The Berlin restaurant Gugelhof, which celebrates the hearty fare of Alsatian cuisine, became famous in 2000, when former U.S president Clinton asked then German chancellor Schroeder to take him to this restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg, a former Eastern neighborhood of Berlin.
Restaurant Gugelhof is well-known for its rich and regional cuisine, and the highlights of the menu are sausages, sauerkraut, and Tarte Flambees.
- Traditional Alsatian fare with high-quality products
- Homey and rustic atmosphere
- Multilingual menu and wait staff
- Visa Cards accepted
- Can get crowded; reservations are recommended
- Address: Knaackstraße 37, 10435 Berlin, Germany
Subway station: U2, Senefelder Platz - Phone: 030 442 9229
- Opening Hours:
Mo – Fri, 4 p.m. – 11 p.m.; Sat, Sun, and on holidays, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. - Menu in German, English, Spanish, Italian, and French available
- Starters: 4 - 8 Euros
Entrees: 7 - 15 Euros
My husband Andrew and I set off to eat like the Alsatians do – hearty, savory, and rustic. We didn’t make reservations in the always bustling restaurant Gugelhof, so we waited at the bar, enjoying a Riesling and snacking on some fresh baked German bread that was served with Quark (a kind of lean sour cream) and fresh herbs.
The wait staff, which was attentive, friendly, and fluent in English, got us a table within 15 minutes. I ordered the Flammkuchen, Tarte Flambee, which is a thin, pizza-like bread topped with crème fraiche, onions, and bacon. Andrew followed Clinton’s example and opted for the quintessential Alsatian dish: Choucroute, a combination of different sausages, sauerkraut, potatoes, and spicy French mustard.
Black Pudding, Sauerkraut, and Spicy Mustard
At one point, we didn’t know if the food was worth the wait – but it was.
The Flammkuchen, which was served on a wooden board, was deliciously crispy, the crust paper thin and topped with finely chopped onions and juicy bacon bits.
The highlight of our dinner though was the Choucroute: Its centerpiece was a blood pudding, made by a local butcher who has been awarded for Europe’s best blood sausages. It had a slightly sweet and at the same time spicy taste, which was a heavenly combination with the potatoes and the sauerkraut. Another highlight of this Alsatian dish was the piece of cured pork. If you don’t understand the German fascination for Schwein, this cutlet might be the answer for you: juicy, neither too salty nor too fatty, and with a thin and irresistible edge of fat.
Our dinner was savory and rich, otherwise we would have been tempted to try one of the desserts; Gugelhupf Glace, a homemade frozen walnut cake complimented with a raspberry sauce, or a red fruit sorbet in Riesling sparkling wine.
If you want to walk off your Choucroute calories, take a walk through the little park just in front of Gugelhof, or wander the neighborhood's leafy streets, which are lined with interesting shops, cafes, and restaurants.
