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Café in Berlin: Buchholz
Giant savoy cabbages are growing in a hidden backyard in the middle of Mitte, just next to chard and herbs. They already harvested the kale, we were told by the lovely waiter, who took her time to explain us the concept of this new place, that can rightly be called gem. I know the location from when it used to house a somewhat "Alpine" restaurant and some of the most intense theater and art world parties about five or six years ago. Now it's home to a new cooperation between furniture brand Buchholz and the guys behind Lokal and Kantine – and their new Laden is both stunning and delicious.
Café in Berlin: ORA
Something new to discover! The area around Oranienplatz just got a beautiful new café: ORA. Located inside an old pharmacy, with most of the original furnishing still there, it's a beautiful place to have your first meal of the day, spend a lazy afternoon or get the first or last drink of the night.It's only been open for a week, but is already a highlight in the area.
Coffee and Breakfast in Berlin: Distrikt Coffee
Admittedly, one could say something like… another speciality coffee in Mitte?! But then, let's be grateful for the many delicious coffee options we have! And thankful that the growing competition forces coffee enthusiasts to come up with distinct concepts, sophisticated food menus and pleasing interior designs. One result of the growing struggle to set yourself apart from all the other third wave coffee places in Mitte (check our guide on Berlin's best coffee spots here) is this haven: Distrikt Coffee at Bergstraße.
Café in Berlin: Roamers
If any place could be described as a hidden gem, it's Roamers. Walk around the corner at the very end of Pannierstraße in Neukölln and there it is: a wonderfully cosy looking café. The place is not only filled with things looking like they've been taken out of a Kinfolk magazine, but loads of people and there's barely a free seat when I met Flore, the owner. Only open since January, what is it that made Roamers an instant neighborhood favorite and instagram darling? I went to Roamers for some shaksukah on a particularly grey day to enjoy this dish with eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce. It was spicy and creamy enough to comfort me as much that I was able to ignore the rain drizzling down on me. Then Flore served us some coffee and lemon cheesecake, one of the favorites from the menu. The fruity layer added the final touch to the creamy texture and I couldn’t wait to find out more about this place...
Breakfast in Berlin: Betty'n Caty
To be perfectly honest, when I first passed by this recently opened café, I only thought "not another Prenzlauer Berg café...". But this hasty judgement was obviously failing to realize Betty'n Caty's offering is deliciously different from the rest. Read: banana porridge with blueberries for breakfast or quinoa salad with wild herbs, avocado and feta cheese for lunch. Intrigued? So was I!
Vegan in Berlin: Café Vux
Although many of you might know this blog as a source for hunting down Berlin's Best Burger, a have-to-eat-list of the best ice cream and elaborate bread tastings, what is actually also close to my heart is healthy vegan food. Not so much the vegan fast food, which seems to be had on every corner of Neukölln and Friedrichshain (granted, stellar exceptions exist), but the delicious clean vegan food. Not only am I trying to push the popularity by doing my superfood breakfasts at Markthalle Neun, but also by collecting reviews of the nicest places for vegan food in Berlin. And one of them is finally on the blog: Café Vux.
Food in Berlin: Two Planets
Amidst all the latest food trends, sometimes, simple is best. Like a bagel. Although it can be difficult to find a good one. So good that only one bite can take you back to that one morning in New York: when it was raining like cats and dogs and you found yourself stopping by a small deli. Thanks to some freshly brewed coffee and a bagel, it was still a beautiful start into the day. Here in Berlin, when the owner of the recently opened Two Planets in Neukölln couldn’t decide what to do with her life, she made it her priority to introduce Berliners to New York style bagels.
Bagels in Berlin: Shakespeare and Sons Friedrichshain
There is something special about places in the world that you immediately feel at home. To me, this is Shakespeare & Company in Paris - the small bookstore with a great history. When I first visited, as soon as I walked through the door, time seemed to stop. If only for a moment, I had entered a world on its own: huge piles of books, so many of them that the tiny shelves were likely to crack under the heavy pressure. Listening to a piano player while browsing the book selection, I felt a lump in my throat when I left. Back in Berlin, we have Shakespeare & Sons.
Revisited: Café Valentin
I don't know about you, but it is a rare occasion that I eat something so delicious I keep thinking about it for days. It happened after going to Café Valentin, just a stone's throw away from the (occasionally) sunny Maybachufer.It might look like a French café from the outside, but it is in fact thoroughly Swedish. Mary already went there a while ago for some homemade baked goods such as kanelbullar, but it turns out they have a few more tasty tricks up their sleeve.
