100 years Clärchens Ballhaus Berlin

Just to be clear, Clärchens Ballhaus in Berlin is much more than a restaurant. It's an iconic venue, named after Clara Habermann, who established the "Ballhaus" in 1913, in East Berlin's Auguststraße 24–25, together with her husband Fritz Buehler. In 2013 Clärchens Ballhaus celebrates its 100th birthday and over the last couple of years it has clearly regained its original shine - if not more...

It's worth mentioning that the original name is indeed written without apostrophe - as it's German, so the Berliners spell it "Clärchens"! If you're after a posh fine dining place, this is definitely the wrong location for you!  Clärchens is a vibrant, glamorous & very 1920s "Ballhaus", so basically the mother of all dance halls - and one of very few left, if not even the last original one of its kind.

It's like a little miracle that the Clärchens has survived World War II and Communism! After the reunification of Germany it changed owners and was closed down for refurbishment. The main hall on the ground floor level has been tastefully refurbished, but the real gem is the mirror hall ("Spiegelsaal") on the first floor. The new owners have been well advised not to change anything here, so the mirror hall still has all of it's original features and is used for special events. Claerchens attracts a broad range of audiences. Julia Regehr's PastaOpera with its delicious set menu - naturally set in he mirror hall - is more for the culinary inspired opera lover, whereas the regular Gipsy Restaurant with live band has an atmosphere on its own, with the a la carte food not being the main event.

It's always worth checking the program to find out if there's any special event scheduled. The website also tells you what music will play on a particular evening. And there's always music and someone dancing at Clärchens.

Not much has been said about the food so far, which is not fair. Although this wonderful place is clearly not a temple of culinary heights, it provides honest comfort food a la carte and delicious set menus that match the occasion.  Clärchens cuisine can be described as German-Italian with a modern twist. Although it's in Berlin and not Vienna, the Wiener Schnitzel with warm potato salad is to die for and probably my favorite. The weekly menu can be downloaded here. Let's hope that Clärchens Ballhaus survives at least another 100 years - may the dance never end.



Clärchen's Ballhaus
Auguststraße 24–25
10117 Berlin

http://www.ballhaus.de/