Nithan Thai Restaurant – hip Asian fusion in Mitte

Winds of change in the Asian fusion food scene in Berlin! Historically the city has had plenty Thai, Vietnamese and other Asian cuisine options. Unfortunately for the foodie crowd, most of them (with a few notable expections) were in the low quality/low price range. Well…that’s changing. There are a couple of new mid-range restaurants opening up and Nithan Thai Restaurant is a fun and welcome new addition to the scene.

Nithan Thai Restaurant is a concept transplanted from Tel Aviv to Berlin. The head chef (Shahaf Shabtay) is a French/Asian fusion enthusiast from Israel. That’s fusion for you!

The restaurant is located on Chauseesstrasse in Mitte (a continuation of Friedrichstrasse) right where the beloved Asia Deli used to be. To get here, hop on the U6 line to Oranienburger Tor or Naturkunde Museum and walk for about 3-5 minutes. Around the corner from our beloved Torstrasse.

Right of the bat, the design elements announce a different Asian restaurant experience. I love the play with textures and earthy tones. From the comfy yellow velvet chairs to the strong dark wooden elements, Nithan Thai is determined to divorce itself from the traditional Asian restaurant feel. I particularly like the bar setup and the bright yellow/golden and blue mosaics framing the ceiling. Even the toilettes have a cool design concept!

The menu takes Southeast Asian cuisine as a basis, add layers of different Eastern and Western cuisine styles/influences and offer an innovative and fun Asian fusion dining experience. The dishes are conceived to be shared and create specific “flavor trips”. Some do need explanation from the super attentive and friendly staff to make complete sense. Rich flavors, interesting concepts and an overall fun experience. That’s what we got!

Photo from Restaurant’s Facebook Feed.

We ordered the 5AM Beef Salad, Gang Pad Coconut and the Massaman Mai. The salad was tasty and a good start to the meal. Followed by the surprising Gang Pad (with Fries) mimicked Moules Frites and the Massaman had a clear Japanese visual influence.

The Coconut Mascarpone dessert dish was a clean and nice way to finish the meal. Additionally, the cocktail/drinks menu seems interesting, however, we didn’t dive into it as we wanted to focus on the food first. We will certainly come back for more food and cocktails at this promising new Asian fusion restaurant.