Finally I won’t have to feel awkward asking “could we just have a drink?” At Maxime Boillat’s new bar à vins, the guests’ fears are allayed. “You can also eat here tremendously well but we’re a wine bar”, says Boillat, the Franco-Swiss owner and restauranteur known for Münzsalon, HBC and Tartan. At Maxim, the trained sommelier is his own boss and can freely pursue his passion for wine with more emphasis on the press than its origin; like the sulfur-free wines from organic viticulture. Boillat calls them “lively” which, according to him, are “asking questions.” However, my question regardingwhether natural wines circumvent hangovers remains unanswered. The prices are fair – starting from 21 Euros per bottle. The menu also teases you with amazing “cochonneries”, entremets to accompany the wines, created by Hugo De Cavalho, and impressive assortment of cheese; Fritz Blomeyer delivers regional specialties and “the cheese pope” Anthony who, apart from Maxim, only works with Hotel Adlon, caters Frenchvarieties. Chapeau!
Maxim – Bar à Vins, Gormannstr.25, 10115 Berlin-Mitte; map
Tue-Sat from 18h; +49 30 658 339 62
Nadine El Ishmawi has lived in Berlin since 1997, teaching yoga and baking for David Chipperfield’s Canteen and Lokal.
