and China and more than that, Berlin offers quite a diverse range of Asian restaurants and that gave us a good base.

My husband and I had never been to only one other 2-star Michelin restaurant before and we were extremely nicely surprised by how friendly and unpretentious the staff was and the relaxed atmosphere that surrounded us from the beginning until the end of the 4 hours experience. Maybe this is Berlin, being pretentious here is just different than France and we love it like this!

tim raue restaurant menu on the table

The choice was rather simple, with 2 menus of 7 courses each and the possibility to add some extra signature dishes if desired. We of course took the chance and upgraded to the 8 course menu. I was quite sure I wanted to go for the wine pairing, but from previous experience at other fine dining restaurants, I was afraid there will simply be too much alcohol and I wouldn't enjoy it all. When we asked if we could possibly share the wine pairing, we were immediately given the option to each receive half portion of each wine (as the pairing was completely different for each menu). I must say that the openness to do so really conquered me and I think many restaurants can learn from this attitude. 

extra starter dishes at restaurant tim raue

We started with a welcome drink, namely a 2014 Pinot Noir Brut Nature from J. Dreissigacker Rheinhessen. Each menu came printed (the extra dish was added in a certain order). What followed was an insane succession of amazing dishes, beautifully presented without exception, paired with an incredible choice of wine and sake. We were familiar with a few wines already, but not so much with sake and I can say only 1/16 pairings were not my taste. The rest was impecable and we enjoyed every bite, every sip, every second. Plus the extra mini dishes that came from time to time.

 

KOLIBRI Menu

 The Kolibri Menu and the proposed pairing with each dish were:

oloroso sherry and mushroom dim sum tim raue restaurant berlin

KOI Menu

The Koi Menu (and my personal favourite) was brought next to the following sips:

 

rabbit dish at tim raue restaurant

We would love to go back to this restaurant and I think we will definitely do so, but after we try Tim Raue's other culinary ventures in Berlin. I would highly recommend this experience to all of you food and wine lovers, you will not be disappointed. I know myself that my palate will never forget these memories.

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.