Villa Rixdorf – faded charm

By Catherine Metag

In search of inspiration we cycle through Neukölln hungry on Sundays. The man says he feels like doing home-style cooking like jelly with fried potatoes. And because we’re rolling towards Richardplatz, I can only think of one shop.

I haven’t eaten there for many years. The fact that it used to be an institution is shown by numerous faded photos of Berlin stars and starlets hanging in the showcase next to the map. It doesn’t show jelly, but other classics such as Königsberger Klopse, Koulroulade or calf’s liver. But also pizza and various types of pasta, snails and beef carpaccio.

That’s clearly too ambitious for me, because a large selection always gives rise to the assumption that there’s a lot of convenience food. We sat down anyway. The service is quick and friendly. The outdoor furniture has seen better days.

I decide on veal escalope with chanterelles (21 euros) from the small additional menu, the man takes potato soup with sausages (5 euros) and a small salad (5.50 euros). The soup is solid, hot and tasty, the salad ok but the dressing lacking flair.

I’m disappointed with the Wiener Schnitzel, instead of a golden-yellow piece with air bubbles, three brown, dry small parts are served, which are hidden under the chanterelle sauce. There’s a hole in the potato from cutting out a bad spot.

Maybe I’m picky, but we’ll check back in a few years.

Richardplatz 6, Neukölln, daily 11 a.m.-1 a.m., ☎ 6808 6000

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