Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Gendarmerie, located in a 1901 building designed for a Prussian cooperative bank, has a dining area with the dimensions of a small aircraft hangar.

This bistro-style restaurant near Gendarmenmarkt in the center of the city opened in May with a fanfare of recession- defying Champagne and celebrity guests. Yet neither size nor splashy openings guarantee success, and Gendarmerie needs to improve both the food and service to win a loyal customer base.

It is the brainchild of Josef Laggner, a former waiter who runs several restaurants and bars in Berlin, including the popular Lutter & Wegner brasserie on Gendarmenmarkt. Gendarmerie is targeting the same crowd as nearby Borchardt, a Berlin institution whose legendary schnitzel and see-and-be-seen reputation draw politicians and rock stars alike.

On a weekday evening, Borchardt was buzzing and Gendarmerie -- which seats 200 without a squeeze -- was about three-quarters empty. The guests were mostly elderly and a mix of tourists and locals. The only vaguely famous person we spotted was a ranking Social Democrat politician, tapping diligently into his BlackBerry all evening.

After the Prussian bank was taken over by Deutsche Bank, the building became the site of the Economics Ministry during the Nazi era. It has the grandeur of a bank or a government office. As a restaurant, it lacks intimacy and warmth. Everything seems off-scale. My two guests and I, meeting at a bar the length of a bowling alley on a quiet Monday evening, felt a bit like ants convening at the Parthenon after the tourists have gone.

Vast Mural

One wall is dominated by a 14-meter-long mural by Jean-Yves Klein, described as a homage to Diego Velazquez, and vast hooped lights hang from the ceiling. Apart from the 17-meter bar, that’s it in the way of adornment, and the place feels a bit cold and empty. The restrooms are particularly uninspiring, with not a scented candle or flower in sight.

Many of the tables had “reserved” signs on them, though the place was empty. I asked the waiter whether he was expecting a storm of customers later on. He explained that no, it was just the policy so that guests don’t go and sit anywhere they feel like, but would have to wait to be shown to a table.

We first had cocktails at the empty bar, where the service was friendly. (The barkeeper offered a guest a taste of two wines before he decided which to order.) An orange-flower Cosmopolitan was just right; a Poire Gimlet was a shade too sweet. A White Russian came with fresh cream.

Pricey Monkfish

Studying the menu, we decided it was a little scanty and unimaginative, full of bistro classics but with nothing that really made us curious. And it’s pricey. A dish of monkfish with salade Nicoise and anchovies costs 28.50 euros ($42.69). Even a light lunch with water and coffee adds up to 30 euros a head.

A seafood platter on ice arrived with enough tools to conduct a minor operation and a generous selection of slippery and squishy treats. There were a few more winkles than we had the patience for. I do like them, but wonder about the nutritional value. They might well be calorie-neutral when you calculate the energy spent extricating them against what actually ends up in your digestive system.

Other starters -- six Sylt oysters, a half-lobster served cold and a Caesar salad -- were exactly what you’d expect; nothing more. We then had to wait almost an hour until our main courses arrived and they were disappointing when they did.

Overdone Rib-Eye

A cut of venison was overcooked on the outside and too raw in the middle; a coq-au-vin was dry and stringy and a rib-eye steak was overly fatty and too well done. The food may have got held up between the kitchen and our table as on a second visit it was much better, though still unremarkable.

Perhaps the most off-putting thing happened on that second visit. As my guest and I were leaving, we saw a Spanish tourist explaining to two bored-looking police officers why he wasn’t going to pay for his fish.

We wondered who involved the police. Without wanting to jump to too many conclusions, I doubt it was the tourist, and it didn’t seem like a great way to deal with a disgruntled customer, and one whose nationality suggests he might know a thing or two about fish.

Gendarmerie has also opened a new oyster bar in the vaults where the Prussian bank stored its treasure. Yet the restaurant is a long way from offering the big-city flair it aspires to, and faces some tough competition from more established neighbors. The oyster bar may be too ambitious.

Gendarmerie is at Behrenstrasse 42, 10117 Berlin. For more information, go to http://www.gendarmerie-berlin.com/ or call +49-30-7677-5270.

Bloomberg Questions

Cost? Expensive.

Sound level? Quiet.

Date place? Not for a cozy, intimate evening

Special features? 8-meter high ceilings, 17-meter-long

bar, 14-meter-long mural

Private room? No.

Will I be back? Not to eat, perhaps for a cocktail.

Rating: *

What the Stars Mean
****          Incomparable food, service, ambience.
***           First-class of its kind.
**            Good, reliable.
*             Fair.
0 (no stars)  Poor.

(Catherine Hickley is a writer for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Catherine Hickley in Berlin at chickley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 2, 2009 19:00 EST