Finally, after a long and severe Thai food drought (my last trip to Thailand was in 2011), we’ve found a restaurant that makes you feel like you’re back in Mama Puum’s kitchen.

Not in Neukölln, not in Kreuzberg, The Ponch is a small restaurant straight in the district of Mitte (gasp!), on Ackerstr., across from the famous Papa Pane, which opened this May.

The front-of-house staff are true Berliners. The cooks however are two real Thai ladies who, unlike the countless imitators in this city, cook Thai food with an authenticity that’s hard to find.

We arrived there five minutes before the kitchen closed – and was already cleaned – which made us afraid that, well, you know… we’d either get refused, or certain unwanted organisms would end up in our food. Instead, we were treated with the finest Thai cuisine we had tasted in a long time.

Trust us. In our party, we had one person that lived there for one year and literally ran away from the Tsunami, another who has family in Thailand and visits frequently. There were some seasoned Thai-food aficionados between us and we were all left in a state of shock at how good the food at The Ponch was.

We tried the basics: a papaya salad, tom yum goong and laab gai (which is a Thai chicken salad not even served in most Thai restaurants), Singha, Chang and a Pale Ale. All delicious.

There is not much more to say! If you love authentic Thai food but can’t go on a trip there right now, treat yourself to a little vacation at the Ponch in Mitte!

The Ponch
Ackerstr. 155
10115 Berlin Mitte
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