Restaurants
Barra Berlin Honest fine dining to share in Neukölln
© Zoe Spawton
Sold within two hours. At the height of the pandemic, the chicken sandwich put Barra in Neukölln's Schillerkiez district on the culinary map of the capital for good - long queues ensured that the sandwich of desire was eaten up and sold out within a very short time every day. It was a pity if you didn't get any because sharing was really not the thing to do at the time.
Fortunately, that has changed in the meantime. Uncomplicated, small-plate dishes to share, without much chichi, are now back at Barra's table. Daniel Remers and Neil Paterson cook focused product cuisine that hits the culinary heart with unagitated honesty. It's worth looking over their shoulders as they work, taking a seat directly at the counter with a view into the open kitchen.
As is the way of today's self-respecting restaurants, they maintain lasting relationships with the best producers, growers and suppliers in the region and can thus always fall back on the highest quality ingredients. And that naturally has an effect on the delicious dishes.
Since there are four of us this evening, we go to the minimalist but not uncomfortable area at the back with lots of concrete. The excellent and highly attentive service personally makes it her business to inform the pregnant companion about preparation methods, raw ingredients and co. and to have dishes adjusted in the kitchen if necessary.
She also recommends that we order all the plates once - a good idea because this way, all of the shared plates can actually convince us: starting with the fantastic sourdough bread with butter and the finely sliced Capocello ham, as well as the sourly dressed romaine lettuce with Ossau Iraty cheese, under which apple and caramelised cashews are hidden. A flavour combination of sweet and sour that not only tastes good but also brings back memories of grandma's salad from childhood. The soup of sprouted broccoli, which is covered with a foam of Colston Bassett, also tastes delicious and homely.
Kerry Westheads not only looks after the guests at Barra but also the selection of wonderfully corresponding natural wines, which also meet with great approval at the table: The Mon Blanc from the Domaine des Côtes Rousses, for example, is an authentic French flatterer; the A l'ombre des Jeunes Vignes en Fleurs by Yannick Meckert from Alsace is also great drinking pleasure - buttery popcorn meets an excellent grip.
Fulminently delicious and worthy of each ingredient, the plates are also full: whether it's scallops with green asparagus and a surprisingly spicy, crustacean-heavy hollandaise or the surprisingly sourly flavoured but delicate gnocchi with cime die rapa.
Hazelnut underlines the subtle nuttiness of the white asparagus and, at the same time, creates a bridge to the sweetness of the fine smoked eel. The crunchy textural play of nut, asparagus, mustard seed and delicate fish also stand together beautifully. Finally, the Bigorre Noir pork neck with morels and wild garlic rösti is summarily crowned by the companion: "It's been a long time since I've eaten such good pork!"
Of course, the almost salty desserts are also well received, especially the apple sorbet with lemon thyme and a thick layer of puff pastry, which could make a highly grown-up version of an apple turnover.
It's good that sharing is now back in vogue. However, the Barra elegantly proves that this can be a selfish decision - so you have to miss out on as few of these delicious dishes as possible. It even makes up for the chicken sandwich.
