Grill Royal

Grill Royal, Berlin: The Verdict

If you are visiting Grill Royal for the first time, the short answer is: yes, book it. This is Berlin's most consistently talked-about steakhouse, and after more than a decade in operation it has not softened into complacency. The room still draws a nightly mix of artists, politicians, and international names that few restaurants anywhere in Europe can match. The wine list, ranked three times in 2025 by Star Wine List, backs up the atmosphere with genuine depth. For a first-timer who wants a high-energy dinner that delivers on both the plate and the room, Grill Royal is the right call.

Come back a second time and the thing that strikes you is how little has changed in the ways that matter. The Spree-facing room still carries that low-lit, gallery-quiet hum in the early evening that shifts into something louder and more charged by 9 PM. Chef Peter Held and Wine Director Thibault Sellier have been here long enough to have turned consistency into a competitive advantage. In a city that cycles through new openings quickly, Grill Royal's staying power is itself a signal worth paying attention to.

What to Expect: Atmosphere and Format

The dining room runs every night from 5 PM to 11 PM, dinner only, with no lunch service. For a first-timer this is important to know upfront: Grill Royal is a dinner-only destination, so the framing here is entirely about the evening experience. The room is large enough to absorb a full house without feeling chaotic, but the energy by mid-evening is assertive. If you want a quiet conversation over a long meal, arrive before 7 PM and request a table away from the bar. After 9 PM the noise level makes sustained conversation harder work.

Artwork lines the walls, the lighting is low and directional, and the Spree views through floor-to-ceiling windows give the room a sense of occasion that does not rely on the crowd alone. It is glamorous without being stiff, which is exactly the Berlin register. Dress is not codified but the room skews smart; showing up in full casual will feel off.

Food and Wine

The menu is built around dry-aged beef, with sourcing across German Simmental, Irish Hereford, Japanese Wagyu, and U.S. Prime cuts. The grill method is a high-temperature broiler, which gives the crust its character. Beyond steak, the kitchen covers seafood and vegetable options that work as genuine alternatives rather than afterthoughts. For a first-timer uncertain whether to order meat, the menu is broad enough that non-steak diners will not feel like an afterthought.

The wine list is where Grill Royal genuinely overdelivers. With 1,340 bottles in inventory and 320 selections, the list leans on France, Italy, Australia, California, and South Africa, with solid German representation. The Star Wine List recognition in 2025 (three separate rankings) is a verifiable credential, not marketing copy. Wine pricing sits in the mid-range tier, with a range of options across price points and a corkage fee of $15 if you bring your own. Sommelier Vichai Pooalai and Wine Director Thibault Sellier run a program that is worth engaging with rather than defaulting to the house pour.

Booking and Practical Details

Booking difficulty is rated easy. Grill Royal does not require weeks of advance planning the way Berlin's tasting-menu restaurants do, which makes it a more flexible option for trip planning. That said, for weekend evenings or if you have a specific table preference, booking a week or more ahead is sensible. The restaurant is located at Friedrichstraße 105b, 10117 Berlin, directly along the Spree in Mitte, well-connected by U-Bahn and S-Bahn. Hours run Monday through Sunday, 5 PM to 11 PM.

Cuisine pricing sits at the lower end of the Berlin fine-dining range, with a typical two-course dinner under $40 per person excluding drinks. For what the room and wine list deliver, this is a reasonable value proposition, particularly compared to Berlin's tasting-menu circuit where you will spend considerably more for a different kind of experience. The restaurant received an Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe recommendation in 2023, and holds a Google rating of 4.3 across 2,833 reviews, which for a high-volume, celebrity-facing restaurant is a reliable signal of consistent execution.

For more Berlin options, see our full Berlin restaurants guide, our full Berlin hotels guide, our full Berlin bars guide, our full Berlin wineries guide, and our full Berlin experiences guide.

How It Compares: Berlin Steakhouse vs. Fine Dining

Grill Royal sits in a different category from Berlin's tasting-menu circuit. Rutz, Nobelhart & Schmutzig, and FACIL are all four-course-and-up formats with higher per-head spend and advance booking requirements. If you want a structured, chef-driven tasting experience, those are the right addresses. Grill Royal is the right address if you want a la carte flexibility, a serious wine list, and a room with energy. CODA Dessert Dining is genuinely its own category and not a fair comparison for a steakhouse evening. Restaurant Tim Raue is the closer peer in terms of atmosphere and international profile, though the cuisine format is entirely different.

For steakhouse comparisons beyond Berlin, A Cut in Taipei and Capa in Orlando offer points of reference in the same high-energy grill-restaurant format. Within Germany, the dining rooms at Aqua in Wolfsburg, JAN in Munich, Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn, Vendôme in Bergisch Gladbach, ES:SENZ in Grassau, and Restaurant Haerlin in Hamburg all operate in a higher formality tier and require more lead time to book.

Quick reference: Dinner only, Mon–Sun 5–11 PM, Friedrichstraße 105b Berlin Mitte, booking difficulty: easy, cuisine pricing $, wine list $$, 320 selections, 1,340 bottles, corkage $15.