Cake in Berlin: Martin's Place
On an unprecedentedly warm and sunny day for early March, I found my way into Martin’s Place by the scent of freshly baked cakes that filled the air on Pannierstrasse. It was as though the pied piper himself was there, luring me in to satisfy my sugar addiction.Once inside, I found myself in a state of distress, unable to decide what to try first. I was pressed up against the glass cabinet, ogling all the cakes, tarts, and jars on display. Luckily, Joseph and his wife sensed my dilemma (a problem they must be well accustomed to dealing with) and came to my aid.
Cake in Berlin: Five Elephant
When I walked into Five Elephant the other day and ordered a piece of cheesecake with my morning cappuccino, I was assured that I hadn’t been the first customer that day who asked for it; it appears to be the talk of the town.Bite by bite, sip by sip, I realized why the 15-minute walk from the closest U-Bahn station was worth it; this quiet slice of Kreuzberg sweetness is something to be cherished.
Cake in Berlin: Konditorei Buchwald
Berlin might be ever changing, but some spots are here to stay: Konditorei Buchwald has been baking its well-known specialty, Baumkuchen, since 1852—not only for Berliners, but lovers of all things sweet worldwide, seeing as they regularly ship these cakes to Japan and the US. Shaped like circles or parentheses, the staff refers to their Baumkuchen as a pyramid cake. The dough is rolled onto a spit of sorts that slowly turns over an open flame, creating fine layers upon layers baked in turn and forming a beautiful tree-ring texture that's sealed with apricot marmalade.
Cake in Berlin: No Fire No Glory
Coffee in Berlin: 19grams
Tucked away on Schlesische Strasse, 19grams is a strong contender in Berlin’s growing coffee scene. Though it only opened its doors late last year, but this little cafe will only continue to grow in popularity when word of their ‘Bloody good coffee!’ gets out. Despite its passive hole-in-the-wall exterior, it's a welcome breath of fresh air on a largely unremarkable stretch of road home to numerous tacky late-night takeaway places. As a result, the shop front can be quite easy to miss, but their small chalkboard sign should point your way in.
Breakfast in Berlin: Aunt Benny
When I moved to Berlin, I hoped to find the perfect brownie – like the ones I used to have and love at Baked & Wired in Washington, DC, where I spent the summer of 2012 – with a crunchy crust that's never too dry, and a still slightly soft inside and full of chocolate flavor. I'm happy to report that my search came to an end when I found Aunt Benny in Friedrichshain.
Coffee in Berlin: Silo
We all have our coffee routines. While Kierkegaard preferred to have his morning coffee served on a sugar pyramid in his cup, Beethoven carefully counted every single bean. Berliners in search for their own infusion of morning inspiration can now choose from an ever-growing collection of coffee shops in the city, each more 'authentically' third-wave or homey than the next.
Cafés in Berlin: westberlin
This coffee shop is located in the weirdest of places in central Berlin, right in the eye of the tourist-hurricane, but then otherwise a rather deserted area around Checkpoint Charlie, in between Mitte and Kreuzberg. There's literally nothing else of food interest, which is maybe why this spot is crowded every time one passes by.
Vegan in Berlin: Pêle Mêle
Being vegan in Berlin might be easier than in any other German city, yet I don't necessarily find eating out very appealing most of the times. While there are plenty of options for vegan fast food (burgers, döners, pizzas...) and at least some for fine vegan dining, Berlin's missing out on options for when you're neither craving trashy nor dainty, but want a healthy lunch or a modest dinner. And then there's the problem with the locations, Mitte is so short on vegan spots it's almost ridiculous considering its bobo population. Naturally, the café I am recommending you now is far off Torstraße down at the southern tracks of Ringbahn, a short walk from Rathaus Neukölln station.
Cafés in Berlin: Two and Two
Although this year’s Berlin winter is not as grey nor as cold as we’re used to, my occasional chocolate craving is as present as ever and the place that fulfills it best is Two and Two, a hidden treasure trove in the streets of Neukölln.
Ice-cream in Berlin: Schuchmanns
Berlin's vegan food scene is expanding, for sure, but if you ask me, it's not even close to being satisfying. I still didn't find a close-by joint for green smoothies in Mitte, the fine-vegan-dining scene is almost non-existent (with Lucky Leek and La Mano Verde being the only ones on my to-test-list). And most delis are serving fast food like vegan burritos or vegan burgers. Not exactly what I'm looking for. But, one more spot of vegan delicacies is filled now.