REmake Grosse Hamburger Strasse 32 Berlin

They chose to call the restaurant REmake, because they combine traditional dishes with contemporary preparation apparently. The food is creative, modern but hard to pin down, shuffling in cards from asian and Mediterranean cuisine creating interesting mixes of flavours and some unusual ingredients, like the slightly vanilla-ish (and illegal in food in the USA) Tonka bean.

We were warmly welcomed - indeed the front of house manager came outside to greet us straight from the cab. The ambiance is simple but comfy with good spacing between tables. The service was welcoming too - friendly rather than polished - which lead to a very relaxed and laid back feeling at the table. Our table was a mix of German and English speakers which caused no problems for the waitresses, who happily repeated everything in each language. I got the feeling the lack of polish to the service was intentional, but it might be keeping them from some of the awards the food no doubt deserves - though Gault Millau 2007 gives them a healthy 13 points.

We were warned straight away that service would be slow "as everything is prepared fresh." They weren't kidding. We were seated at 8. One course arrived before 9. Another between 9 and 10, one from 10 to 11 and the last was at 11.20. The longest gap was over 40 minutes.

Once the food arrived all attention was focused on it. All five of us agreed it was stunning. There's an interesting tasting menu - available from 3 to 6 courses and a wide a la carte too.

It was certainly the most interesting food I've had in over 20 visits to Germany, and I'd send friends, so long as they're in no hurry.

I went for a four course tasting menu. It began with carpaccio of scallops with chanterelle jam and cinnamon basil - the scallops almost crunchy and releasing an intense flavour. Risotto of kingly mushrooms with quailbreast and truffle jus was the high point of the meal for me. I could easily have finished seconds or even thirds. Grilled Tournedo of filet of beef on black been puree with two types of tomato "kuli" was cooked a little more than I prefer but the puree was excellent and I'll be trying to imitate it at home. I also tried bites of the foie gras (good) and a vegetable side of broccoli in a creamy sauce.

Desserts of Creme Brulee of the tonka bean and raspberry sorbet with fresh fruits, served as a trio, were very nearly as good as the stunning risotto. I was amused to notice that, where as most restaurants serving food at this level are rather precious about tableware, the brulee was served in dishes from Ikea.

A small something followed - single blackberries with with salt caramel chocolate cremes - as we waited for coffee. Unfortunately the talents seems to be concentrated in the kitchen as I had one of the worst espressos I've ever been served in a restaurant. Ouch.

Wine was a 2005 Couvent D'eglise which proved a good fit to the main course and an ok 2001 Les Hauts de Lynch Moussas, Pauillac.

Michelin standard food (without as yet official recognition) at a very acceptable 49e for 4 taster courses (rises to 65e for 6). Nearest stations: S-Bahn Oranienburger strasse or Hackesher Markt.