German Food the Right Way: Henne Schultheiss

To prepare for my return to Berlin, I made sure to look up some more must-eat restaurants. According to one review, Henne was “one of the best meals in Berlin.” And even JFK agreed: behind the bar, there’s a little frame with a letter stating how much he misses having dinner there.

Like the name of the German alehouse (“The Hen”), Henne’s specialty is their signature dish: a fried half of a broiler chicken. The restaurant is completely booked every night, and they are only open certain hours of each day. Since I was only a party of one, I was lucky enough to find seating at the one open-seating table by the bar. Thank goodness I arrived right at opening time or else I would have had to wait an hour just to eat.

To make sure I got the full experience, I ordered an item from each course list. As per usual, being in Germany means ordering good beer, so I opted for a Landbier: LOVED the beer mug and my foam moooostache.

For an appetizer, I got their classic Cabbage Salad, which was basically a tastier form of sauerkraut.And of course, I ordered their classic fried chicken:Interesting note: I asked for a knife, and the waitress looked at me like I was some alien. I guess this only confirms that they are people of the Germanic tribes… At any rate, the chicken was great! Very tender and juicy, only a bit too salty for my tastes, but the cabbage salad balanced it out with the sourness. When eaten together, it was a perfect combination! The crispy skin was the best part - no sogginess or over-oily grossness, and good selection of dark and white meat. In my book, Henne has received “The Best Fried Chicken” Award, Connie-certified yummy goodness!

Since desserts are my best friend, I had a simple chocolate and vanilla pudding. Comfort food hitting the spot.

As mentioned earlier, there were only five seats at the open-seating table. Since I was only one person, four others joined me, local Berlin-ers, and it was such a pleasure meeting them! The little girl, Lucie, was extremely adorable and let me take pictures of her. She draws all the time, and one day, she wants to become an artist.

Henne serves what it knows best: chicken. With a small menu, the restaurant truly controls the quality of every plate. As I sat there that night, huge groups filed in for birthday dinners or special occasions just to have fried chicken. Only goes to show that Henne can transform fried chicken from comfort food to main course dinners. Highly recommended!