Restaurant Margaux Berlin - Review

Restaurant Margaux, just around the corner from the Brandenburg Gate, is one of Berlin’s premier gourmet restaurants, and when the stars come out, you'll find them here – star conductor Gustavo Dudamel just dined at Margaux.
The restaurant has an elegant and intimate atmosphere, with black marble floors, antique mirrors, and warm glowing Onyx counters and columns. The multilingual staff has an air of professionalism you rarely find in German restaurants.

Margaux is owned and managed by the Michelin-starred chef Michael Hoffman and his wife Kathrin; Hoffmann takes French fare to a new level by adding an experimental twist to fresh. To really experience the genius of Hoffmann’s inventive style, embark on a "Voyage de Cuisine", Margaux's excellent multi-course presentation.
For me, Hoffmann created an irresistible combination of winter vegetables and seafood; in the spotlight of his cuisine was his imaginative use of wild herbs, which are exclusively grown for the chef by an organic farmer in Berlin’s pastoral surroundings.

The feeling is, Hoffmann prepares each course with great care and attention, both sophisticated yet down-to earth at the same time. Savor this: My husband loved a charcoal-smoked pollock, which was served with oyster-chives parfait, salad of sea urchin, poached oysters, and cockles garnished with fresh lovage herbs. I feasted on fresh salad of seaweed, spring onion, candied lemon and ginger together with a crispy baked sushi role of pumpkin and couscous.

For more of a taste of our culinary tour with chef Hoffmann, feast your eyes on the following courses:
Slow cooked pickled mackerel, graced with braised chicory and black pudding, “Crevette Rosé”, apples and horseradish. For the main course, a crispy roasted capon, garnished with cream of lentils, parsley roots, crispy leek, and pumpkin with sage in olive oil jus.

Restaurant Margaux offers an impressive wine list from around the world, but it’s the wines from Germany that take center stage here. The charming sommelier recommended a different wine for each course, all of them beautifully complementing the food; a tartar of marinated scallops with poached yolk, celery gnocchi, and light soy reduction was accompanied by a fantastic 2006 Weiss Burgunder from a Vineyard at the Mosel river. Also, don't miss the Riesling from August Kessler’s vineyard in the Rheingau region.

For me, the sommelier poured a different organic juice with each course, exclusively produced by the Viennese juicer Gegenbauer. While the Elstar apple juice had a tangy and crisp note, the Rubinette was smooth like honey and smelled of flowers, and the Cox Orange had a rich and complex palate.

Each course of Hoffmann’s "Voyage de Cuisine" was a visual and culinary delight, artfully arranged in beautiful detail. One of my favorite dishes was the Bar de Ligne, a sea bass so smooth, it melts in your mouth. This being winter time, the fish was complimented by steamed turnips, carrots, celery, chervil, and fennel, all of them alive with their flavor. A tender Jerusalem artichoke, baked in sea salt, and a mug of jus de vegetable, a dark and intense vegetable broth, accompanied this course.

Let us not forget dessert. The end of our voyage was sweet with a lemony Earl Grey tea to open the palate for the sweet treasures to follow; a plate of lovingly arranged desserts and chocolates created from seasonal delights such as pear, lavender, and vanilla, just to name a few.

Restaurant Margaux
Unter den Linden 78 / entrance Wilhelmstraße
10117 Berlin

Phone +49 (30) 22 65 26 11
Fax +49 (30) 22 65 26 12

info@margaux-berlin.de
www.margaux-berlin.de

Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat, 7:00 - 10:30 p.m.

Voyage de Cuisine:
3 course menu 95 Euros (complimenting wines 45 Euros)
4 course menu 105 Euros (complimenting wines 55 Euros)
5 course menu 120 Euros (complimenting wines 77 Euros)
6 course menu 140 Euros (complimenting wines 80 Euros)
7 course menu 165 Euros (complimenting wines 90 Euros)