Interesting wine pairing from Israel, but not optimal in terms of service: Restaurant Prism (28. October 2022)

It was the fourth Michelin star in a week – and frankly, at some point you’re just kind of fed up with it. The whole evening started off not really optimally since they were not able to find my booking in the system. Five minutes later, after we had been seated, they came and apologized. Apparently, the system didn’t synchronize. Sounds a lot like a “you problem”, not like a “me problem”.

In any case, before the menu was served, they asked if it was time for an apéritif – and yes, it was. However, the wine I had received had cork in the glass. So, I gave it back. It took them a good 8 minutes to bring a new glass. And, it still had cork in it. Another 10 minutes waiting for it to get replaced, and guess what! Yes, exactly: cork! I mean, come on – try harder! Check the glass before you serve it! Frankly, I was already looking if there are any short notice availabilities to go to another Michelin-starred restaurant I hadn’t been to in Berlin. Turns out, there were no availabilities, so, naturally, I ended up staying. And with the 4th try, and a solid 30 minutes later, I finally had my glass of wine, was hungry, and ready to stand up and leave.

Then, after another 10 to 15 minutes of waiting time, it was time for the first course. Two nice little bites, which were getting your palate started. Nothing super exciting yet, but overall interesting, which calmed me down a bit.

The second “amuse bouche” was actually quite enjoyable and my mood improved.

And when they served “camal tatar with caviar and a semi-dried egg yolk”, my world was back on track. What I didn’t know when I had booked the restaurant was that they serve largely Middle Eastern food. And I must say, that the food truly inspired by the region.

Before the actual menu started, it was time for a fourth amuse bouche …

… and a fifth one. At some point, I was a bit annoyed because it took at first super much time for each of the little amuse bouches to be served. And on top of that, the whole element with the wine was really leading to that moment when you just want to eat something.

Then it was, time for “bread and butter” to get served, and the butter as well as the bread were quite lovely together. And definitely helped to fill up my stomach a bit.

Finally, it was time to get the “6-course tasting menu” (EUR 179.00) with the respective “wine pairing” (EUR 108.00) which started with “bonito, sharon fruit, coffee” and which was nice to get your palate started.

The next course was one I absolutely liked. The “malfouf, truffle, onion” was great, since it was a dish I hadn’t tried before. And the combination with the intense flavours of the onions was really great. The truffle didn’t really add too much to the flavour profile of the dish, though.

The third course was “Lebanese lobster, sweetbread, perigordine” which went quite well together in terms of texture and flavour. What I was personally surprised was how well the sweetbread matched with the lobster. However, the lobster had too much bite, so, while it was interesting, it was also not mind-blowing. What I really started liking though was the wine pairing, since all the wines were super local and definitely a lot of wines I haven’t tried in my life before, like a lot of wines from Israel, and some were actually quite enjoyable.

Next in line was the “paciferous, verjus, xo” which was overall quite okay and had a nice and enjoyable texture.

What I liked a lot was the “Txogitxu rib eye, carrots, yellow dates” although the piece was definitely too small for me. And frankly, if you consider that 6 actual menu courses account for EUR 179.00, meaning each of the course is about EUR 30.00, then it’s definitely at the very top end of being expensive for what you get. Other than that, I like the main dish quite a lot.

When it came to the desserts, they really excelled, though. The “olive oil, tangerine, almonds” did not only look very pretty like a honey comb, but it was also quite delicious. The base, i.e., the honey comb it self was not entirely to my liking, but the rest of the ingredients went incredibly well together and created quite an amazing flavour profile.

The last course before the friandises was “lemon” and I must say that they managed to create a great balance between acidity and sweetness, which was overall likeable.

Last but not least, it was time for the friandises, which were a nice ending to the dinner.

Frankly, I’m torn what to say about the restaurant. On the one hand side, they had great wines, which I haven’t seen in my life. However, the fact that I got 3 (!!!) glasses with cork is just unacceptable. On top of that, the service in general didn’t really excel – plus the food is super expensive for what you get. It’s definitely good, yes, sure, but it is far from an exciting experience. So, very frankly, for me, this is not a Michelin star!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Prism

Fritschestraße 48

10627 Berlin (DE)

Tel.: +49 30 54 71 08 61

E-Mail: reservierung@prismberlin.de

Homepage: http://www.prismberlin.de

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.