Isaac's Food Blog - A review of Vino e Cucina

I stumbled upon Vino e Cucina while walking through the streets of Kreuzberg when I suddenly heard a song that I recognized from my spotify's discovery weekly. This coincidence immediately caught my attention, as this restaurant's radio somehow had a similar taste in music, so I figured their food must be similar to what I enjoy eating as well.

Anyways as I was doubling back I realized that this place was an Italian restaurant, therefore I needed to go there no matter what, too many pleasant coincidences. Their door was left wild open which not only allowed music to spill out onto the street, but also the delicious aromas of Italian cuisine, essentially a perfect trap for my senses. I was immediately drawn to peek inside the restauraunt, and a beautiful sight was bestowed upon me that urged me to take Tully out on a date here.

The restaurant was a tiny underground establishment that was handsomely decorated to instill a sense of comfort but also grandeur. As you walked down into the restauraunt the narrow staircase opened up into a long room. On your left was the bar featuring a narrow hallway at the center of its backwall which led to the kitchen. To the right of the bar were beautiful wooden tables surrounded by sleek white chairs speckling the floor leading to the other end of the room where a shelf stood filled to the brim with wine bottles. The warm lighting invited you into the restaurant, assuring you this was fine dining, and not your average Italian.

Tully and I sat down at a table towards the end of the bar, unfortunately for me my head happened to be right next to a fresh homemade loaf of focaccia sitting on the edge of the bar. I was already starving, so the food had to be good, which it was. The service was extremely friendly, and the restaurant owner even attempted to talk to us in Italian to try and make us feel at home. Both him and the waitress were nice, and I felt very comfortable in the restaurant despite not being Italian :) As an appetizer we started with a mozarella croquette that sat in a green sauce. It was delicious! We ordered two glasses of succulent white wine for the entrees. Tully ordered an absolutely legendary truffle carbonara, and I got a steak sprinkled with strips of fresh parmesan, droplets of vinegar, and leaves of rucola. After devouring the entrees and tasting the last drop of wine both of us were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food in this tiny underground restaurant. You could argue that Vino e Cucina is a literal hidden gem.

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