Osteria Caruso in Berlin

Excellent service and delicious Italian food

Food very good, like Nonna/Grandma's.

Very nice restaurant with very reasonable prices for Berlin Mitte. 🔝 I was here with colleagues and ate the best carbonara ever. A colleague ordered spaghetti with truffles and not only had great food but also a nice show. (see video)

We had high hopes for this restaurant near Potsdamer Platz, especially since it is run by Italians. Unfortunately our expectations were disappointed. The pizza was of inferior quality, comparable to the one from the kebab shop around the corner - the cheese was bad and lacked any taste. The pasta was also disappointing: undercooked, sticking to each other and completely tasteless. What was particularly irritating was that the pasta was described as a filet tip dish, but what was served had nothing to do with fillet. It was debatable what meat was used here, but it was definitely not what you would expect from a “tenderloin” dish. The tiramisu was OK. The service was also a disappointment: unfriendly and inattentive, which made the entire experience unpleasant. It was a real shame because we had been looking forward to good Italian cuisine and hospitality - unfortunately both didn't happen. Oh yes and we didn't receive the bill either.

Great atmosphere and an offer of fresh pasta - my favorite pasta with truffles ♡

Top quality and everything fresh. Super tasty. Highly recommended.

Thank you - really typically Italian... and always great. Tip: dessert always works 😉, even if everything else was great.

The food is no more than ok, but the service was virtually non-existent. After the meal you weren't even asked how it tasted and the orders were rudely handed to you. Salad poor, lasagne ok.

Very tasty and super friendly service. The restaurant itself could use some sprucing up, it's not very comfortable.

You feel like a regular when you walk in, even if it's your first or second visit.

I had a pizza, it was big and thin. I liked it. I didn't like the cola and the apple spritzer at all. It is a busy place and therefore very loud in the restaurant. We paid 69 euros for 2 adults and 2 children. We were there for the first and last time. We noticed afterwards that we had paid too much and had not received an invoice. Be careful!!!!

Busy. Pleasant service. Good food at good price.

A special taste experience, very attentive service, nice host. Celebrities also like to hang out here. Thank you for the lovely evening.

Very good food, friendly service staff. But payment on account is not possible.

We ended up here more or less by chance and were very happy with the food

Good Italian food, not exactly cheap but reasonable given its proximity to Potsdamer Platz. The lunch offer was fair. It was very crowded at lunchtime during the week. As a result, it took a relatively long time, but the operation was not to be blamed for that.

We were at this restaurant for the first time. Let me tell you that what we found exceeded our wildest expectations. Pure poetry. Service, atmosphere and food 👌 One thing is certain. We will come back to you 🥰 Best regards

Everything was just perfect!! Very recommended

Stopped by for an Italian dinner after German food for a few nights. Food and service excellent. Went back two nights later to enjoy again.

The staff is very polite and full of humor. The food was very good because in some pizzerias the toppings come off the pizza, but here it's different because it doesn't come off here and because it's fresh and intense. The restaurant is decorated in a beautiful Italian style

Underground. Waited 1.5 hours for a pizza. No invoice received. It feels like they think up the prices. No card payment possible. The tax office should take a look.

Food was very good! Unfortunately, the waiters were unfriendly and had to wait a long time to pay. Disadvantage: All guests got a schnapps after the meal, unfortunately we didn't, even though we had eaten a lot as a group. Was very loud in the restaurant.

We just bridged the waiting time for entry into the Meistersaal with an espresso. So I can't say anything about the food. But I am convinced that the Osteria offers good food.

Super delicious food. Very nice staff, children are treated really well.

The food was wholly unremarkable, and the waiter never smiled once. When we asked for a pizza without one of the toppings, he shook his head and muttered disapprovingly to himself. To add insult to injury, when we tried to pay, it turned out, the “machine was broken”, and they only accepted cash. Cannot recommend this place.

Delicious food, nice atmosphere and service

Pizza was good, nice base. Locally, however, it was very loud/acoustically a bit strenuous to have a conversation because it was just reflective everywhere. Atmosphere/facility ok

My lasagna tasted like it came right out of the freezer section at Rewe.

Ein richtiger Italiener wie es im Buche steht. Authentische Italienische Küche. Bester Italiener in Deutschland for ever

Very nice team and great food. Prices are completely okay for the location

The food is delicious and the people who work there are very nice. The place is ok

Excellent food and great service

Cash only. Friendly service and nice restaurant. Food was okay. There was a rubber band floating in the children's portion of noodles.

