Samadhi

As a party of 5 hungry vegans we ordered various curries (EURO 12.50 each including rice) we were not disappointed. The pineapple curry was delicious, spicy and tasty. The jackfruit curry was penutty, creamy and delightful. Pad Thai (ask for it without egg) was good too. You can choose your spice level. Staff spoke English and were very helpful. We sat in their outside seating area because it was a sunny day! Recommended

Came here because we saw a street sign advertising it and very glad we did. Food was good and plentiful with plenty of choice, and served quickly even though it was quite busy. Recommended.

Excellent Thai (?) food served quickly and efficiently despite the restaurant being quite full. The choice of dishes was enormous, the quantities generous, the quality, freshness and taste superb and the prices very reasonable. We will return!

The place is very cozy, the service is good and more importantly: the food is delicious! Most of it is vegan or can be made vegan, such as their pad thai. You will also be surprised by the friendly prices!
I warmly recommend it.

I visited Berlin for a week, and came here twice. The food is great, and was very happy with it. The waitstaff were very friendly, fluent in both German and English, and happy to recommend dishes. The prices are a little on the high side, but I think the quality of the food and service justifies it.

Had a lunch time meal.
Vegan food was delicious and well presented
Service was quick
The menù is with picture!

Updated from previous review on Wednesday March 02, 2016

very tasty place that I have returned to many times! good selection of nice asian home cooked dishes, and its nice that they dont use much mock meat, instead relying on delicious vegetables and tofu! Its a little expensive though, despite what reviews say below- I havent had a meal for 2 there for under 50 euros!

This was a fantastic vegan, vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant. It is so wonderful to go to an asian restaurant and nearly everything is vegan (the few non-vegan options are clearly marked). We had wonderful noodle dishes, baked tofu, and an amazing fried tofu in a Vietnamese leaf that came to the table crackling hot. The food was delicious, plentiful (wonderfully large portions) and reasonable in price (for the quality). It tasted of such high and fresh quality, without a heavy after-feel. It has a basic decor, but has a beautiful large sign in the front that declares "Peace within oneself and peace in the world." Being vegan is one step towards that...

Had a lunch time meal.
Vegan food was delicious and well presented
Service was quick
Slightly pricey but overall a lovely meal

We went here as we were looking for dinner after 10pm and this was the closest we could find to our hotel (it is open till 11pm).

The menu was quite large, but there were photos accompanying each dish to help with selection, and we ended up ordering a curry and a noodle dish.

Our meals were served in reasonable time and we were satisfied with both, as the flavours were good and serving sizes were also quite generous. The price was moderate, around 10-12 euros per dish.

- Menu is huge. Paged labeled "most dishes can be made vegan!" Descriptions of food in German and English. Had a separate small menu showing photos of all the dishes!

- Service spoke a little English, so we didn't have much trouble ordering.

- Seating area was comfortable and the dining room was large enough to feel comfortable and like we could have hung around for hours.

- Looks like they take reservations: we saw a group of 10 or so people come in and sit at tables with "reserved" signs.

- Food was so-so. Presentation was nice, but we both thought our dishes could have been spicier and more authentic-tasting. But not bad. So-so.

- They take credit cards and have stickers of a few credit card logos on the window by the door. They took our chip&pin credit card right at the table with a little hand-held card processor.

- They obviously know what "vegan" means, since their menu is labeled vegan and they tout themselves as a vegan-friendly restaurant. Come to think of it, I don't think I saw any meat on the menu. So definitely vegetarian and also vegan friendly.

The restaurant was very central near Brandenburg Gate where we were doing our tourist stuff. We sat outside and it was quite a pleasant location with not too much traffic noise. They advertise that their menu is 98% vegan and I did double check that what we ordered was vegan. The food tasted great although it was a little heavy for lunch. I had the curry dish with tofu on a bed of rice - very nice. The staff were very busy since this seems to be a popular spot.
Updated from previous review on Saturday August 29, 2015

The meals we selected were really good. Simple and tasty. The wait staff were able to indicate to english speakers which items were vegan. The ambience was only ruffled by the obvious tension between staff and even though we sat outside it affected our enjoyment of the meal.

was a bit undecided between 4 or 5 stars. due to great value for money i chose 5. friendly, tasty, yummy. all things asian in GOOD.

