überlin

And the award for Berlin’s booziest supper club goes to… Zuhause! From the cocktail we were handed when we first arrived – vodka, homemade ginger tea and mint – to the bottles of delicious wine that kept arriving at our table, this most informal of dinner parties was kept well lubricated. In between serving restaurant-grade dishes, paired with said free-flowing wines, Canadian expat Kristi and her Irish beau, professional chef Dave, were the hosts with the mosts – both in and out of the kitchen.

And man, do they know their way around a kitchen. My menu highlights weren’t the obvious choices, but clearly reflect my English roots. We love a good cheese, and the Bleu de Bresse that made up the sixth and final course was just that. And I was ecstatic not only to find two meat dishes, but that the first was the very same Asian take on a Scotch egg I’d been drooling over on the Zuhause website that afternoon – served with miso butter, spring onion and the ubiquitous white asparagus. The lemon curd that cut through the dessert of strawberry tart and fresh meringue was just like my Grandma used to make, a tasty trip down memory lane.

Zoë’s favourite dish, as ever, was the lamb – a tender cut of Irish fillet – while we both lapped up the shallot and chive tortelloni, and the opening fish course of octopus, fennel, grapefruit and melon. But the food was only half the fun, with the intimate setting of the host’s typische Berliner apartment, the hosts themselves and their solid gold “banter” making for a night to remember… brain cells permitting. Like Zuhause on Facebook to join the party!