Dinner at Facil started out with one of the best bread plates I have had in recent memory. Pretzel bread, wonderful whole grain and seed bread, baguettes, and two savory spreads that I would never expect to see served in the US: a tuna-based spread and a second bean-based spread. There was also a ramekin of some of the most delicious butter...and of course I forgot to ask where it was from.
Facil is a Michelin one-star located in the Mandala Hotel in Berlin. Chef Michael Kempf was (apparently) one of the youngest chefs in Berlin to receive a Michelin Star. He's definitely got potential for more, but judging from our meal (which was good, not great and not particularly innovative), he needs a little more experience and inspiration before he actually achieves greatness.
The first course, I believe a salmon tartare. Excuse the poor lighting....I don't like using the flash and did the best with the low, romantic lighting at the restaurant:
Next course was a pepper soup with a potato cracker, mozzarella, tomato, and caviar. It was light and somewhat silly. I can't remember exactly how it tasted - a bad sign.
Next there was fish dish #1. Was it Mackerel? That's what I get for waiting a month to write about this meal. It was well-prepared...at least that I recall.
Then there was the foie gras dish. The gels are vanilla, quince and...something else. Again, worst memory ever.
Next course - shrimp and spinach. I had an allergic reaction to the shell, that'll teach me to eat shell. I'm pretty over foam (see sauce).
Then razor clam, some kind of fish I've forgotten, celeriac. Not enough textural contrasts.
At this point I can't believe we haven't imploded. Sturgeon and an unusually amazing couscous. The portion was a little too large for this point in the meal, though.
The course below was something my mom was served - pork, fish roe, etc:
And another course Mom had but I took a pass on. It was brisket with strings of sweet potato, barely cooked. Mom didn't particularly like it:
Last fish course was gigantic. At this point I was close to exploding. And I was getting really tired of the breadcrumbs:
And then the dessert courses began. There was a 'ravioli' made with fruit paste and vacherin mont d'or:
It was good but too much at this point.
And then the actual dessert:
The thing on the left was some sort of raspberry cake that just didn't delivery. I picked around it. The ice cream was quite good, however, and I downed most of that.
And then there was the first round of petit fours...starring cape gooseberries. The ganache was the best feature of this plate:
And then we finally made it to the end, truffles. Well-executed but not exciting or particularly interesting:
All in all it was too much food, portions were too large, flavors were rather blunt. Overall we didn't love our meal, but it was a lovely service experience and the setting was great. Chef Kempf's cooking needs to mature a little, and more thought needs to be put into texture and preparation. In five years he could be magnificent.
