You’ll find Hanuman quietly holding court just off Skalitzer Straße, near Lausitzer Platz with neighbors such as Ma-Makan and Hühnerhaus 36. An unassuming little curry temple named after the heroic monkey god of Thai myth. Brave, loyal, and occasionally cheeky? That tracks. Because Hanuman isn’t here to shout. It’s here to simmer.
This is Chef Don Santanaviboon’s (aka Chef Donie) third act in Berlin’s Thai food saga, following the wildly successful Thai noodle joint Maiyarap on Oranienstraße and the comfort-leaning Tossakan up north in Prenzlauer Berg. But Hanuman is a different beast entirely. A full-blown, curry-only concept. No pad Thai, no mango sticky rice, no distractions, just bowls of sauce-laden soul, one after another.
“ A full-blown, curry-only concept. No pad Thai, no mango sticky rice, no distractions..
The menu opens with a tight list of snacks. The Miang Kam is your first clue that this kitchen means business. A little leaf pouch of ginger, lime, dried shrimp, peanut, chili, and palm sugar that detonates in your mouth like a herbal grenade. If you’re even mildly Thailand-sick, this dish might make you weep.
There’s also tod man pla (fried fish cakes), all chewy edges and fried crunch. And a juicy Thai sausage with a serious herb gameco-developed with the El Oso crew, no less. Wrap it in lettuce, chase with chili and ginger, and pretend you're on a plastic stool in Chiang Mai.
“ Smoky, sweet, earthy - it didn’t feel like a compromise, it felt like a revelation.
But let’s get to the main event: the curries. We tried the Massaman, Panaeng, Jungle curry, and a vegan stunner built around charred pointed cabbage that honestly slapped harder than expected. Smoky, sweet, earthy - it didn’t feel like a compromise, it felt like a revelation.
The Massaman had tender, collapsing lamb and the sort of spiced coconut richness you want to bathe in. It leaned sweet, maybe too sweet, but rumor has it the recipe’s already been tweaked. Don is known for his relentless fiddling, and that obsessive spirit is part of what makes his restaurants tick.
The Jungle curry? A wild, fragrant fever dream. Spicy, funky, teeming with texture and those elusive, mini Thai eggplants that Berlin menus almost never deliver. A dish for the brave, and worth every bead of sweat.
What Maiyarap did for noodle soups, coming in hot, loud, and fully formed, Hanuman approaches more like a vinyl slow jam. It's building. It’s steady. It wants to seduce you over time. But the ambitions are there and the vision is sharp. So I’ll say this: Anyone that cares about real-deal, bold, nuanced and unapologetical Thai flavors Hanuman will be your next stop.
