Berlin Inn Restaurant and Bakery | |
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Restaurant information | |
Established | 1992 |
Closed | June 22, 2013 |
Food type | German |
Street address | 3131 Southeast 12th Avenue |
City | Portland |
County | Multnomah |
State | Oregon |
Postal/ZIP Code | 97202 |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 45°30′01″N 122°39′12″W / 45.5004°N 122.6534°W |
The Berlin Inn Restaurant and Bakery (or simply the Berlin Inn) was a German restaurant in Portland, Oregon. [1]
The restaurant operated in a " gasthaus" (converted house) at 12th Avenue and Powell in southeast Portland's Brooklyn neighborhood. Grant Butler of The Oregonian described the old house's interior as "cozy". [2] The menu featured German cuisine and included cheese blintzes, fondue, rouladen, sauerbraten, sausages, schnitzel, and a crispy baked kale salad, [3] as well as German beers and wines. [4] Scrambles with homemade veal sausage were available on the brunch menu. [2]
Karen Brauer was a co-owner of the Berlin Inn, which opened in 1992 and operated for 21 years. [5] [6] Todd Haynes frequented the restaurant. [7]
In June 2013, Brauer confirmed plans to close and reopen under a new name, The Brooklyn House Restaurant, but retaining the same staff and European-style dining. [6] The Berlin Inn closed on June 22. The restaurant's general manager Erica Litzner became a co-owner of Brooklyn House Restaurant [2] (or simply Brooklyn House), along with Lisa Samuels. [8] The duo had previously operated the business Eat Here Now Fresh Local Food together. [9] The restaurant's menu featured dairy-free, [10] gluten-free, and vegan "European-style" comfort food. [6] [11] [12] Some former Berlin Inn employees worked at the Brooklyn House, which opened in August 2013. [10] The aesthetic remained similar, according to Walker MacMurdo of Willamette Week. [13] By 2020, sushi chef Albert Chen had opened the restaurant Hamono Sushi in the house which was previously occupied by the Berlin Inn and Brooklyn House, following "a period of inactivity". [14]
In 2016, Grant Butler included the Berlin Inn in The Oregonian's list of "97 long-gone Portland restaurants we wish were still around", writing: "This Brooklyn neighborhood German restaurant was the place to go if you wanted sausages and schnitzel without a side order of singing waiters and Deutschland kitsch." [2]