Such a nice Italian with classic Italian cuisine. It's a little hidden on Potsdammer Platz. Very nice staff. Take cash with you.

It's not open until midnight. Wrong information.

Fantastic experience at Osteria Caruso! The steak was cooked to perfection, exactly as I wanted. I was attended by a waiter who spoke perfect English. Excellent service and lovely ambiance – highly recommend!

Good pizza, salad with salmon okay (salmon a bit dry, sauce not particularly good), but so far everything was okay. Service unfortunately very unprofessional 👎. If a restaurant is open until 11.30 p.m., you shouldn't greet guests in an annoyed and snappy manner at 10.15 p.m. Unfortunately, things didn't improve over time, so we responded to the lady's whims in a somewhat curt manner. Luckily the colleague took over, that was a good thing and a class difference from before. We don't expect exuberance, and the chemistry can sometimes be better or worse, but letting your guests' whims out is not possible in service. The reviews of other guests are irrelevant to us, but unfortunately they confirm the inconsistent service.

They're using cheap supermarket bought bacon, it looks cheap (as you can see in the photos) and it tastes cheap. Carbonara is really dry as you can see from the photos. Food is really below average. Really disappointed because it looked like a really nice Italian restaurant from the atmosphere but really disappointed in terms of the quality of the food. Don't go there. The only one who knows how to do "the Italian job" is the young girl behind the bar. She's doing great Aperol spritz and limoncello spritz. Apart from that...the only Italian thing here is the tap beer Moretti and the bottled water. Maybe the big wheel of parmesan even, but it's so really empty, it's probably old (just guessed)

There were two of us in this restaurant. When we asked for a table the restaurant was pretty empty. We just wanted to have a drink before a concert and not stay long. When we told the waiter this, he reacted very annoyed and walked away without a word. From this point on we no longer felt welcome and were no longer taken into account after our order. When we later wanted to pay the €20 by card, we were again told in a rude manner that we would prefer to pay in cash. Looking back, I'm very annoyed that I even gave a tip that evening. Our nice start to the evening was ruined by this behavior. I cannot recommend this restaurant if you expect good service.

It is true! You don't go to another country to eat our Italian cuisine. For two reasons: it is almost always poor and then... what is a visit without tasting the local dishes?! Yet, on holiday in Berlin with friends, we went there on the first evening for convenience, as it was very close to our hotel. But, after having savored their fish and Cinzia's hospitality, we returned the following evening. We had confirmation of both things: super fish and the excellent Cinzia even offered us drinks. What to say? If I ever return to Berlin I will break the rule of local cuisine again... Spatzle and goulash will certainly be good but they don't hold a candle to Italian dishes when you're lucky enough to find them so good even abroad.

A genuine Italian restaurant. Very good food.

A very nice shop, delicious pizza and homemade pasta❤️

A charming restaurant with very delicious Italian food. I highly recommend stopping by and eating here!

We were there for dinner on Saturday, April 27th at around 6 p.m. without an appointment. We received a very nice reception. Unfortunately we didn't have a reservation, but we still got a spot. The service was very good. The food was great, super tasty. One point is only deducted because we couldn't pay by card, unfortunately I don't know if it was only a problem on that day. I would recommend making a reservation, I can imagine that it is always very busy.

Super tasty and nice staff! We were lucky to get a table. You should book in advance on the weekend evening to be sure to get a table! The price-performance ratio was okay. The lasagna and the grilled chicken were super tasty and the portion was sufficient. Many thanks to the nice staff! Attention, card payment was not possible for us...

The food was very good. But we were very negatively surprised when we had to pay; no bill, no receipt and only possible to pay in cash. This was not stated anywhere that we brought with us. I had to go out to find a vending machine. Can you speculate on the reason for this? There were no tips and no new visits here (as we had originally planned).

Maten var god; pasta, asparges og parmaskinke. Men vi ble veldig negativt overrasket da vi bare kunne betale med kontanter. Man kan lure på hvorfor en restaurant i 2024 ikke lar deg betale med kort? Vi fikk heller ikke noen kvittering eller regning.

The food was again very good. The waiter and waitress, however, were again not professional, even if it could be described as funny or lively. Both ate/chewed or drank freely while being served. The waiter again didn't have to write down the orders and so another meal was forgotten. Ergo: super tasty and super annoying, unfortunately.

