Lunch in Mitte: The Store Kitchen

This one placed on my list of ten new places you need to try, but has actually been on my to-eat list much longer. Precisely since the first pictures of their complex salads made by the two chefs, Johnnie Collins and Tommy Tannock hit my Instagram feed. Both equipped with rockstar names, both from the UK, both very dedicated foodies, and you already know at least one of them: Tommy is one of the founders of street foodie party Bite Club.

What they serve up in The Store Kitchen is what I want to eat for lunch literally any day, and it's actually very close to how I like to cook myself. However, I rarely manage to do one of those plates, not even thinking of making more than one variety, and at The Store Kitchen, you can choose out of a selection of seven! Creative salads, that is."Creative Salads" is not the right term, nor the official one, I am just lacking better wording. It basically means a combination of vegetables with surprising dressings, added nuts, fruits, and whatever else comes to mind. Like Ottolenghi does in London, or My New Roots does online. It's focussing on vegetables in all their glory, bringing forward new combinations and exciting flavor profiles, combining crispy and soft textures, tart, and sweet nuances. All made with the support of local, sustainable, and biodynamic producers. Their fish comes from Glut & Späne, the bread is by Soluna (winner of Berlin's Best Bread), Blutwurst Manufaktur delivers their meat, and Markthallo Neun their veggies.The Store Kitchen is still cold, they're waiting on their "real" kitchen is finished, until then it's salads-galore. Here're the "salads" pictured at the top of this entry (from the top, clockwise): chard, grilled pear, and Fiore Sardo pecorino; barley, squash, hazelnut, and sage; oakleaf lettuce, spinach, sunflower tahini, and seeds; chickpea, fresh turmeric, and spiced yoghurt.

And the next three: puy lentils, The Store pickles and mint; beetroot, fresh peas, parsley and horseradish; and finally Tzimmes carrots and watercress. We've also had a soup of chilled greens as well as an Iberico broth, both served with a generously buttered slice of Soluna bread, as well as their own bread. We enjoyed our lunch served on beautiful lightly colored plates on multi-colored marble tables custom-made by New Tendency, while we sat on the iconic Revolt chair by Friso Kramer. A very aesthetically as well as palatably pleasing experience.

Oh and then we also got a green juice from their very own cold-pressed juices bar. To finish we had some delicious white tea, served with slices of raw cheese as well as raw chocolate cake by Laura.

You see, perfect lunch! Bit much, maybe. But it's really hard to decide against one of those pretty salads heaped on big plates and displayed nicely on the counter. However, it's still a light lunch, not one after which you'll have to lie down and nap after. The menu for this week sounds very enticing as well: red cabbage and yellow beetroot with miso anchovy dressing and crispy buckwheat; smoked tofu, celery, and peanuts with Sichuan chili oil; potatoes with cucumber kimchi dressing… and much more you'll find out when you visit them tomorrow, right?

On a side note, I don't feel responsible if you not only enjoy this dainty lunch but also spend more of your money on one or two of the items in The Store. Which is, just by the way, the concept store on the ground floor of Soho House. Open to all, The Store has a seriously nice selection of designer goods, fashion, interior, cosmetics and much more. And it doesn't only house The Kitchen, as well as the cold, pressed juices bar, but also a barber, a hairdresser, and a nail salon. Yes, it's quite big. You might have to extend your lunch break…

Also currently happening is Mary Lennox's cacti sale. The wondrous flower artists behind Mary Lennox have assembled an impressive selection of cacti and succulents for you to take home. Talking about plants, this is certainly another stunning feature of The Store – it's home to some formidable examples of greenery – like the 200-year-old Monstera plant gracing the center (being tied to the pole with a big metal chain to avoid it from falling over, sounds more brutal than it looks), or the many giant fiddle leaf figs.

Johnnie Collins and Tommy Tannock

Raw, vegan cheesecake in the front, raw vegan chocolate in the back.

Chilled greens soup