We learned that one month after we booked our reservation at The Noname restaurant in Berlin that the restaurant has obtained a Michelin star in April 2023. We thought that we got it right by reserving this awarded place for our last evening in Berlin. 

First, let us talk about the place, the interior is minimalist, design and chic. It has a stylish period interior with wonderful high ceilings with stucco molding, but there is an image that grabs our attention: the provocative bondage image by the artist Anne Bengard. The staging of this erotic art of ropes and knots is not the only one to emphasize sensuality. The seduction of the senses is also at the center of the menu.

The menus of six (105 Euros) to eight dishes (125 Euros) bet on the desire for novelty, far from any convention. Thus, heart, bone marrow, calf's head or even Jerusalem artichokes are also among the dishes served. However, young chef Tim Tannenberger uses animal products sparingly and knowingly. His culinary creations are based on different vegetables, and the animal and vegetable ingredients he uses come mainly from regional producers. Vegetarian option is also offered. 

Our experience at The NoName was mixed while we found the food was good, but below Michelin standard. Although the chef took some risk in the creation of certain dishes, but for us there was no dish that was remarkable or stand-out. 

The wine list is eclectic, predominated by natural and organic wines and the prices are relatively affordable. 

The service is friendly, a little bit hesitant but above all very long and very slow, it took us three and a half hours to taste eight dishes. 

Our observation is that there is a big gap between Michelin star restaurants, we have eaten in restaurants with one star, and we still remember every dish we had eaten, but this is not the case with The NoName restaurant.

The NoName Restaurant

Oranienburger Str. 32,

10117 Berlin, Germany

Telephone : +49 30 279099027

https://the-noname.de

Orania restaurant is an incredible place in Berlin Kreuzberg, it is an unlikely place that we would think that we are going to eat the best Peking duck ever. 

Yes indeed, we have eaten our best Peking duck ever, better than in Hong-Kong, better than in Shanghai, better the in Singapore and yet better than in Paris or New York 

Our friends would ask who the Chinese chef is behind the making of this XBerg duck as they called it at Orania restaurant, and we would say there is no Chinese chef, but a talented German chef named Philipp Vogel 

The XBerg Duck’s menu comes in four sequences; the first course is the mushroom dashi and shitake dim-sum, it was fabulous in terms of savors, smoothness and the dim-sum was perfectly cooked. The second course was the famous crispy duck skin served with pancake, cucumber, and Hoisin sauce. The duck skin was simply succulent. The third course was the grilled duck’s breast served with Pak Choi and marinated eggplant in a Sichuan’s pepper jus. The final course was the fried rice with drumstick meat, egg yolk, broccoli, and water chestnut. 

Our experience at Orania restaurant was a bliss because the place becomes a living room, and the bar that turns into a concert hall and the evening we were there, there was a music concert with Mike Russell’s Funky Soul Kitchen. 

The only faux pas of Orania restaurant is its wine list which is outrageously priced that was the reason we did not order any wine for our dinner. 

The service was professional, kind, and helpful in their way to explain how they came up with the great idea of serving a Peking duck in an international restaurant. 

Orania is also a hotel where you can book a room and enjoy the Kreuzberg neighborhood. This place is on our list as one of the best places if not the best place to eat a Peking duck.

Orania Restaurant

Oranienpl. 17, 1

0999 Berlin, Germany

Telephone : +49 30 6953968780

www.orania.berlin/de/restaurant

If you’re going to Vienna for a weekend, let us give you a good piece of advice: rent Manuela and Monika’s magnificent apartment located on Graf Starhemberg Grasse, which is walking distance to the main train station Wien Hauptbahnhof.

Manuela and Monika have two beautiful apartments in the building: a one-bedroom on the first floor and a two-bedrooms on the fourth floor.

We rented the one-bedroom on the first floor which has a very nice terrace. The apartment is very well equipped, light, superbly designed, furnished and spotless clean

Manuela and Monika have paid attention to every tiny detail for the comfort of their guests: Vienna guides in English, French, Spanish and German, a few well-selected books/novels, wi-fi connection, cable TV with the main international channels, a very nice kitchen with Nespresso coffee machine, a supply of capsules and a variety of other supplies like small wine bottles, tea bags in the kitchen; plus a hair-dryer, toothbrush/toothpaste, body lotion and skin care cream in the bathroom.

They also have a small corner near the entrance where guests can find umbrellas on the way out or take off their shoes and coats before proceeding into the rest of the apartment. They even have scooters in case you feel like discovering the city in a more sporty style!

It was probably the best and the most beautiful apartment we have rented so far for a weekend.

APARTMENTBERLIN

Monika GRÛNEIS (+4369910262158)

Manuela K. FISHER (+436643430958)

landladies@apartment-berlin.wien

Graf-StarHemberg-Gasse 17/4

A-1040 Wien

Opt for Hotel Paris Off Seine, the first floating hotel on the Seine river in Paris, if you want to spend a few nights in a cozy atmosphere by the river with a trendy setting and a beautiful view of the Austerlitz train station and its dock.

The hotel has 54 rooms and 4 suites, a nice bar for cocktails with an incredible view, a restaurant where you can have tapas or a nice brunch on the weekend looking at the heated pool.

The hotel is perfectly conceived and designed by the architect Gérard Ronzatti.

It’s a perfect setting for a romantic weekend or just for a night out for fun or out-of-the-ordinary, the standard rooms are 15 square meters and the suite 28 square meters, all the rooms are extremely comfortable and well isolated from the environment outside.

Prices are reasonable for a city like Paris; the standard rooms are priced between 120 Euros and 122 Euros (taxes included) and the suites are for 232 Euros.

The staff at the reception was very nice and welcoming; the atmosphere was relaxed and serene.

A good tip from us, if you take a cab to come to the hotel, you should tell the driver to stop in front of the train station Austerlitz on the number 5 of Quai Austerlit.

OFF Paris Seine

20-22 Quai Austerlitz

75013 Paris

Tel : +33144066265

www.offparisseine.com

Lucia Soria is a talented Argentinian chef working in her restaurant Jacinto in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Before opening her own restaurant in 2012, she used to work for the famous Argentinian chef, Francis Mallmann. It was he who brought her to Uruguay in the first place.

Now, she’s on her own at Jacinto, where she puts into practice her years of experience in order to offer to Uruguayans locavore food with a creative twist that they did not use to taste before.

Jacinto is located in the Cuidad Vieja in Montevideo; the restaurant is beautifully designed in an old historic building.

The lunch menu offers at least six starters, six main dishes and six or seven desserts depending on the day.

It is rare in Uruguayan restaurants, but it has to be noticed that Jacinto makes its own bread. Most of the ingredients and groceries are organic and locally produced and supplied. Her cooking is fresh, generous and delicious.

The wine list is dominated – and rightly so -- by local wines with a few selections from Argentina and Chile.

The service is kind and efficient for Uruguay which, we noticed, is generally very slow.

Jacinto is a good place to have lunch while you are in Montevideo, the restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Jacinto 

SarandiI calle & Alzaibar calle 

+598 2915 2731
CIUDAD VIEJA, MONTEVIDEO

JACINTO@JACINTO.COM.UY