Everyone enjoyed the food, but poor service. We were there as part of a JGA. Unfortunately we arrived 30 minutes late, but that certainly doesn't explain the unfriendly and dubious service. Way too 'loose'/cheeky. Our starters were forgotten, unfortunately there was no apology but we were brushed off with the words "you can understand that it was stupid that the food was forgotten". In addition, we probably didn't respond appropriately to the comment "everything takes so long because there's no staff," so we had to hear that we probably didn't care enough about it. All in all not a good place for a stag do, I would never do it again.

Our visit to this apparently highly regarded Italian restaurant did not begin very well at all. We chose the venue from the reviews it has had, particularly in here, however from our experience I can only conclude that either people in Berlin are easy to please or the restaurant was having a really bad day! We had booked a table and turned up on time whereupon we were left standing at the door for some minutes before the waiter could be bothered to greet and seat us. Then at an adjacent table not 3 meters away an enormous Alsatian dog began a barking match with a small dog which sounded like it was in the kitchens! VERY healthy!!! This went on for some minutes with the larger dog actually getting out from under the table, straining at the leash, seemingly hell bent upon attacking the yapping mutt! This reoccurred several times until the Alsatian’s owners eventually finished their meal and left. Then a small boy added to the disturbance by running around and shouting uncontrollably, a small boy clearly part of a member of the restaurant staff’s family. Now add to this a conflict between the appalling ‘muzak’ played for the customers and a radio blaring from the kitchen. We ordered - Lasagne, a pizza and Spaghetti Alio e Olio together with a FOCCACIA. The Foccacia was actually a pizza base, NOT Foccacia by the widest stretch of the imagination. My wife’s spaghetti was dry, under seasoned and extremely bland - little more than spaghetti with very little of anything else! She asked for Parmesan which duly arrived at the table in a serving dish, but it was not fresh - pre-grated and likely from a packet! Odd too that Parmesan had NOT been offered at the time of serving. My pizza was topped with what tasted like bland supermarket ‘reconstituted’ ham and the salami was so tasteless it might as well have been left off the pizza. It really could not be tasted. Furthermore the base was like chewy cardboard and the whole pizza was extremely under seasoned. I attempted to add a little salt only to find that I could not get the salt cellar to release any on to the food! Upon inspection there was no salt in the cellar, only dry Risotto rice! Our friend having the lasagne did not complain particularly but it was obvious he was not happy and his dish looked very dry indeed with the tomato sauce burnt to the dish. Then there was the wine - we asked for a carafe of house red and we were served a BOTTLE of what was supposed to be Merlot instead. Whilst not quite corked it was thin, astringent and very vinegary. The waiter came to clear our plates and asked my wife if she was unhappy because she had left more than half of her spaghetti. She stated that it was dry and tasteless. The waiter then turned to me and made a facetious comment to the effect that I must be strange because I had eaten all my pizza - in fact I had eaten about two thirds of it and my wife had eaten the rest because she was still hungry having given up on her spaghetti. I was very offended by the waiter’s comments and angrily asked him if he always insulted his customers after serving them with crap, at which point he realised how angry I was, backed down and apologised. When he returned with the bill he announced very loudly (for the benefit of the other tables perhaps?) that he was not charging us for the spaghetti or the pizza, but what he didn’t announce was the outrageous price of the appalling wine. I cannot help but surmise he had inflated it dramatically to claw back what he was knocking off the food, after all, €30+ for a bottle of supposed house wine and a bottle of fizzy water is ridiculous! So if you want great food and good wine in a pleasant relaxing atmosphere then… well… I’d suggest you walk on by.

Good food and excellent service. Cash!

Very nice staff and delicious food, we all loved it

Unfortunately it was just a mediocre experience. I ordered pasta with salmon and lobster sauce, which at best consisted of olive oil with a few herbs. Service not attentive and not overly friendly, I imagine Italian hospitality to be something different. No card payment possible.

Very busy that day and therefore the service wasn't that good. Pizza was great, the dish of the day was a bit pasta.

Pizza is good. Steak was not at all tender and not recommended. Service could be nicer. Card payment was first rejected, then suddenly it worked. Weird acting. Overall 2 stars.

Actually there shouldn't be a point. We wanted to eat there on Good Friday and would also be brought to the table. And nothing else happened for the next 20 minutes. I really understand when it's full. The waiter came by three times and said I'd be right back. Since no one was willing to serve us, we left. Something like that doesn't work at all.

