Berliner Ensemble Kantine

Literally a hidden gem, accessed from the back wall of the car park behind the Brecht theatre. A simple artsy environment with benches and photos from past shows. Super friendly and helpful staff explained the menu, and the food was great value for money. Three...simple, tasty, very German dishes were on offer including a vegetarian (not vegan) option. We had pork wrapped in white cabbage with potatoes, and cheese strudel with cous cous and a mustard sauce.

Berlin friend took me behind the famous Berliner Ensemble theater in a courtyard, down some hardly marked steps, and there it was a cafeteria for the staff of the Ensemble but open to everyone (who knows about it). Fast, cheap, and good. The hall...does look 'Soviet ' but the atmosphere is warm and an added bonus is that if you are there during an intermission you are likely to see cast members grabbing some mineral water between acts.

A good place to get a drink or a light meal before the show and perhaps hobnob with one of the evening's stars in full makeup as they stop in before the performance. Don't expect refined cuisine this is a company cafeteria, not...a real restaurant. But it's inexpensive, unpretentious and will stave off hunger until your after the show meal.

If you are travelling on a budget, are terribly terribly hungry and inclined to fill up on German food while looking at theatre technicians and/or actors preparing for or unwinding after a show, this is your place. But if you just want to eat well...in Berlin without spending a fortune, this is one place to be avoided. The food is stodgy, with no particular taste I had potato soup, a thin broth with nondescript vegetable cubes, a tough pork roulade with floury knödel, gravy and a mountain of red cabbage, and something resembling cheesecake. With a bottle of water and a glass of cava, this set me back 15€. Of course, it 's cheap, but a lot more can be accomplished with the ingredients involved, if you put your mind to it. Being an old theatre hand, I liked the atmosphere. But I left two thirds of the food on my plate.

Was about christmas in berlin and gave me "the sheet drum" last night. almost a week later I still think about it. Many thanks to all those who participated in this presentation – of course niko holonics, but also the attendees in the house. a perfect last night in berlin and a particularly relevant piece today (as I live in America.)