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Named for the Château that produces some of the great
Bordeaux's, the restaurant Margaux has a decided Gallic sensibility.
Its 600+ list includes thirty wines of the historic vineyard; its
chef is trained in the techniques of classical French cuisine. Yet
the restaurant is in Berlin, and Chef Michael Hoffman is a native of
Frankfurt.
Nevertheless, Margaux is well suited to its Unter
den Linden locale. The horrors of the past: Hitler's parading
through the Brandenburg Gate a block away and down Unter den Linden
upon assuming power in 1933, the reduction of the region to rubble
at the close of World War II, the four decades of GDR domination may
still be part of living memory. But the more recent past has seen
the tearing down of the infamous Wall (a portion of which ran
alongside the Gate), the reunification of the city, and its
evolvement into a modern, culturally rich, and fashionable
metropolis where, especially in this historic neighborhood close by
the German parliament and the great green expanse of Tiergarten, a
place like Margaux could be expected to be established and thrive.
The dining room, accessed through a street-level
doorway on Wilhelmstraße around the corner from Unter den Linden,
conveys a Zen-like aura of space and calm with gleaming floors of
black marble and high ceilings painted in gold leaf. Soft, indirect
lighting comes from illuminated rectangular pillars and recessed
fixtures. Works of abstract art decorate the walls; there are rich
woods, ocher-velvet chairs around tables set with pristine blue and
white linens, and a wall of glass that looks out to a gardened
courtyard. Maitre d' and sommelier Gesumino Pireddu led us to one of the tables
facing the courtyard. "This is where
Gerhard Schröeder always sits," he told us.
A gentle, elegant man with boyish smile and black
hair streaked with gray, Pireddu oversaw our dinner with effortless
graciousness and efficiency. It was a remarkable feast, accompanied
by wines the sommelier selected from Margaux's extensive cellar
including a couple of excellent German whites --which, given the
setting, seemed no more than appropriate, a clean and dry Pinot
Blanc from Piedmont, a white Burgundy, and a red, very aromatic wine
from a German grape similar to Pinot Noir.
1. Pireddu had followed Michael Hoffman to Berlin
from Munich when the chef opened Margaux two years ago. "For me,
Hoffman is one of the best of the chefs," he said, as he started us
off with a Moselle Rosé. "He uses no butter, no heavy oils and a
great range of herbs, especially in the summer when they are in
season. As it is June, you will get the chance to taste them. You'll
see how all the dishes are so light and fresh, so healthy."
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Gesumino Pireddu, Maître d'Hotel/Sommelier |
|Servers Nina Meisner (left) and Dominique
Octscher with Gesumino Pireddu |
2. And so we did -- beginning with a crustini and
assortment of calamari that came with a salad of herbs , some of
which were totally unfamiliar. But our servers -- a pair of engaging
young women, Nina and Dominique -- knew the names of each, in German
at least. Among them were several varieties of nettles. With their
sting removed, they're quite tasty, we discovered. Also, said Nina,
they're good for your skin and hair.
Refreshingly cold cucumber soup, a lovely shade of
green, came in champagne glasses topped with sliced radishes and
what appeared to be clover but was, as we were soon informed, wood
sorrel. There was a relish of radishes and apple beneath a tiny
round of roasted pigeon; a stunning array of vegetables, some
grilled, some marinated: blue potatoes cooked in a foam of tomatoes,
carrots, zucchini, fennel, artichokes, eggplants, bell pepper,
kohlrabi and a group of wild herbs marinated in sunflower oil -- an
astonishing 35 in all!
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Grilled tuna and tuna cream with ginger came with
a salad of beetroots (a green we'd often noticed in the market and
now decided to add to our next shopping list) and coriander. There
followed another vegetable dish, the colors and shapes arranged like
a painting: steamed carrots, kohlrabi, red and orange peppers,
celery, turnips, and spinach marinated in an herbal oil and arranged
in an arch over cockles sautéed in vegetable juice. It was
accompanied by toast rounds made with black olives and tomatoes
and that came with a spread comprised of every one of the vegetables
listed above.
| There was crispy sea bass
topped with beans and almonds in a lemon sauce with red
spinach grown by a farmer near Berlin and the Chinese
cabbage bok choy. And finally, and also in a lemon sauce, a
round cutlet of Swiss veal served over tomatoes and leeks,
and accompanied by artichokes. But
there was still dessert, a choice of sweet basil mousse
with strawberries, basil with curd cheese, strawberries and
German champagne, caramel vanilla soufflé, ice cream with
cherries and mascarpone or a salad of peppermint and orange
cicely -- a wild herb -- these with a Riesling ice wine. And
finally, delectable and perfectly formed miniatures: almond
crackers, jelly of peach and raspberry, a roll of cream of
pinenuts and marshmallow topped with elderberry and cream of
elderberry. |
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One hears that Michael Hoffman has taken classical
French cuisine to a new level. He calls it Avantgarde Classic, a
label that has the ring of an oxymoron. But not after one has
experienced the chef's take on standard dishes, his singular
creation of flavors, the great range and manifold uses of herbs, the
number of vegetables and quality products, the sheer, staggering
variety of all of the above. The parade of ingredients, their
preparations, arrangements and combinations are enough to leave one
breathless. They have earned the dining room a Michelin star, and
its reputation as one of Berlin's great restaurants.
Margaux
Unter den Linden 78
Eingang Wilhelmstrasse
10117 Berlin
Germany
Phone: 49 30 22 65 26 11
Web:
http://www.margaux-berlin.de
Photographs (unless otherwise
noted) by Harvey Frommer |
