Is this the restaurant of the future? In the bustling “Markthalle Pfefferberg” you order food at the counter, get a buzzer, go to the bar for a drink, find a table, and when the buzzer starts flashing and vibrating, you pick up your tray at the counter.
The industry may not lack event-hungry customers, but it does lack waiters who want to serve them. But in the best-case scenario, you can also get dishes with a certain culinary originality this way.
“La Ola” definitely has that. That’s the name of the taco stand with the surfboard on the wall, where Francisco Hernandez has been topping the tortillas with fish and seafood since September. The Mexican once cooked at “Nobelhart & Schmutzig”, then for the bistro of the now closed “Fishklub” on Wilmersdorfer Straße, and then he grilled furiously at their pop-up in Neukölln. So he can do something. The question is: how much of it is he showing at his street food stand?
Unfortunately, that cannot be answered unequivocally. We have visited three times. Some of the special dishes featured on the Instagram page, like the seasoned tuna belly tostadas, the aguachile, a Mexican shrimp ceviche, or the camaroncillas, deep-fried salsa-soaked shrimp tacos with avocado, never existed.
The perfect party snack
Usually the selection was reduced to two types of tacos. For example with fried shrimp, which worked wonderfully. The thin, crispy dough is reminiscent of Japanese tempura, envelops the sweetness of the crustaceans and sets them off beautifully. The fried cod remained pale, but was drowned in the fireworks of flavors of the accompanying boldly sour salsa, which might have worked better fried or grilled.
Another league is the juicy octopus dipped in Adobo marinade, which we managed to get hold of on a Saturday. Tender, aromatic and of course an eye-catcher – the cephalopods are skewered vertically and grilled like the famous Taco al Pastor with pineapple (2 pieces 10 euros).
Darling of the three visits were the Tostilocos that came out last week. In a sliced bag of chips comes some richly flavored tortilla chips, including garlic fried shrimp, smoky chipotle mayonnaise, finely chopped marinated onions, and white, meaty oversized corn. The perfect party snack with a beer (8 euros).
Francisco Hernandez has probably already said goodbye to the hyped menus that were available at the beginning of the weekend. So you leave with the feeling that there is a lot more to it. But maybe you would have to call up prices for which most people don’t want to get the food themselves.
Wait a minute, that’s not it. Further back in the market hall is the “Taqueria el Oso”, with which “La Ola” is connected. It has long been an institution in the Mexican community in Berlin. Not only because of the first taco al pastor in town, which they grill here, but also because of the fantastic selection of salsas in different levels of heat. They alone are worth the visit.
And while you’re there: the bar has very decent margaritas with mezcal, and the Valle Verde shop to the right of the entrance has a fine selection of natural wines – and they’re also served by the glass.
To home page
