Standige Vertretung
Schiffbauerdamm 8 10117 Berlin, Germany
tel 030.282 39 65
fax 030.285 98 735 Berlin
http://www.staev.de/staev-berlin/kurz-staev.html
Standige Vertretung is German for "Steady Representations". The name of this pub is derived from the political past before the Berlin wall came down. East and West Germany had no regular embassies but "steady representations". This was our favorite pub during our 2007 Berlin visit. Next time we're in Berlin I'm sure we'll find even more gems.
Melissa and I happened onto this pub as we were leaving the pub next door -- the Berliner Republik. We looked over and said "What do you suppose that place over there is like?"
We walked into the Standige and were treated exceptionally well. We were, dare I say, adopted by the restroom attendant who seemed to do double duty as a busboy and waiter of sorts. He gave us some history of the pub, introduced us to the special beer they serve, and suggested we order the boiled sausage with bread and mustard. We did. We were not disappointed.
I honestly can't say anything about their beer selection because we never got past their specialty: Kolsch, (pictured in the photo on the upper left on all pages of this website).
As our new friend was quick to inform us, this is a special German beer brewed only in or immediately around the city of Cologne. It is served in short, narrow glasses. Proper toasts are made by clinking only the lower part of the glass. It is a delicious beer, and went very well with that excellent German sausage.
Larger tables are shared, so you make friends fast. We went back later in the evening and the place was packed with a mostly older crowd. It was like an indoor biergarten. Our German table mates instructed us how to eat our sausage by peeling the casing first. We learned only that peeling sausage casing as instructed (with a fork and knife) is an acquired skill that feels more like a sobriety test. We failed! (and it didn't diminish the wonder "meal") The view facing the S-bahn bridge and river is wonderful, and the intermittent stream of people walking past outside reminds you of the lively area you're in.
If you're ever in Berlin, and you look up and see this, turn around. The
Standige Vertretung is right behind you!
I hear that the nearby Melia Berlin hotel is very nice (Friedrichstrasse 103, Berlin 10117). So if you're only in town for a couple of days it might be a good place to stay since this area is nice, but not quite as overly-commercialized and internationally generic as the Zoo or Potzdamer Platz areas of Berlin.
