This small coffee bar is still one of those proper local “Kiez”-bar Prenzlauer Berg is famous for. Just sit down and relax as people pass by on the street and locals enjoy their coffee around you. Sure enough, the espressos are not top-notch, with large in volume and thus watery espressos, but the barista here is just doing his own best and enjoys catering locals, without the fuzz of wanting to be the very best. A place that I can wholeheartedly recommend!
espresso, travel & berlin
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“World famous” Bonanza Coffee Heroes in the hip district of Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg, had to be the first coffee stop of the holiday. With the place packed with hipsters, we decided to go in and have a drink. Sadly, they forgot to make one of two ordered drinks, so I had to go back inside to claim my espresso. When I was finally able to enjoy my espresso, the sheer richness in flavour and the oily substance of the espresso made me forgive their failure to deliver, instantly.
Thriving from the location between the Mauerpark and the Kastanienallee, this place is especially popular amongst the young and hip. For a more relaxed place to calmly enjoy your coffee, I’d recommend nearby Cafe CK. Then again, this is absolutely a must in any coffee lover’s visit to Berlin, and a great place to buy some beans, as we did for preparation in our holiday apartment.
Right in Berlin’s “coffee heart” in Prenzlauer Berg, Cory and Kerstin run Cafe CK. Using beans from nearby Bonanza Coffee Heroes, they offer various slow coffee methods as well as several different beans. Of these methods, especially the V60 Iced Coffee Maker is one I haven’t come across too often, yet.
In terms of making espresso, they do not match up to Bonanza’s rich espressos, full of delicious oils. That said, they are doing a fine job – on more than espresso- and the place is more suitable for having a relaxing cup of coffee -try the Iced V60 in summer!- as is the busy Bonanza.
On Sundays they serve American pancakes for breakfast – the perfect way to wake up. Mind you, breakfast in Berlin is generally available throughout the afternoon.
Das Filmcafé is one of the cutest cinemas in Berlin. Seating just 30 people in its movie hall in the cellar, this is not the place where you’ll find big Hollywood productions. Expect to find smaller productions, without those annoying German voice-overs. The choice of movies is limited, however, as they tend to screen the same couple of movies for an entire month. Just make sure to keep an eye on the program, and seize the opportunity when an interesting movie is shown – I have seen the Youtube-submitted movie Life in a Day here.
If it’s not for the movies, you can always drop by for a drink or some food. On Sundays, the Filmcafé offers a special brunch + movie combo for just 9,90. Besides movies, they also screen football matches from the Bundesliga and this place is perhaps best known for showing new airings of the famous German series Tatort.
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The area around the metro station Eberswalder Straße is host to lots of underground scenes such as the punk scene. Many shops are to be found along one of the streets starting at the intersection at which the station is located. The famous Mauerpark and Kulturbrauerei are just two examples of the pearls the area holds. The Kollwitzkiez and Helmholtzkiez are two of the four boroughs that intersect here and are known throughout Berlin as some of the most desired in the area of housing. Just stroll along one of the streets to find many nice shops.
Most of the time, buying food and drinks in a city such as Berlin, does not prove to be a problem. There’s a kiosk on every street corner for a drink and supermarkets in every block. However, at night, supermarkets are closed and kiosks may not be able to offer you all that you need. On public holidays like Christmas, it gets even harder. When I’ve once arrived in Berlin late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, I found most stores to be already closed. With two days of Christmas coming up, followed by a Sunday, prospects weren’t good in getting proper and healthy food.
Fresh ‘n’ Friends played a huge part in saving me from that, however. It’s a small store, with a variety of sustainable products, ranging from soda and chocolate, to vegetables and bread. Although prices are, in part due to the nature of their products, rather high, the best thing about the stores is the fact they’re open 24/7. All day, every week, all year long. Even during the christmas holidays, they stayed open for business at night and, back in 2009, even gave away free coffee during the cold winter month of December.
This is, as I previously already wrote, a place I love. A great place to have breakfast with coffee, or just coffee. Using Illy beans for their espressos, the cappuccino was really nice: great foam with a little bit of cacao sprinkled over it, albeit not enough to badly influence taste. I do feel they could’ve gotten some more power from the Illy beans, though. The espresso machiatto makes up for that. A full-bodied, powerful espresso with a mild aftertaste. Great place, with reasonable prices.
The coffee itself is nice, but why does the frothed milk have to continue the capped-egg shape far beyond the ridge of the cup? And what did I do to deserve an amount of cacao sprinkled over the cappuccino that my milk turned into chocolate milk? The promotional picture on their business card showing exactly such an espresso, voids all hope it’s just this one ‘barista’ who doesn’t get the rules of the game. The breakfast buffet we enjoyed was essentially okay, but it was so extensive, products had gotten old during display.
Tous Les Jours is one of those places you will not find in the tourist guides. Located off the main streets in a cozy quarter, this is where you’ll find locals having breakfast, while reading the paper or checking their email via the shop’s free wifi network. I’ve often heard myself saying I wouldn’t mind living around the corner so I can make this my daily breakfast stop.
The Illy coffee will get you started and the extensive breakfast plates will keep you going for hours and hours. In fact, the plates are large enough to serve two, or kindly ask them to pack the left-overs and take them along for lunch. Prices are decent, at around six euros a plate and are served with a basket with assorted bread rolls. Be sure to stop by this place when you’re in Berlin.