Fukagawa: Where to Eat in Berlin

Ramen people, tasting-menu ambitions

Fukagawa is the ramen crew’s slower, more formal project. The team behind some of Berlin’s well-loved ramen counters opened it in Kreuzberg. Instead of noodle bowls, it serves a Japanese multi-course tasting menu with clear French influence.

That combination explains the buzz among Berlin diners. Ramen fans know the team’s broth discipline already. Here that cooking is spread across a structured sequence of courses, where French technique sits alongside Japanese flavour.

The name comes from Fukagawa, an old riverside district of Tokyo’s Kōtō ward known for its working-class Edo-period food culture. Read it as a signal of where the cooking’s loyalties lie. It is not a promise of any particular dish.

What a tasting menu here means

Arrive expecting a set progression, not a menu you order from line by line. That is how a multi-course tasting format works, and it changes how you plan the night:

• Time: multi-course dinners run long, so set aside a full evening.
• Dietary needs: tell the restaurant when you book, not when you sit down, because set menus are prepped in advance.
• Appetite: the courses are small, but they add up. Skip the pre-dinner Döner.
• Drinks: ask whether a pairing is offered. Don’t assume one exists.

We haven’t been given the current menu or prices, and both are likely to change while the restaurant is new. Check Fukagawa’s own website or booking page for what is being served right now.

Booking and the table: Berlin habits

Book ahead. A new tasting-menu restaurant with word-of-mouth momentum is not a walk-in place, and kitchens running set menus plan covers in advance. Turn up on time, because a late arrival can hold up a course for the whole room.

• Paying: plenty of Berlin restaurants still prefer cash, and a few take nothing else. Ask about cards when you book.
• Tipping: around a tenth of the bill is normal for this level of dining. Don’t leave coins on the table. Tell the server the total you want to pay as they bring the card machine or take your cash (“Machen Sie fünfzig”, for example).
• Getting the bill: staff won’t bring it unprompted. Ask for “die Rechnung, bitte”.
• Cancelling: if your plans change, cancel properly. Small set-menu kitchens feel no-shows hard, and many take card details to cover them.

Hours have not been confirmed, so check the restaurant’s official channels before you set out.

Getting to Kreuzberg and making a night of it

Kreuzberg is easy to reach by U-Bahn. The district’s main interchange is Kottbusser Tor (U1, U3, U8). The elevated U1 also stops at Görlitzer Bahnhof and Schlesisches Tor. Check Fukagawa’s exact address before you leave so you know which stop is closest.

Before dinner, walk along the Landwehrkanal on the Paul-Lincke-Ufer and Maybachufer. Bars line the water, and the Turkish Market sets up on Maybachufer on certain weekdays. After dinner, Oranienstraße has the district’s densest run of late bars, and Wiener Straße runs along the edge of Görlitzer Park.

Treat Fukagawa as the centre of your evening and fit the rest around it. A long tasting menu doesn’t leave room for a second dinner.