La Grande Bouffe

The talk of the city: deer tartar, smoked eel, or fried egg royale. And, of course the creators themselves. The restaurant only opened its Kreuzkölln doors last November, and already it has stepped up to shout a bold au revoir to the nouvelle cuisine era once and for all. There is no such thing as vegetal taste neutrality in this establishment. Hostess Ilona Scholl and chef Maximilian Strohe have much rather announced to overindulge in style. Name giving artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec would surely get a kick out of this – the post-impressionist never missed a party at the Pigalle. Apparently the bohemian needed 12 glasses of port daily to keep his inner and outer balance – a fact that clearly inspired the gastronomic duo while they put together their tremendous wine selection. And they’ve masterly proven a point: Quality and quantity are not necessarily a matter of either/or. Their promise to be “today’s investment for your hangover tomorrow” is not met with a few sips of cheap liquor but instead with noble delicacies such as a 2006 Shiraz from the Barossa Valley. Though a hint of tragedy lingers in this fine wine: the vine suffers from “dead arm disease”, no longer sprouts new shoots and therefore stores all the sun and minerals it can get in teeny tiny little grapes. The anti-minimalism motto consistently runs through the dining concept: the opulent gastronomy meets its visual counterpart in the lush wallpapers of the cosy restaurant. Without fear of misbehaving, you might just see us licking our plates with relish. Asceticism has been put to an end. And to be honest, we are very grateful.
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Tulus Lotrek | Fichtestraße 24, 10967 Berlin | 030 4195 6687 | Tue – Sun, 7pm –12am | www.tuluslotrek.de