Otto’s brings Berlin’s favourite late-night snacks to Kensington Market
“Hallo,” reads the neon sign that greets patrons at Otto’s Berlin Döner in Kensington Market. The new 33-seat spot serves up the kind of late-night snacks that fuel German techno-heads, namely döners (not totally unlike our own donair) and currywurst, a poutine-like dish (with its own museum) where fries are topped with sausage and spiced ketchup. Collectively, co-owners Nancy Chen, Konrad Droeske, Matt Eckensweiler and Thomas Masmejean have zero restaurant experience—the quartet is the force behind underground dance parties Mansion and Foundry. Luckily, ex-Auberge du Pommier chef Steven Nguyen is in charge of the food. The team originally wanted to open a Berlin-style club in Toronto, but when red tape got in the way, they settled for opening a restaurant. The party goes well past when other kitchens have closed—the place is open until 3:30 a.m. on weekends—and there are nine German brews on offer, including a black ale called Köstritzer Schwarzbier from a 472-year-old brewery. Head down to the washrooms for a taste of Kreuzberg’s party scene: inside each stall is a glowing, novelty-sized button that, when pressed, transforms der waschraum into das club, complete with flashing lights and throbbing music.
256 Augusta Ave., 647-347-7713, ottosdoner.com, @ottosdoner
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/ottos-berlin-doner-german-currywurst-kensington-market/&title=Otto’s brings Berlin’s favourite late-night snacks to Kensington Market&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/toronto-restaurants-ottos-berlin-doner-kensington-market.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_321213" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: Caroline Aksich)[/caption]
“Hallo,” reads the neon sign that greets patrons at Otto's Berlin Döner in Kensington Market. The new 33-seat spot serves up the kind of late-night snacks that fuel German techno-heads, namely döners (not totally unlike our own donair) and currywurst, a poutine-like dish (with its own museum) where fries are topped with sausage and spiced ketchup. Collectively, co-owners Nancy Chen, Konrad Droeske, Matt Eckensweiler and Thomas Masmejean have zero restaurant experience—the quartet is the force behind underground dance parties Mansion and Foundry. Luckily, ex-Auberge du Pommier chef Steven Nguyen is in charge of the food. The team originally wanted to open a Berlin-style club in Toronto, but when red tape got in the way, they settled for opening a restaurant. The party goes well past when other kitchens have closed—the place is open until 3:30 a.m. on weekends—and there are nine German brews on offer, including a black ale called Köstritzer Schwarzbier from a 472-year-old brewery. Head down to the washrooms for a taste of Kreuzberg's party scene: inside each stall is a glowing, novelty-sized button that, when pressed, transforms der waschraum into das club, complete with flashing lights and throbbing music.
256 Augusta Ave., 647-347-7713, ottosdoner.com, @ottosdoner){kind=link}
West: 127
East: 10
nice to see kensington market finally getting some rare attention
Concerning the headline of this article: NO, sorry, NOT AT ALL!!!!!
Just got back from Otto’s Berlin Döner and the stuff they sell there doesn’t have anything to do with the Döner and the Currywurst you get in Berlin!
First a positive feedback: the fries and the vegetables were really good.
However, we tried a Döner, a Currywurst and a beer and everything was more than disappointing considering the 30 bucks it cost! The Döner-meat did not have any flavour, the curry-sauce was really boring and the beer definitely too warm. Worst of all neither the Döner-meat nor the Currywurst were properly cooked! After two little bites I complained about the poorly cooked Wurst! But instead of offering me a new properly cooked sausage they just told me that this is the way it should be!? I normally don’t complain about food so this tells a lot already! In addition, this is the first time I spend time on writing a bad review about a restaurant!
In summary, I am German and this place totally failed the German standards and was far too expensive for what we were served! In Germany we call this kind of experience: “Das war der totale Reinfall”! Never again! Ich brauche jetzt erstmal einen Schnaps!
Hey Rob,
We’re sorry to hear about your experience.
While we’re a bit surprised by some of your feedback, we’ll be working closely with our team to ensure these issues do not occur again.
We take pride in providing a high quality product for a reasonable price ($7.95 for a sandwich or currywurst plate, $9.95 for a full box of food) and genuinely believe we’ve re-created the closest thing to a traditional döner in North America.
Our chicken, veal and lamb are purchased from local butcher shops and marinated in-house using traditional Turkish methods (milk, onion, and spices – sumac, mace, etc.). Our sausages come from Olliffe, a meat shop akin to Sanagan’s in Leslieville, that uses only the highest quality ingredients.
In additional, all of the sauces (garlic aioli, yogurt herb, hot sauce, curry ketchup) are also made from scratch in our kitchen. The curry ketchup is a variation on an Indian recipe for Kasundi to give it some extra kick.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of Imbiss in Germany have their meat provided by factories dedicated to making döner spits. Because they’re highly specialized and able to take advantage of the economies of scale, they pass these savings along to the stores.
As a new restaurant we’re very receptive to feedback and aim to continually improve the experience for our guests.
If you’d like to get in touch ([email protected]), I’d be more than happy to personally provide you with a complimentary meal and beer of your choice any time in the future.
Thanks for taking the time to visit us and we hope you give us another chance.
– Konrad Droeske