BERLIN BITES: Trattoria Gusto

When we think of Berlin, the first restaurant we think of is GUSTO, because it was our favorite neighborhood restaurant. We would eat here once every 2 weeks at the very least when we were living in Berlin from 2013 to 2016. It was literally behind where we lived so it’s so easy to get to.

We would go to GUSTO to celebarate & we would go to GUSTO when we were sad. The authentic Italian food & Italian staff gave us great comfort. It was the first place we wanted to eat on the day we arrived, but unfortunately they were closed because it was a Sunday, so instead we went for dinner the next day after spending the afternoon in FREIZEITPARK GERMENDORF.

WHY SEATING IS IMPORTANT

In the past we would always get seated outside if it’s a nice day, but after having suffered 4 weeks of bronchitis, I just didn’t want to risk being exposed to smokers again so we opted for inside seating. Unfortunately the big tables are at the very deepest end of the restaurant so it’s hard to get the attention of the waitstaff.

In our experience the wait staff of GUSTO are very nice. But this time we were assigned a particulary grumpy one. It took us forever to ask for balsamic vinegar to go with our olive oil & cheese dip for the bread.

When we asked to have our pizza cut because we were sharing, he said curtly “you have knives.” Granted it is not the norm to have pre-sliced pizza in Berlin, because normally people don’t share pizza – it’s one pizza per person here – we’ve never experienced such curt service in GUSTO before. Maybe because it was a full house? I don’t know.

TD and I shared a carafe of white wine to match the truffle pasta we were going to order.

When eating in GUSTO, always ask for the boards with specials. It will be in Italian so you can ask the waitstaff to explain. From before, we already knew we wanted the TAGLIONI AL TARTUFO ( a must whenever it’s available) and the TARTUFO AL CIOCCOLATO.

We ordered the PIZZA MARGHERITA for DiploBaby. So simple but always delicious!

The SPICY SALAMI PIZZA to share. Soooooo good!

Our friend Tess had the CARBONARA which she was so happy with. They were surprised they didn’t need to add as much cheese as they do in other Italian restos because the dishes are already quite flavorful.

Our favorite, the TAGLIONI AL TARTUFO, is as good as we remember it. it’s basically butter pasta topped with generous servings of fresh truffle slices. Some things should NEVER EVER change!

Despite the initially curt service, the food really makes up for it here. Everyone was happy after the main meal & excited to dig into dessert. I am posting to group pics here because in the first DiploBaby isn’t looking & on the 2nd my eyes are closed lol! Happy faces overall from the yummy food.

It doesn’t look like much but this large TARTUFO AL CIOCCOLATO is perfect for chocolate lovers.

We ordered 3 TIRAMISUS because it is quite light. One of our favorite TIRAMISUS ever.

One of our last meals in Berlin before we moved back to Manila in January 2016 was in GUSTO & I distinctly remember saying our goodbyes to one of our favorite waIters, Salvatorre. We asked about him by showing this pic below, but Julio said he had already retired.

We asked Julio & he gamely posed for a picture! Julio always looks serious, but he is always nice.

READ ABOUT OUR LAST MEAL IN GUSTO IN 2016 & SEE HOW OUR HOOD LOOKED THEN

Scroll to the bottom of this post for the contact details of GUSTO

Walking around the hood

After such a big meal, just like Italians do, we wanted to promenade or walk around to help digest! It was the perfect way to show DiploBaby around our old neighborhood!

Bregenzer Straße is where we would try to find parking, when we couldn’t find any on Konstanzerstr.

My favorite address so far in all our years as serial expats

Sad to see that the ROSSMAN that we had right beside our building is no longer there. That store was THE BEST. So convenient to have!

We were so lucky to live in an Altbau or a home that is more than 100 years old. The high ceilings were fantastic. You can see pics of it here before we had our stuff inside. Photos of how I decorated our Berlin Altbau here.

My son this is where you spent the first 4 months of your life. This is where my water broke & we had to call an ambulance. We took you home here after I gave birth to you in the hospital.