Tobias Beck, head chef at Clärchens Ballhaus in Berlin, describes his char tartare as a kind of “German ceviche”. © Marlena Waldthausen for ZEITmagazin ONLINE Exclusively for subscribers
Do you want to invite people to dinner? Tobias Beck created a menu for us that celebrates German cuisine – noble but easy to implement. As a starter there is char tartare.
In Clärchens Ballhaus in Berlin-Mitte it is still quiet on this Tuesday morning and the 150 seats in the large dining room are unoccupied. Only a few craftsmen occasionally walk between the old tables, attach a lamp here, tighten a screw there. In Berlin, Clärchens Ballhaus is an institution for everyone who wants to eat and dance. It just celebrated its 111th birthday. After renovations, it reopened in September with the new Luna D’Oro restaurant. Its nostalgic essence has not been lost. The tiled stove in the dining room is reminiscent of previous times, as is the golden disco ball on the ceiling. However, the dance area was moved to the listed Hall of Mirrors on the upper floor and benches were moved into the former Schwoof area.
