La Pecora Nera

If I had written this review after the first time I came here, I would have told you that this place was one of the best restaurants I had ever been to. That first meal that I had was probably one of the most perfectly constructed and executed meals I had ever had. That day, we had ordered the appetizer (consisting of some cured meats, cheeses, two jams, and olives), a shrimp gnocchi with burrata, a duck secondi, and a crema catalana all served with the most buttery and delicious homemade bread.
The appetizer was a perfect start. Everything was well balanced and flavorful.
The duck was well cooked and well seasoned.
The Gnocchi was by far the star of the meal. The combination of the perfectly cooked Gnocchi with the flavor packed shrimp sauce controlled by the creamy burrata and fresh shrimp on top… absolutely unbelievable.
Finally, the Crema Catalana came out and it just solidified the meal into our brains. After cracking into the thin layer of sugar on top, we arrived at the warm, sweet, creamy custard which was still so amazingly light. Spectacular.
Every other time I’ve come to this place, I haven’t had anything even close to that experience. As the menu changes, the pastas since haven’t been at the same level… and each time I order the crema catalana, it always comes out a little cold.
Thank you La Pecora Nera for giving me one of the best meals of my life. But, consistency is important.

Ich war letzte Woche zum 2. Mal innerhalb von 2 Jahren wieder im Pecora Nera. Die leckeren Bigoli mit Ente hatten mich endlich mal wieder dorthin gelockt. Leider war ich dieses Mal sehr vom schlechten Service enttäuscht. Nachdem wir bei einer Kellnerin bestellt hatten, brachte uns nach einiger Zeit ein Kollege von ihr ein kleine Vorspeise aus Burrata, Schinken und Melone. Dazu auch noch etwas Brot. Ich war etwas überrascht und sagte noch zu ihm, dass wir so viel gar nicht bestellt hatten. Er nickte nur freundlich und wir begannen zu essen — in der Annahme, dass dies ein Gruß aus der Küche sei oder zum Hauptgericht gehöre. Nach einigen Minuten kam dann die Kellnerin zurück und meinte, sie hätten einen Fehler gemacht und die Vorspeise gehörte nicht zu den von uns bestellten Bigoli. Da wir natürlich bereits die halbe Portion hinter uns hatten, kam dies also leider zu spät. Die Bigoli kamen, schmeckten wie auch schon vorher sehr lecker. Am Ende war ich sehr überrascht, dass die beiden Vorspeisen doch zu 100% auf der Rechnung auftauchten und diese sogar fast verdoppelten (10,90 € pro Portion!!). Ich fragte natürlich nach, warum diese gebucht wurden, wo wir dies doch nicht bestellt hatten. Die Antwort der Kollegin war leider sehr enttäuschend und lautete in etwa: wer Pasta bestellt und dann Melone hingestellt bekommt, braucht sich ja nicht wundern, wenn das dann auch berechnet wird. Keinerlei Entschuldigung oder ähnliches. Man hätte auch gern ein Getränk ausgeben können oder nur ein Gericht berechnen können, denn Fehler passieren nun einmal. Aber sich nicht einmal zu entschuldigen und den Gast dafür noch zahlen zu lassen, ist absolut frech und gehört sich in der Gastronomie nicht. Ich werde dort bis auf weiteres nicht mehr hingehen! Und das obwohl ich direkt um die Ecke wohne. Sehr schade, denn ich mochte den Laden bisher.

We absolutely love fish, but it seems to be a rare commodity in Berlin. When we saw this restaurant doing Fresh Fish Fridays we decided to get dolled up and pop down for date night. The Unilocal reviews ensured our expectations were high, but sadly we left disappointed.
Firstly the fresh fish wasn’t fish but shellfish: octopus, mussels, scallops and prawns. Thankfully neither of us were allergic. Second, we were told one antipasti would be enough to share: this wasn’t really the case as the plate that came out was a portion for one person. The mains were okay but the chef is very heavy handed with the pepper.
By the end of the meal we were looking forward to dessert. Our waiter approached us; instead of asking our order he asked if we could move up so three more people could squeeze round our table. It was a bit tight and awkward. We had to ask for the bill three times before it was brought (while smelling our new table-​mates garlicky starter) and turned down two offers of limoncello.
All in all it was very disappointing. We’d been looking forward to coming here all week but after such an underwhelming meal I doubt we’ll be back.