Definitely still one of my favourite oriental veggie eating places ever. Even after a shocking 9 year Samadhi hiatus. The curries are fabulous, fragrant, fresh and can be made as spicy hot as required. There are great tofu dishes, noodles and delicious rice dishes that are all extremely well presented in very pleasant surroundings. I always go for the aubergine curry or the good old gelber. Yellow curry. The menu is virtually 100% vegan. Wine and beer are available and the place is open late so you can enjoy a pleasant evening in a decent part of Berlin very close to the Brandenburg gate and the tourist nonsense of Pariser Platz. We've been here quite a few times now and I can categorically say there was absolutely no microwave meal preparation going on! (see previous review). Whoever wrote this this probably mistook the pings for the bell that the kitchen staff ring to let waiting staff know that the food is ready. It's pretty simple. That is certainly no way a microwave. In any case, if it was, I'd be the first in the queue to buy one!

Food was plentiful but was microwaved and not fresh. Did not enjoy the food and the service was slowith.

Very pleasant vegetarian and vegan Asian food, excellent choice and quality. Fast service and delightful ambiance, highly recommended

That statement is from Samadhi's menu and accurately describes the restaurant's pleasant atmosphere. Like previous reviewers, we had some difficulty attracting the server's attention but, once we did, service was mostly efficient and helpful. The food is very nicely prepared. Curries were seasoned as we requested. Some dishes have eggs but most can be prepared without, e.g., How-Mok (11.50 euros): steamed Asian vegetables with kidney beans, herbs, eggs and coconut milk dough in banana leaf. It's nice to go to a veg Asian restaurant and find a protein source besides soy. It's a nice place to linger a bit, with a cup of tea, after finishing a meal.

I ate here with eight omnivorous colleagues, many of whom were new to vegan food. We all had the same menu with a few adaptations to make it vegan for me. My colleagues loved the food. The flavors were similar to Thai food, but without the spice. The spicing had clearly been adjusted to be accessible for a European audience.
Considering this restaurant is right in the center of Berlin, the prices are reasonable, especially considering the amount of food you get.
The lady serving the food was a little aloof, but I wouldn't really call it 'bad service'. I guess it helps if you speak a little German. Also, customer service in Germany is generally on a lower level than what Americans are used to.It took a while for her to come and take our orders, but once she did, the food arrived really quickly.

the place was empty when we arrived but the service was still slow. the waitress was on the phone having private conversations most of the time. once we ordered our food arrived pretty quickly afterward and it was good, but not worth the price.

A nice spot to stop for lunch when doing the typical tourist sights nearby- if you are vegan just check which dishes are vegan, as I remember questioning some things on the menu. Had a nice noodle curry dish, it was fresh and a good portion- quite mild/plain but I think it was meant to be. Would return if I had no fully vegan options closer.

This was surely disappointing. The lady who was serving us showed no interest and was unfriendly. Food was also rather bland, we expected more taste and spiciness from asian cuisine. For this price you can eat much better with much friendlier staff all over Berlin.

The only pro is it's location so close to Brandenburg Tor.

The food was yummy and fresh with good serving sizes. We also got the lunch special so it was well priced too. Nice place to have lunch while sightseeing at the Brandenburger gate.

Food delicious and authentic.

It's all Southeast Asian, so you have to like that, but if you do, there is sooo much to choose from and most items either are or can be made vegan. I liked the food but was a little disappointed that it wasn't spicy at all (even though it said so on the menu) and the spicy sauce that they offered was more oily than hot.

the food was very good - and luckily my sister invited us for dinner, because when i saw the bill i nearly got a heart attack - then again, must be the location.

Had lunch here today. Got a little worried when the power was out but came back on in 5 mins as told by the owner. After a refreshing viet lime soda I got the number 36 and my partner had cold rolls with the papaya salad. All the dishes were great, nicely presented and very tasty. Only con is the price, it's expensive but that's to be expected on this side of town where restaurants are all fairly fancy pants and geared towards tourists visiting the reichstag and the gate, etc. atmosphere was okay and the owner was nice and spoke good English.

We went here twice during our stay in Berlin because it was so near to our hotel. The portions are huge so make sure you wear your elasticated pants!
The highlights of our visits included the starter for 2 (which could easily be a starter for 4); the veggie yellow curry; spicy courgettes stuffed with tofu; and the very friendly staff.
It doesn't have the ambience of some of the other restaurants but for the price I think you get what you pay for.
The 'spicy' food isn't very spicy, although you can ask them to make it hotter for you.
There's a lot of deep fried food so beware!
It was all good and we'd go again if we were in that part of Berlin.

