Tutti Island – 6/10

You might have noticed how much I love Sudanese food already. Sahara Imbiss has a special place in my heart, but there are a lot of great places in Berlin for fried things slathered in peanut sauce, and I’m always happy to try a new one. So when @foodfinder_berlin posted a review of a Sudanese place she claimed was even better than Sahara, I definitely had to go.

@eatsofamy and I were vaguely in the area before going to Columbiahalle to see Jon Hopkins (12/10, incidentally, it was transcendent) and took our chance to try it out. So what’s the verdict…?

I can see why you would say this is better than Sahara, because the things that were good were really good. The sauces, especially, were next level. The peanut sauce has an amazing savoury depth and complexity, and they’re extremely generous with it. My teller had a base layer of sauce all over the plate, then food, then another layer of sauce on top. There was also an incredibly pungent garlic sauce, so strong it kind of tasted spicy (in my view this is entirely a good thing; I realise opinions may vary). The falafel was great, crunchy without being dry, and with a nice flavour.

So I definitely enjoyed my food, and I also appreciated the generous portion size (an enormous platter for €6). However, dinner was somewhat spoiled by the fact that they somehow managed to give both of us the wrong order. I ordered a vegan teller, which then turned up with halloumi instead of tofu. Not the end of the world since I’m not actually vegan, but obviously for some people it would be quite annoying. @eatsofamy had ordered a halloumi and makali sandwich, but somehow ended up with just falafel, which she was quite disappointed by.

Ultimately, I have very mixed feelings about this place. Some of the food is amazing, but that’s not the case for everything – I found the makali and the accompanying bread to be quite bland and boring. The service is also quite an issue – especially if it’s fast food like this and you don’t have time to send things back, getting the wrong order is really annoying. It could obviously just be a one-off, but it definitely makes me feel less like going back. Sahara is not only delicious, but reliably so, and remains my top choice.

 

Rating: 6/10

Food: 8/10

Service: 4/10

Vegetarian & vegan options: 7/10 (based on menu alone it would be a 9/10, but you have to actually give people the vegan options when they ask for them)

Atmosphere: 6/10

 

Tutti Island

Zossener Strasse 17, Kreuzberg

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Vegetarian-Vegan-Restaurant/Tutti-Island-203610209849617/