Last weekend we did a quick dash to Berlin. We arrived Friday night, spent Saturday catching up with friends sight-seeing and were gone Sunday midday. It was great. While there, we decided to try out a new, recently opened vegan restaurant, Kopps - Vegan Restaurant & Bar. Managed by Björn Moschinski (one of Germany’s most noted Vegan Chefs) and partners, we were hoping for good things!
So we arrived early, as we always do, and prepared for a night of sitting, chilling and eating. As we walked into the restaurant it still had a faint smell of paint and newness, which just made the anticipation all the more exciting! The decor and seating was lovely. I’m not a fan of vegan places that don’t invest in good furnishings and decor. Not every vegan is a hippie that wants to eat in a place with old miss matched furniture that looks like student accommodation. We don’t eat out often, and when I do I want it to be special – not like I’ve just turned up to a hostel. Kopps get an A+ for decor and furnishings. We had a window box/seat, which gave us a private little area all to ourselves. It was perfect for a group of four. After looking at the yummy menu which included soups, salads, starters, mains and desserts, we decided that we were going to make this a four course meal to be had throughout the night. I don’t think the waiters were initially prepared for our “we will order one course sit for a while and order three more courses”! But they got the idea quickly.
First we ordered drinks and ate our d complimentary bread and dip – which I forgot to take a photo of. I started off with a non-alcoholic beer (my new favourite thing), of which there were three, and every one else had soft drinks and alcoholic beer. We then moved on to a bottle of wine, and there were so many wines to choose from! I was surprised at how long the list was. Anyway, after my wine I went on to sparkling water – part of my new diet is less sugar, caffeine and alcohol (all for another post).
Now on to the important part – food and photos (I only had my only little camera with me, so the quality is not the greatest!).
Starter one
Fresh Mushrooms in crispy, aromatic crust with creamy lemon-rémoulade and bread
These were great and probably my favourite dish of the night. Fried mushrooms, what is there not to love? The creamy lemon-rémoulade was great too. It went so well with the mushrooms.Starter two was
Beetroot ravioli with cashew nut-herb filling on wafer-thin fennel salad and balsamic dressing
This was my least favourite dish, purely because I don’t like beetroot. I thought I would give it a try and I could have easily eaten the whole dish but I wasn’t going to waste tummy space on it (I had more dishes to come and Mike loves beetroot, so I handed it over!). Other people at the table who do like beetroot loved it, so I think it was good – it was just me. The beetroot was subtle but I still wasn’t a fan. It was beautifully presented though and definitely one for a beetroot fan.2 mains, 4 individuals
Braised soya roulade with red cabbage, potatoes and tasty gravy
Mike absolutely loved this dish. I think he was having a real moment with it. It reminded him so much of what his mum used to make and informed us the flavours were “spot on”. I said I would have preferred mashed potatoes to be shot down with “pft they are for the week day meals, this is for special occasions”. But I have to agree it was really, really good. The roulades were a fantastic consistency and the gravy was so good. I also love German red cabbage and this was the best I have had in Germany.Celery schnitzel with light dill sauce, fresh cucumber salad and mashed potatoes
Maybe I wanted mash potatoes because a friend got this dish and told us they were some of the best mashed potatoes she had ever had – and yes after stealing some I can agree, they were yummy. I also tried a bit of the celery schnitzel with the sauce and it was so so good. Again it all fitted perfectly together.1 photo, 2 desserts, 4 individuals
Cake of the day – a deconstructed Black Forest Cake
Dessert time! As soon as I heard what the cake of the day was, I knew I had to try it. Three people on the table had this dessert and we all agreed it was the perfect size to finish off the meal. The other dessert ordered was the chocolate mousse (which I forgot to take a photo off, but just imagine a perfect quenelle of mousse on a decorated plate – yum), which according to the person eating it, was awesome.
All in all we were there several hours and enjoyed a really great meal. I would definitely give this restaurant a go if you are ever in Berlin. Plan to make a night of it, relax and enjoy. The decor is beautiful, the prices are very fair, the drink list is extensive and above all the food is super yummy.
 | KOPPS, Restaurant und Bar Linienstraße 94 10115 Berlin Tel: 030 43209775 www.kopps-berlin.de |