Restaurant Le Faubourg Cosmopolitan cuisine with French roots in Berlin

The lavish rose-gold chandeliers are certainly the first thing that catches your eye at Le Faubourg, along with floor-to-ceiling windows, cosy seating areas and tasteful soul. In short: an atmosphere that makes you feel right at home, not as if you were at a friend's house, but rather like an ensnared Hollywood star in his or her stylish hangout.

So the evening begins with a glass of Taittinger champagne - here, in the immediate vicinity of Ku'Damm, they know how to celebrate a dinner appropriately. And yet, not everything at Le Faubourg is as French as it might seem at first: "To describe our cuisine as French would not do it justice," explains culinary director Ernest Dizdarevic. Although Le Faubourg uses traditional French cooking techniques, it otherwise draws inspiration from all over the world.

In this way, Berlin as a city should be reflected in the cuisine: modern, casual, stylish - and sustainable. Of course, locally sourced ingredients are not neglected, nor is the avoidance of food waste through canning and preserving. However, what impresses us most from the beginning is the perfection of the technical execution - it can be so French, after all.

The pure aroma of the product takes centre stage: the freshness of the ox heart tomato is underlined by a tomato sorbet and the fresh, sour broth, while fat in the form of mayonnaise and crispy chicken skin provide a little contrast. Our highlight is undoubtedly the pickled kohlrabi with mint, tarragon cream and amaranth. An earthy, fresh, summery dish caressed by Heiko Bamberger's exemplary Riesling: lots of minerality, fresh acidity, and some fruit.

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Restaurant manager & hostess Andrea Sinner shares the philosophy of the kitchen, and so, oenographically, we stay in Germany today, even though they also come up with some French drops at Le Faubourg. And so Sinner serves a wonderfully balanced Chardonnay from Kaufmann vineyard in Rheingau; fruit, acidity and creaminess make for a classic accompaniment to the spicy fried pulpo deglazed with lemon. The latter is convincing on all levels. Crustacean foam, potato cream, and leaf salad with chilli pearls contribute their summery-fresh part to a successful dish.

The veal boiled fillet is also wonderfully tender. An intense veal jus, the delicate bitter aromas of confit green asparagus, and the Parmesan potato's depth make the dish a delicious all-time favourite. Finely complemented by Matthias Gaul's Pinot Noir from the northern Palatinate, this makes for an elegant course that is a pleasure to eat again and again.

We finish our dinner at Le Faubourg with a selected favourite of French patisserie. Patissier Raphael Gasque demonstrates wonderfully how modernity and the tradition of French patisserie can be interwoven with a deconstructed tarte au citron made of mandarin sorbet, citrus zest, bergamot and a meringue slice on top.

And because this is still about French roots, we taste some French cheese with it. A Riesling Kabinett from Mosel, with its refined balance of residual sweetness, acidity and fruit, complements this tightrope act in the glass. This, in turn, fits in wonderfully with Le Faubourg, where French culinary art and influences from all over the world enter into an extremely tasty liaison in many different ways.

Ronja C. Kolls

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