We came here specifically to go to the theater afterwards. The food is very good! My dad had lasagne and I had parmesan needles. Everything was excellent! The restaurant charges reasonable prices!!!! The ambience is right! Possibly Tablecloths would be very nice. All in all, clear recommendation!

Great restaurant, excellent pizza

Pessimo atendimento, serviço errado, comida pobre. Existe evidentemente uma arrogância por parte do escassíssimo pessoal já que o local está sempre cheio, possivelmente pelos preços baixos a qualidade também

Apparently difficult to get a table without a reservation...lucky to be there at a not-so-busy time. Friendly staff, good food, clean. I would have liked more attention from the service...e.g. A reference to the special daily menu would have been nice... overall, the food and the decor seem a bit old-fashioned... but if it tastes good, that's not so important. We liked it there!😋

Food (again) super tasty, nice service. Unfortunately, as is often the case, it was very well attended, so it sometimes took a little longer... but that's just the way it is.

Pizza was tasty but service was so bad

A truly Italian restaurant. Nice food and wines. The location is also great. It's easy to get here.

Very good food, always well attended

Nice ambience, delicious Italian food, beautifully set tables, friendly, unobtrusive staff.

Food is okay but service underwhelming

It was very nice, friendly service, delicious food, nice atmosphere.

Our waitress was very nice, funny and clearly enjoyed his job. We had to wait a little longer for our food, but it was sensational. Overall really great

Are here for the 2nd day in a row. Everything is just great. Super friendly, super tasty and great location. Highly recommended. Top!!!

Probably a tourist place, but I enjoyed the variety of beers (finally) and food. Bought some special cheese and wine. Overall very good experience, although it was crowded on Saturday.

I was in Berlin last week and I appreciated the well-cooked food in this place that tastes a bit like Italy...... The portions are generous and this is appreciated by those who love to "eat" like me, the pasta is well cooked even if not too al dente, the salads are delicious and very assorted. The place has a well organized and relatively fast service. I stayed in a hotel a few hundred meters away and if the first visit was made for convenience, the second was by choice😉 So don't delay too long and try the Caruso tavern even if you are not Italian, you will be satisfied!!😝

Kindness of the waiters, good cuisine, ambience, I would have preferred it to be a little more lively in colours.....02/2024 I always confirm the high quality of the dishes

Very, very good food at reasonable prices. The service could have been a little more attentive, but given the good food you can see that. We had reservations, but we weren't interested. At least in the main room you shouldn't expect a nice ambience but it's ok. The adjoining rooms seem nicer.

Good service, large portions, food OK, unfortunately only cash payment possible. Not understandable at this location with such high sales per evening. The guest from the next table was also sent to the nearest ATM to get money.

Very tasty, romantic atmosphere. Daily menu highly recommended.

Very tasty pizza and the lunch dish was also great. Was here for the second time and was not disappointed. Fast service, top service!

The food was very tasty and plentiful. The chef was perhaps a little too amorous for my taste. This didn't bother my companion.

The waiters ignored us most of the time. Took ages to place the order and request the invoice. The shop is very loud and some of it is no longer brand new (broken sockets, scratched window sills). The food was ok. For the prices that are charged, however, the price-performance ratio is very poor. Other guests were given a pizza knife - we had to cut our pizzas with the super dull knives

Uma ótima experiência gastronomica... preços justos, comida saborosa e em quantidade expressiva. Valeu a pena. Localização boa e atendimento bacana... o pessoal falava italiano e espanhol, além de inglês e alemão... deu certo

Unfortunately we didn't have a good experience. You have to tell it like it is. The food was mediocre. The pasta before al dente. The pizza/dough is not completely cooked through. We asked for a bottle of water several times and only received it at the end of our meal. As a finale, the bill was also incorrect or a sum was given without an invoice being given. We only received this after requesting it and then found out the correct price. Very unfortunate.

Really delicious, great service and good prices and close to the Theater am Potsdamer Platz. Thanks Unfortunately we only took the pictures after the first tasting. 😱 🫣😅

We ate there on a recommendation. However, the service was anything but recommendable and the restaurant is not really cheap. The first thing we ordered was the pasta, which was still on the table. Then our drinks came, but without our bottle of water. The Limoncello Spritz was the most artificial thing I've ever drunk, and there was a bug in the glass. Then our cutlery was dirty and had to be replaced. Then the food came, it was ok but very oily. During the meal I asked for the bottle of water. They asked me whether it was sparkling or still. I answered silently and was given sparkling water 2 minutes later. We both ordered pasta then had to ask for two spoons. After the whole drama, the waiter asked if we would like to leave a tip…. All in all not recommended for the money… I can eat better and also enjoy better service…!!!

