Ari’s in Kreuzberg: Fries in the burger and a dressing you’ll want to spoon up
Crisp smash burgers, fries in the bun, really good sauces and a salad with a phenomenal dressing. A visit to Ari’s in Kreuzberg.
What is Ari’s? A diner in a converted garage in a courtyard off Glogauer Straße in Kreuzberg, not far from Görlitzer Park. The menu mixes American diner food with Peruvian influences: burgers, sandwiches, pancakes, salads.
Open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 am to 10 pm, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. No reservations, card payments only.
From the street, Ari’s is easy to miss: a garage door, a courtyard, no sign. Behind it, the place looks like a diner in the US. There are cream-coloured booths, white tables, an orange-red floor and an open kitchen. Every table has ketchup, salt, pepper, a sugar dispenser and napkins in a holder. The burgers arrive in paper on white plates, the fries in a red plastic basket and the sauces in small metal cups.
Ari is Arianna Plevisani. She grew up in Lima and came to Berlin via New York. She herself calls her cooking a Peruvian version of American food, of the America she knew as a child from TV and books. You can tell on the plate: the cheeseburger comes with ají amarillo, a yellow chilli sauce from Peru, and with shoestring fries in the bun.
The patty
A smash burger stands or falls with the patty. It is pressed flat on the hot griddle so the edges turn thin and crisp. At Ari’s that works, and for me it is the reason to go. The cheese melts over it, the bun is properly dressed, and every bite has a bit of everything.
The Trad comes classic, with tomato, lettuce and house mayo. It needs nothing more. On the Oklahoma, onions are pressed into the patty, and it has those same crisp edges. If you want more meat: every burger is also available as a double.
The Lima Kreuzburger
The Lima Kreuzburger is the chef’s favourite. Under the patty lie fine, fried potato sticks, plus ají amarillo. The potatoes make the burger even crunchier.
The sauces
The sauces are really, really good, and there is a whole lineup. With the fries comes the trio in yellow, green and white, each sauce in its own little metal cup.
Ají Amarillo. Yellow and creamy, from the Peruvian chilli that is also in the Lima Kreuzburger.
Ají Verde. The green sauce that goes with roast chicken in Peru.
House mayo. Garlicky, like from a chicken shop.
Crispy Chili. Chilli oil with crunchy bits, which also ends up on the salad.
Special Sauce. The house sauce, the one that is also on the Oklahoma.
Ranch. The American classic made of buttermilk and herbs.
Diablo Mami. The house hot sauce, which also goes into the Diablo Mary.
The salad
Order the Spicy Green Goddess with your burgers. Iceberg lettuce in thick wedges, topped with creamy herb dressing, crispy chilli and chives.
The dressing is phenomenal. The salad is cold, crunchy and spicy, just right next to a warm burger.
