If you’re visiting Berlin and ask a food-savvy local for tips, the revolving restaurant at the top of the TV tower won’t be among them. But maybe it should be?
A reservation at Sphere, where your meal comes with an ever-changing panorama of the capital from a height of 207 metres, costs a mere €2-5 more than a trip to the Fernsehturm’s observation deck, where those in search of a 360-degree view have to walk all the way around like a sucker.
And the food, which we got to sample after a recent menu refresh, is shockingly decent. Not exactly Michelin-worthy, but not steam-table tourist trap fare either. The new lunch and dinner offerings include, you guessed it, more plant-based options – Currywurst and Beyond Burgers, but also a very credible pearl barley risotto with mushrooms and an elegantly composed plate of marinated beetroot, quince, caramelised walnuts and soy yoghurt.
Non-vegan dishes also nod towards sustainability, at least to some extent. You won’t know which farm the lamb shank came from, but you’ll get Brandenburg cheese in the Brotzeitplatte and crisp-skinned Winterkabeljau (Norwegian skrei) instead of over-fished cod.
The only thing we’d steer you away from is booze, not just because it’s overpriced, but because spooning up risotto while trying to identify the Volksbühne, the Victory Column and Oberbaumbrücke as they whirl by will make you woozy enough.
- Sphere, Alexanderplatz, Mitte. (€24.50/inner table, €27.50/window table). Reservation required, book your table here.