Fancy schmanzy restaurants

I have visitors coming in this weekend. They want to go out for a nice dinner somewhere a bit fancy where one could dress up a little - wear a suit and still fit in. Ideally it would be a little hip - not full of retirees.

My dining experiences in Berlin have consisted solely of casual spots where the gear is jeans and the furniture is all eclectic, second-hand junkyard style. Definitely don't warrant anything requiring dry cleaning.

Does anyone have any recos for a good spot anywhere in Berlin? They aren't too picky on cuisine type, but they did rule out Asian/Sushi - the only hip, dressy options I know.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

You could try the Schwarzenraben, while they wouldn't chuck you out for jeans, a suit will fit in here fine, at least if it is a good one. Excellent food, can be a little loud, beautiful wines and somewhere I always go back to in Berlin.
There's always Borchardt I guess?
Sure the TTBers will come up with more ideas.

In Altes Zollhaus you wouldn't be out of sorts in a suit, but there are often people there in jeans. Food is traditional German cusine done well.

According to the 2004 Zagat guide I happen to have sitting on my desk, the top ten restaurants in Berlin (going on ratings of quality of food, decending order) are:

Vivaldi
Alt Luxemburg
VAU (sounds very much like the type of place you are after, smart and cool - Jägerstraße54-55; 030-202-9730)
Four Seasons
Margaux (sounds cool - Unter den Linder 78; 030-2265-2611)
Lorenz Adlon
Felix
Trattoria Paparazzi
Gugelhof (eaten here myself - it's pretty good. Knaackstraße 37; 030-442-9229)
Altes Zollhaus (sounds really nice and cosy - Carl-Herz-Ufer 30; 030-692-3300)

Guide might be a bit out of date, but gives a general idea of what's around I guess.

Have fun!

shiro i shiro in mitte. great food, gorgeous atmosphere. you can def. dress up!! reservations a must.
www.shiroishiro.com

I also second the Vau recommendation. Here is their site: www.vau-berlin.de

The Four Seasons is now closed and has been replaced with The Regent Hotel. The restaurant is called Fischers Fritz and is totally fancy and expensive. The food is wonderful but NYC/London etc prices.

Alt Luxemburg is good but the atmosphere is geriatric and stuffy.

happy eating!

Kolja Kleeberg is often one of the chefs on "Kerner's Kochstudio" on ZDF TV Friday late evenings.
Whether he will be cooking when you are there is another matter.
But from what he dishes up during those Friday evening I'd envy you if you go there (& someone else pays).

Evening Menu for March (only for 110 Euros...)

Ganymed (high-brow Alsatian) is absoultely amazing. Many items on the menu and wine list are kind of pricey (for Berlin) but there are some yummy cheapo items too. Plus, they know how to serve a proper pernod: serve customer glass of pernod in skinny glass plus little ice bucket plus little pitcher of water so that customer can mix to his/her specifications. Mmmm.

You can try:

Felix: www.felixrestaurant.de
Lola: www.lola-lounge.de
Vau: www.vau-berlin.de
Margaux: www.margaux-berlin.de

Enjoy and don't forget to provide TT'ers with a review

Has anyone ever eaten at the Brechtkeller
www.brechtkeller.de?

If yes, how is the food and is it super cramped down in that keller?

How about Restaurant Maxwell, Bergstrasse? Excellent restaurant, very elegant.

^^ Second vote for Maxwell- just back from a long weekend in Berlin and had booked it for my b-f's birthday. We were very impressed - both service and food were excellent. (For anyone from Ireland, i would say the meal cost about 100 less than what we would have paid for the equilavent standard in Dublin)

Fourth vote for Vau, here.