Kaefer's Restaurant Dachgarten
In the Reichstag, Platz der Republik
Cuisines: European, Continental
About
When a team of cutting-edge architects redesigned the most famous building in Berlin, the Reichstag (Parliament House), they added a restaurant on the uppermost floor, just behind the soaring dome that has inspired so many photographs. The setting is metallic looking and edgy. Lines to get in can be overwhelming, mingling sightseers and diners in the same queues, so here's our advice on how to short-circuit the potential wait: Phone in advance for a dining reservation and note the reservation number an attendant will give you. Head for the Reichstag's entrance for those with limited mobility, on the building's west side, facing the Platz der Republik, give the attendant your number, and then ride an elevator directly to the restaurant, avoiding the lines of sightseers coming just to admire the building's dome. Included in the price of your meal will be a close-up view of the dome and the rest of the building's interior. Frankly, a visit here for breakfast may be your best bet, when there's a businesslike aura that's consistent with this building's august role as a Teutonic icon. Views sweep from the dining room out over what used to be known as East Berlin. The lunch menu is more "Berliner" than the Continental/Asian evening menu. Lunchtime menus include house-style meatballs with coleslaw and potato salad and grilled steaks and wursts. Dinners are a bit more exotic, focusing on such dishes as fried filet of duck with Austrian-style scalloped potatoes, Asian asparagus, and water chestnuts; and filet of turbot with a purée of truffles and herb-flavored risotto.
