Berlin Cafes with a Side Order
There must be a café for every day of the year (and then some) in this city, all of them offering a variation on the same classic Berlin menu: kaffee und kuchen, hot milk with honey, tea served in a glass, herbal brews, Ovaltine, hot chocolate, beer, booze, platters of cold cuts, and soft-boiled eggs in cups. The quality, the decor, and the customers may vary, but the template is established. Small wonder that a handful of establishments are striking out and offering something new alongside the brötchen and snitty service. After the cut, some cafés with a difference.
Anna Blume
Kollwitzstraße 83
10435 Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
Traditionally, no bourgeois German Sunday is complete without coffee and cake with the family, to which you bring a bunch of flowers for granny. This grand café combines … old, mitteleuropean Vienna with laid back Berlin charm, some serious ice cream, giant, slutty creamcakes, and a florist shop with a lovely selection of bouquets. [link]
La Parisienne
Marienburger Straße 12
10405 Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
This little slice of Paris in Marienburger doesn't have much seating room, but if you want to indulge in one of its full-on breakfasts (crisp rolls, croissants, … chocolate-hazelnut spread, jams, and cheese and cold meats) you can order and have it delivered to your apartment or hotel room. They promise they'll have it at your door in less than an hour. [link]
Spielwiese
Kopernikusstraße 24
10245 Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany
The walls of this Friedrichshain café are lined with shelves full of games: board games, card games, skill games -- everything from Mahjong to Monopoly. If you're …
getting into Berlin's café culture of idleness but haven't perfected lolling around doing fuck all, you can sit in Spielweise and expend your excess energy on a round or two of Doppelkopf. [link]
Schnell und Sauber
Torstraße 115
10119 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Schnell and Sauber (Quick 'n' Clean) isn't as cute as Holly's café-laundrette, but it gets the job done. While your clothes are cooking, you can perch on a stool at the … window and watch Torstrasse pass by as you munch a croissant. The dandyish owner likes to help newcomers (especially those who don't speak German), which often means he plunges headfirst into your dirty laundry -- so check your personal boundaries or polish up your Deutsch in advance. [link]
Fußbad Café
Zionskirchstraße 32
10119 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Stepping down into this cellar room, you're knocked sideways by competing aromatherapy oils. You climb into your throne, sink your feet into a dainty basin of warm water … topped with petals, and attack a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. At breakfast you can have muesli and juice with the foot bath, and for a hefty €50 you can go for the "Star Night Luxus" foot soak and massage with a glass of prosecco. [link]
Wrangelstraße 80Linkle
Wrangelstraße 80
10997 Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
Dutchwoman Linda Eilers presides over Linkle, a café that provides sewing machines, scissors, a cutting table, and its owner's dressmaking expertise as well as coffee. … If you have an outfit you want to alter or even make from scratch, you can rock up during opening hours and start work or take part in one of the courses on offer. Eilers also makes over old handbags as a sideline and offers tailoring services. [link]