Clean and had great choice for vegans
It feels like a restaurant rather than your typical vegan corner cafe

We came across this place after following the signs from the Reichstag. It's very close to Potsdamer Platz and given the location I am guessing that most of the places in the area are quite pricy, this was a little on the expensive side. We weren't too hungry so we only had a soup and a salad each but everything was really fresh and well presented. It seems to be mainly Thai food on the menu. It was very quiet when we went, we were the only people there but then it was mid-afternoon. Service was very friendly and very efficient, I would recommend this place if you are in the area, loads of vegan choices and it all looked good.

Samadhi has a vast menu and lots of interesting options to choose from. We mistakingly went for the vegetable tempura which was very oily and doughy, not light and crispy as expected. The spring roll was bland, and again, very oily - although we had hoped these would be the cold rice pancake spring rolls rather than fried. The service was a bit chaotic and we had to move our own starter plates in order for our mains to be put down. This restaurant has potential, but improvements are needed.

good vegan food, nice people. it's south-east asian vegan and vegetarian. plates are 8-12 euros, which is good for the area. the vibe is nothing special, a bit austere. I'm giving it a 4 simply because it's much appreciated in an area that is quite touristy and filled with governmental offices, and the food is good. But don't go out of your way to try it.

I've been to this restaurant several times during a trip to Berlin. Huge choice, the food is oily and heavy only if you order fried dishes, they can make yummy light stuff too. Most of what I tried tasted very good, but don't go there if you don't like south-east asian food.
Very vegan friendly, big portions. Main courses cost around 10-12€, but are definitely big enough for a meal that will make you feel more than full (especially if you take something mostly fried).
Their big bowls of noodle soup and noodle dishes with coconut milk and peanuts are especially delicious.
The place is fairly big, the staff is friendly and service is fast.
Updated from previous review on Sunday August 14, 2011

I went here after visiting the Brandenburg Gate on holiday and followed the signs. I thoroughly enjoyed eating here. I had a vegan thai-style curry with aubergine in a peanut sauce, with a good helping of rice. It was delicious. There are English menus here, which was very helpful for me, and the prices are good. Most of the menu is vegan, or can be altered to be, and they even serve vegan pina coladas. Samadhi is well worth a visit.

I was a little worried to eat here after reading some of the reviews people had left on here about Samadhi. Also having looked at the menu online, it is quite pricey(though if you are in this area a lot of the food looked pricey). We stopped in after a long, hot day of site seeing and the place looked practically deserted. It is surrounded by a number of other restaurants that were packed with people and there was maybe 3 people there besides the staff. We were hungry, so we went for it. It might have been one of the better places we ate in Berlin. Huge portions, friendly staff, tasty food. If you find yourself in this part of the city, check it out.

There was a smell of cheap oil and the food had a taste of reused cooking oil. I didn't even remember what I had ... something tofu(no taste) with peanutsauce and rice with veggies with oily taste. Sorry but I dislike the taste and smell of old oil. It was expensive as well - I cannot believe it's so popular ???

They have signs all over in the Brandenburg Gate area to make sure you donot miss the restaurant. The name is Indian / Buddhist, but the cuisine is SE Asian inspired. We had soups, spring rolls and noodles. Everything was fresh and delicious. The host who was also the waiter, had a delightful sense of humor that added spice to the experience. Go for it.

The service is mind-blowingly fast and the menu is the size of a phone book, but the spices were tame for Thai. I suspect they have to dial it back a bit because they are in a very touristy location, but I ordeordered "Thai spicey" and got medium at best. To be fair the server asked if it was spicey enough and, when I said no, she brought me some extra peppers, but they really need to be cooked with the food to impart flavor as well as heat. However this place is a welcome oasis in a sea of currywurst stands. They also offer a great selection of desserts.

yesterday I`ve been out to samadhi with a friend:
It was a burst of flavour!
The meals of the long menu all sound so temptly, and a photo album helped choosing. Our choice was great: rice soup, that prevents a cold, tofu in leaves made nice sound while still frying, surprisingly prepared vegetables. All tasted amazingly delicious and special. The owners creates the meals themselves. The service is very friendly. I can highly recommend this place.

