Japanese Restaurants in Berlin, Germany

It Doesn't Always Have to be Sausage and Beer

German food is said to be a little on the heavy side. And I suppose, if one sticks with traditional dishes like Sauerbraten and Eisbein, it is - and oh yeah don't forget all of those wonderful sauces and dumplings they like to serve and the Schweinebraten and the Roladen and the Rotkohl and the Weihnachtsganz and the Grünkohl and then there's Spargel in the spring and Spätzle and then come the pastries… Get the picture?

Sure the food is great here. But believe it or not, German food isn't necessarily what Germans prefer to eat all of the time. At least not in Berlin it isn't.

Generally speaking, big cities tend to offer a bigger than life selection of exotic delicacies from all over the world. Ethnic niches flourish naturally in urban areas and the bigger the city, the bigger the variety. But size doesn't always matter, at least not when it comes to having a great selection of exotic foreign foods. Berlin certainly may seem huge to the newcomer (and indeed it is), but it just doesn't "feel" like New York or Paris or London. Not yet, anyway. And yet… When it comes to getting more bang for your good food buck, Berlin offers at least as much as any of these other great cities do.

Take Japanese food, for instance (I always do). There are dozens of excellent, high-quality Japanese restaurants located all over town. And it's quite strange, too. I don't now if the Yakusa was perhaps involved in any of the planning here, but these places have been distributed in such an "inscrutably" ingenious manner that you never seem to have to walk more than twenty minutes before bumping into the next one. And that's a good thing. Each place has its own touch, a spin of its own. And here are just a few of my favorites.

At Udagawa, for example, you will enter one of the finest Japanese restaurants in Berlin. The seafood here is of the highest quality; med tuna, perch, turbot and many other delicacies are available. They specialize in sushi and tempura dishes and their sukiyaki is particularly delicious.

Udagawa
Feuerbachstraße 24
12163 Berlin
Tel. 030 792 93 73
www.restaurant-udagawa.com