Friendly staff. Food ok, but not a great culinary experience. We chose the spaghetti carbonara. For the price it was ok.

Super delicious. Bruschetta, tomato soup, pizza and pasta were incredibly nice. Very large portions. The owner was a bit arrogant, but that was okay. We will come again.

Très belle surprise! Un bon restaurant italien avec des plats typiques de qualité à des prix très corrects pour une grande ville comme cela ! Je recommande vivement.

Sehr leckeres Essen, empfehlenswert.

It is a very cute little Italian restaurant and very busy. We were lucky to get a table on a Saturday evening, but I would recommend that you book a table in advance. The lighting is dimmed and the mood is cozy. We had the lasagne and pasta with Italian sausage and eggplant. Both were not up to the Italian standard we’ve experienced before, therefore only 3 stars. I wish I had tried the Parmesan truffle pasta, as it is made exactly like it should be by the table. With the big Parmesan cheese wheel and grated truffle. All in all is was ok, but nothing more.

Sehr nettes Personal, gemütliches, familiäres Ambiente und gutes Essen. Vielen Dank für das Glücksschwein, welches ich mitnehmen durfte.

Keine Ahnung, was am Abend des 27. Dezembers hier schief gelaufen ist. Aber in großer Runde gemütlich Essen haben wir uns anders vorgestellt. Die Bedienung war überfordert und somit nur auf das absolut Nötigste beschränkt. Essen war maximal Standard…schade!

Leider wurde uns nicht bei der Reservierung mit einem 16-Mann-Tisch gesagt, dass man nur bar zahlen kann. Schade! So schränkt man sich natürlich ein bei der Bestellung. Zudem wartet man ewig auf das Essen und auf den Service. Das Essen ist okay, aber zu teuer für den fehlenden Service.

Sie haben meine neue Lieblingspizza mit Schafskäse und Gorgonzola

Es war eine sehr schöne Location zur Weihnachtsfeier. Vielen Dank für den super Service. Definitiv eine Empfehlung wert.

Good Restaurant, Good Service, I like to go there. I recommend Pizza Caruso for dinner. It’s unique and very delicious.

Sehr leckere Lasagne. Bella Italia Atmosphäre und tolle Bedienung und Eigentümer!

Super lækkert mad og skøn serveringpersonale. Specielt lækkert er pasta m. Hvid trøffel Vi kan varmt anbefale stedet som ligger lige bag Scandic Potsdamer Platz.

Das Essen war sehr gut, aber auch recht teuer. Wir haben teilweise ziemlich lange auf Getränke gewartet obwohl noch nicht viel los war, deshalb nur 4 Sterne. Aber trotzdem durchaus zu empfehlen .

Wir haben die Osteria Caruso zu viert vor einer Veranstaltung im Tempodrom besucht und waren alle sehr zufrieden. Der Service war schnell und freundlich und das Essen sehr lecker. Wir kommen sehr gerne wieder vorbei. Es empfiehlt sich auf jeden Fall vorher einen Tisch zu reservieren.

Sehr gemütliches Restaurant mit einer empfehlenswerten Mittagsmenue-Karte. Die Menüs für ein Mittagessen sind mit Getränk und Vorspeisen-Salat im mittleren Preissegment dargeboten. Die gereichten Essen waren allesamt von ausgezeichneter Qualität. Pizza wird auch in ausgefallenen Varianten angeboten. Lohnenswert! Das Peronal ist zuvorkommend und freundlich. Die Wartezeit auf die gereichten Speisen kurz. Auch ein Besuch am Abend ist aufgrund der gehobenen Qualität der angebotenen Speisen zu empfehlen. Gerne wieder!

Leider war bei unserem Besuch für uns nur Barzahlung möglich. Das war aber offensichtlich von Gast zu Gast unterschiedlich.

Excellent food and environment!!! I had a focaccia with pomodoro e basilico and the only complaint is that is too large! Really, don’t order if you are alone, that is a good appetizer for 3/4 people. Then I had the carbonara pasta and it was really creamy and delicious. Great food for a winter night in Berlin, walking distance from hotels in the area, but definitely worth it if you are near by!