We came across this restaurant which is nicely located near a lot of the tourist attractions in former east Berlin. The service was good.
We ordered two dishes which differed significantly in quality. The Fried tofu in black bean sauce was delicious, as was a previous experience with the stuffed pineapple, but the fried rice noodles with curry weren't very good. The Curry lacked seriously in taste, which made the whole meal rather dull.
Concluding: This restaurant is a good choice if you find yourself in that area of Berlin, just don't take the Knusprige Reisnudeln.

Even though I'd read the Happy Cow reviews, I didn't remember this place. But if you are wandering near the Brandenberg Gate or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Euruope (Is that weighty enough?), you will see their signs all over. So of course, we went in. The menu is extensive, and the staff was very nice and spoke a bit of English.

I can't understand the person complaining about small portions, we both brought leftovers home. But it was quite pricey for veg food in Berlin. I think 12 euros each, for veggies and some tofu. That said, it was convienient unlike a lot of veggie places you have to seek out, and the food was very good. They have Warsteiner vom fass, one of our favorite beers in Germany, so it's all good.

The food is good, the ambiente very nice and the waiter was extremely friendly and talkative.
Most things are vegan and there are lots of things on the card, the rest can be made vegan.
Very nice, we would eat there again if close to the Brandenburger Tor.

Very friendly, very good food!!!

I ate at Samadhi twice during my two days in Berlin. The menu is Asian fusion, and principally Vietnamese (since the restaurant was founded by Vietnamese refugees many years ago). I'm a big fan of Vietnamese and Thai cuisine and, for my taste, Samadhi didn't disappoint. The owners and servers were all very warm and helpful, and the server spoke good English, helping me to identify the vegan options. There is seating both indoors and out, and both are pleasant. They can do to-go orders too. Recommended.

After reading the previous praising review my expectations were really high but I have to say I was badly disappointed. First of all, the food was hardly more than average - sure you can find tastier dishes here than in cheap Asian restaurants Berlin is full of, but for 10-12 euros (that's a lot for a meal in Berlin!) you expect something really special. The biggest downside, however, was the small portion size: I visited the restaurant with two friends and two of us left the place hungry. The food was nicely arranged, though, and the service was friendly. So if you like well prepared Thai/Vietnamese food and can afford the prices, go for it. But this is definitely not for hungry travelers with tight budgets.

We visited this restaurant over Xmas 2008 during a vacation to Berlin. A lot of veggie restaurants seem to close in Berlin over Xmas, but not this one! We were very impressed- over 70 items on the menu to choose from, and most dishes could be made vegan as well!! The food was gorgeous - huge portions, super yummy, very cheap compared to other veggie restaurants in Berlin (see my other reviews eg good time). Staff were super friendly, and restaurant was easy to find/well sign posted around the area. Due to the large portion sizes, you could just stick with main course (10 euros or less), and skip starters/dessert. Lunch was that great, that we even ordered some takeaway for dinner. Another bonus was that they had a photo album of each menu item, and due to the huge selection on offer, it was actually easier to flick through the photos (with captions) to decide what to have. All four of us ordered different things and they were all great. Interior decor was clean, nice and basic. Not super fancy like good time restaurant, but then again, the food at Samadhi was half the price, larger portions, and equally as delicious. Would highly recommend visiting to anyone!

We had a lovely meal in here last weekend. They have a wonderful and extensive menu. The waiter can show you a photographic menu so you can see what you are ordering in advance. The menu is in English as well as German. Everything we got was delicious and all the ingredients tasted super fresh. I'd love to go here again if I am ever in Berlin again. The staff were very friendly and polite and asked if we were vegan etc. so they could make adjustments to the meals if necessary. If you like Asian food you should try this place. Top marks!