Very happy with the duck and separately the sardine bigoli. Prices reasonable to cheap for the quality of food. Funky part of town, but still better if you reserve a table. They also have several specials.

Kann ich empfehlen, wenn man denn auf durchaus kreative, aber dennoch teilweise derbe, bodenständige italienische Küche einsteigt. Recht fischlastig aber sehr lecker!

Wow! Pecora Nera is a small italian osteria. It has only a few tables, so reservation is a must. The décor is super charming and you feel like in a place somewhere in a small italian town. They offer a selection of dishes representing the north italian cuisine. In addition to the menu they also have changing daily specials. We went for the mixed starter plate that had some of the best grilled vegetables I ever had and a delicate selection of cheese and meat. For main course we shared in our group 4 different pasta, risotto and polenta dishes. All of them were just amazing. To round all this off we had a selection of desserts that were just perfect. In the end we got another nice surprise when we saw the bill. The value for money here is outstanding! Gets my highest recommendations.

It’s always been a rule of thumb for me that a good Italian trattoria or osteria should not be a big affair: a small restaurant, with only very few tables, a handwritten menu, featuring only 3 to 4 items per category, with a small list of house wine, these are the ingredients for a good Italian eating experience. When we were in Tuscany earlier this year, this has been our rule of thumb for selecting a place to eat, and we didn’t fail. This time, it’s also been applicable to Italian restaurants here in Berlin.
So for a date night, I opted to make a reservation here. A small place, a small menu, cash only, and I already had my hopes up. The menu was written on blackboards hung in the dining room.
My dinner started with the caprese (buffalo mozzarella with very sweet cherry tomatoes, and a little pinch of fresh basil), very simple, but mind-​blowing nonetheless. I followed that with the pumpkin risotto with truffle shavings. Very rich and creamy, and the risotto was done to perfection. My companion started with the bresaola carpaccio, followed by the venison medallions with endives, plums, and potatoes. They were very kind to change the potatoes, since it was originally offered as a cream purée, yet my companion doesn’t do well with cream, so they fried slices of potatoes instead.
We shared a half bottle of a red wine, which was a good accompaniment to our meal. Finally, we still had room for dessert, and they were only offering two that evening. So we got both of them, a crema catalana, as well as a chocolate mascarpone mousse. We shared both, and man, it was the perfect end to a great dinner.
I suppose Neukolln never fails to surprise me yet again, as this is the third restaurant we went to in Neukolln who blew our minds away. I will definitely be back here. Make a reservation, as the place is small. During the weekdays you might be able to walk in, but I am sure this place gets cramped in the weekends.

schöner Laden an einem schönem Platz,
zum Essen: Risotto mit Muscheln, Garnelen etc.: etwas weniger Salz und es wäre top gewesen, besonders der auf den Punkt gegarte Reis, schön bissfest, nicht so labberig, toll
Nudeln mit Entenragout: tja, der Teller war schnell leer ;-)

Well they speak Italian and make very tasty pasta with seafood. Good selection of various Spritz drinks for only 3 €.

Das Pecora Nera ist eine Sternstunde für die blühende Entwicklung auf dem Schillerkiez.
Die Qualität ist unglaublich, der Laden ist nach wenigen Monaten täglich ausgebucht,
und die wirklich gute Küche ist authentisch kein Wunder, denn die machen genau das,
was sie offenbar bei Ihrer Mutter gelernt haben: italienische Hausmannskost vom feinsten.
Extraklasse.

Toller kleiner Italiener im Schillerkiez! Wechselnde Gerichte und gute Weine. Entspannte Atmosphäre. Sehr zu empfehlen.