We eat at El Pepe, every time we are in Berlin, and are never disappointed! Great selection of…read moretapas for any taste, as well as reasonably priced wine and beer.

I stumbled across this place on an earlier trip to Berlin. It was close to my hotel and they had…read moreoutside seating, so I took a shot. The food was delicious and service was good. I wound up eating here a few times in the week I was here and all three meals were delicious and the service was quite good. It appears to be a neighborhood place, but after my second visit, the waiters recognized me and made a few off-menu suggestions. I'll happily return.

Good flavors surly waitstaff... After spending an exhausting…read moreday wandering through Berlin (in 98 degree heat) my husband and I went looking for dinner. Just down the street from our hotel we found Toro Negro. At first blush this looked like a very good place. The cuisine is Spanish/Portuguese tapas variety- full of savory spicings, paella and much more. The maitre'd spoke some English and got us seated right away in the sidewalk dining area. He gave us menus and brought some bottled water. The menu was full of enticing offerings. The prices very reasonable. We thought we were in for a treat. The waiter came round and took our order for drinks. We ordered beer which arrived barely cooled- not cold. The waiter had about 4 other tables, which were also being mostly ignored. The maitre'd stood chatting with some friends and some other fellow kept walking in and out of the restaurant and wandering the street as if he was waiting for something. We sat with the closed menues in front of us for about 15 minutes, finally the waiter returned to take our order. We ordered our food, I chose an Andalusian chicken dish, my husband chose a paella. The waiter told him it would be 40 minutes for the paella to cook. OK, not a problem, we just chilled and drank our beer. After about 30 minutes the waiter brought some bread rolls and a garlic spread which was delicious, about 10 munites later our food arrived. my chicken was excellently prepared and the sauce was very savory and enjoyable. It was served with seasoned rice. All excellent in my opinion. My husband's paella was undercooked. Specifically the rice was under-done, and he's a person that enjoys al-dente rice. Otherwise he enjoyed the seafood. We finished our meal at about 9:15, and the temperature was still very hot. I was feeling exhausted from the heat and walking around, so I only finished half of my food. My husband had some left overs too, so we thought we'd take them back to the room for lunch next day. The waiter had been dealing with a couple sat behind us, and apparently they didn't like one of the pizzas he had brought. When he returned to the kitchen my husband asked for a box, and the waiter made a shoving motion at him as if to say, "I don't care what the hell you want right now". I understand how frustrating it can be when a customer is difficult- but that was not us... Up to this point we had sat through a rather long, drawn-out dinner without a thought to complaint. Then the maitre'd rushed to our table an set down some shots of grappa, I said no thank you that I was too hot and tired but I guess he interpreted that to mean I was displeased. We asked if we could get the leftovers packed for take away, but he just hurriedly stacked one plate on top of the other and took them away. I saw the waiter leave in his street clothes, and I understood the frustration of the maitre'd. However I didn't feel that their frustration should be taken out on us. We had been polite and patient guests for our entire meal- and then suddenly treated as an annoyance. The next morning my husband was sick, and I'm guessing that it was the under cooked rice to blame. I would recommend this restaurant only with a very pronounced caveat emptor.

Acceptable Spanish choice for the area. Service was very friendly and accommodating, and the tapas…read moremenu was big and diverse. Atmosphere was warm, and a small live band played after 8 pm -- helpfully adjusting the volume as tables filled and emptied and filled again throughout the night, so as not to become unnecessarily loud. Most of the actual food could use a bit of a kick though. Seafood options were very "Berlin" and not coastal Mediterranean -- the "large shrimps in garlic olive oil" were smaller than my pinky finger, while the scallops in white wine were the size of small coins. The croquettas and patatas bravas needed a little more flavor, although the rabbit in red wine sauce was delicious. Disappointingly, all seven or so dishes we ordered came out at the same time, about 30 minutes after we ordered. Would rather have them come out as they're ready -- surely a spinach salad is ready before a braised meat dish? Will try again -- there's more of the menu to explore and maybe a different line cook will send out the dishes faster on a different night. Plus, friendly service can be a prized commodity in Berlin!

Quaint decor... Real candles at the tables. Was hoping for paella but they only serve a 2 person…read moreportion... So ordered a Arroz Caldoso... Rice soup in a clay pot. The seafood version had some wonderfully sweet shrimp, squid (possibly rehydrated as the color is light orange), a white fish of some sort, and copied peppers, and zucchini. It really needed more seasoning for my taste. Flavors were rather subtle.

Super crowded at Friday evening. Extremely understaffed. Did not feel welcome. Waitresses threw the…read morefood on the table and did not give us the time of day. Stressed out. Food was acceptable and tasted good. Will not go again.

Food was amazing. Services was fantastic. Owner, bartender, and all the chefs were fantastic with…read moreservice, hospitality, and superb quality. Atmosphere was perfect. As a traveler from the US, I highly recommend this restaurant.

We visited Bellas Artes for dinner on a recent trip to Berlin. I rarely go for Spanish food because…read morebeing from Spain, Spanish restaurant food is always a little disappointing. This was not an exception. The food was VERY salty. We ordered Jamon Serrano pata negra but they told us they didn't have it. The garlic chicken was good but not authentic Spanish style. Overall we had a lot of fun, maybe the 1/2 liter Rioja carafe helped. The waiter was from Peru and really nice so the service was good. Wish the tapas were more authentic flavors.

One of the most authentic spanish locations in Berlin…read more I was here on the EURO-2012 soccer final Spain-Italy, and i though i were in some Cafe in Sevilla or Madrid. No bling bling, just pure "Spanishm".....the yummiest Rioja wine, and a very relaxed and friendly staff. The only weakness here, is the food.....i tried the Tapas, and they were nothing empressive.

This is anything but a good spanish restaurant! You can fool the non-spanish customers, but I think…read morethat's the most disgraceful a restaurant owner can do... But you can certainly not fool a spaniard... The tapas are not freshly cooked, they taste like "ready made", frozen or microwaved... most of them are not even from the spanish cuisine... The worst thing is that "thing" they dare to call jamon... my god, that's the cheapest you could buy in any supermarket... After I read some comments from spanish people I can only guess they are friends with the owner... Never again.

You can not get 18€ for small dish of pasta when the tagliatella is not done by yourself, the…read moremushrooms are from a supermarket conserve. The "pulpo a la gallega", crunchy octopus? it had a plastic texture and the portion was really small, with potatoes overheated on the grill. But the wine selection was really good as well as the Crema Catalana / panacotta desert. Maybe i will give them another chance but i will not spend again almost 100€ for 2 people with this quality. From other side, the service and the atmosphere where very nice.

Unique berlin restaurant experience - in the heart of kreuzberg with a view of the U1. Very good…read moretapas. Enjoyed the razor clams - rarely on menus - very simple with olive oil; amazing duck confit with carrots, celery; fantastic pulpo al gallego. Larger portions than usual Spanish tapas. Service was spotty - the waitress seemed out to lunch and when we ordered a bottle of wine she brought a different bottle already open explaining that the one we ordered was too warm. Fun to watch the chef clean up shirtless to techno music - sooooooo berlin! Will be back for more.