The range of dishes was huge, but note that the paper takeaway menu - in the holders outside the restaurant - don't give any idea of what awaits seated indoors. Inside I was also presented with a separate photographic menu showing what the food looked like. This is a restaurant so don't expect dirt-cheap pricing; neither was it overly expensive. Looking across at other patrons there appeared to be some variability in the portion sizes, but this is only an issue if you expect to eat like an ox in one sitting.
My first meal was from the takeaway menu, although I chose to sit al fresco in the afternoon. The dish (fried sweet-sour tofu, served with rice) was distinctly unappealing and retained the distinct imprint of vinegar. However, it was prepared with speed so I wasn't too bothered, simply because I was famished.
My second meal - this time from the proper menu - was at night, and tasted gorgeous. I had the papaya salad, the spring rolls served with sweet chilli sauce and side crunches, and the egg-fried rice with tofu (also served with some raw vegetables, ie. tomatoes, shredded and tangy green papaya).
All the dishes I had were delivered to my table consecutively, showing that the management were attentive to diners. Nothing - except the papaya salad - went into my mouth and tummy cold. All dishes were generous and each would probably amount to two servings in many other restaurants.
Delivered and presented impeccably, the proof was in the tasting; out of the dishes I had only the papaya salad is traditionally hot/spicy, but even this would suit a mild palate. I personally wish I'd asked for some added piquancy.
The only minor thing I found slightly off-putting was the sound of the till ringing out, for some five seconds each time after other patrons had requested their bill. It didn't spoil my enjoyment of the food, nor did it bother others who continued to chat jovially.
Just a tad south of the U.K embassy, and around the corner from the Brandenburger Tor, this is a heaven-sent refuge from the pervasive wurst chocking up U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations. Thai, German, and English spoken, it's still useful to have some German, but the menu was in the latter two languages. I can't recommend this establishment enough !

A mixture of tha and vietnamese food. A few chinese dishes thrown in as well. Good selection for vegans also. The big bowl of soup was a godsend on a cold day, and it was a big bowl. Mains from 10 euro, good selection of starters. Dishes have plenty of lemongrass and ginger. All good. 5 minutes walk from the brandeburg gate. a must.

Very good veggy food. Centrally located near Brandenberg Gate / Reichstag. I liked the Thai soups as they were delicious and didn't have any of that nasty fish sauce in them. The number of dishes is huge. SummerRolls, like spring rolls filled with lettuce and tofu, are good. There are a number of different tofu types, smoked, crunchy, smooth all used well.
The only drawback is although they say you can have food as hot (chili hot) as you wish, when I asked, all he said was "For you I will make medium" I think that if you want a really hot curry you would have to ask for it in Thai or offer to eat a raw chili :-) They don't want to hurt you. Which is nice.
They have a different menu at lunch time than the evenings.

I have had good vegetarian Thai food, but not at Samadhi. It is very average and more like German food than Thai. I agree with other reviewers that the food here is way too salty. The dishes were either sweet &/or sour and all salty. We asked for medium chilli but got none, and added it ourselves with the table condiments. The food is really a fusion of Thai dishes with German tastes which is an interesting experience. Ate at 2 other non-vegetarian Thai restaurants in Oranienburger Strass that had plenty of vegetarian dishes equal to or just better than here.

Nicely done interior. A really HUGE choice of food. Be careful what you choose - there is a really great variety of tastes in Samadhi (unfortunately, I chose coconut milk soup which didn't really go down with me very well). I didn't understand the smoking/non-smoking part of the restourant - the place is fairly small - there were no smokers when we were there, but if there were the smoke would easily spread through the whole place. The prices are a bit high but worth it for a one time try-out of some meals you don't get at your regular veg place.

We went to Berlin last November and followed a sign from the Brandenburg Gate to the restaurant.I cant understand the other reviews, this place was fantastic! The food was delicious and reasonably priced. The waiter was very friendly and attentive. My boyfriend isnt vegetarian but he is still raving about the tofu/peanut satay! I love to eat out and have been in plenty of good restaurants but this was definitely one of the vegetarian dinners I have had

I unfortunately found the food REALLY SALTY and not very tasty. I've eaten a lot of Thai food in my day, and I was sadly disappointed. I probably should have sent it back, but didn't.

The food here is simply delectable. everything is so fresh it is like eating from a steaming "garden of the gods". the quality of each dish is unbeatable. this restaurant shows how delicious nature can be. I particularly recommend the gebratener tofu (sweet and sour) it has so many great fresh veges in it like lotus root, fresh pineapple, bitter melon, tree ears and more all in a sauce whose flavours are subtle, refined, and delicious. the atmosphere is quaint and romantic (candles and all).the portions are good. the only minus is the price (i paid 17 euros for a meal for 1). but if you can afford it there is no doubt you get your moneys worth in Samadhi.