3 Minutes sur Mer

On a slightly less trodden stretch of Torstrasse – a little past Rosenthaler Platz – a splendid sequence of restaurants are flying the flag for French cooking. One of the first to open was the expensive brasserie Bandol sur Mer, which in typically French fashion opened a superb brother next door, a bigger and livelier bistro. Come to 3 Minutes sur Mer with its neon wreath signage on the corner for something a little more louche: the traditional Parisian aesthetic of art deco bar stools, copper-pots lining the open kitchen, paper tablecloths with reservations scrawled on them sit alongside Nouveau Berlin touches such as the DDR crenulated glass light fixtures and 19th century photographs which have been manipulated into eerie artworks. Excellent fish options such as red mullet and bream come impeccably cooked, all crisp skin and translucent flesh. There are also more gutsy dishes: a reduced coq au vin and escargot de Bourgogne dripping in garlic butter. Plating is visually spare, any jus neatly daubed and portions squared off, their suckling pig dish a geometric wonder. Start with some foie gras pate (ethical stance dependant) and end with their stacked Tarte Tatin. Booking advised.