Breakfast in Berlin Never tasted so good
Breakfast and I have always been on an eat-because-it's-necessary basis. I'm usually not adventurous at all and I have 2 breakfast combinations that I eat, invariably: My standard breakfast, which consists of 1 soft boiled egg, 1 homemade fruit smoothie, and 1 cup of Jasmine green tea - or my hangover special, which consists of 2 over-easy eggs, 3 strips of bacon or turkey sausage, pancakes with whipped cream, strawberries, & maple syrup (If I'm in Germany I have a brötchen (bread roll) with jam and butter on one half and cream cheese on the other half) and of course, a cup of green tea & a fruit smoothie or fresh squeezed orange juice. I never deviate from those two breakfast choices, so I was a bit apprehensive when Kahlil found a new breakfast place in Kreuzberg on our last trip to Berlin. I decided to give it a shot & I'm definitely glad I did. I learned that breakfast didn't have to include egg and it's never too early in the morning to eat avocado cream.
Bagel, Coffee & Culture (Berlin)
The cafe is owned by two brothers, Rodi & Erhan. And although they say they are "two brothers devoted to the culture of coffee, they make some damn good food. So good that I had a second portion of my order and we went there every day that we were in Berlin.
I had a toasted bagel with roasted turkey breast, avocado cream, and rucola (arugula), a cup of green tea, and a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Aneesha, my friend who was visiting from California, had a plain bagel with butter and jam. The men at our table opted for the Londoner; a toasted bagel with a sunny side-up egg, bacon, and cream cheese. We all thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast and Rodi was very accommodating of our special requests. We're not sure where he was from, but we guessed he was from France and really enjoyed his accent, especially his pronunciation of bacon as beck-an.
The cafe's decor is the perfect example of the effortless, hip and modern mix-match of materials that is Berlin. Old wooden movie theater seats line the walls and table tops made out of single slabs of reclaimed wood sit atop sturdy legs of black steel. It's the kind of place where you want to sit and take in the city while working on your next novel or simply reading the newspaper. It's a moment of stillness in the constant motion that is Berlin.
I don't drink coffee but Rodi was keen to show me the espresso machine, which was an absolute monster of a machine. La Marzocco is known for making some of the best and most expensive espresso machines in the world and the one situated on the coutertop of Bagel Coffee Culture is no exception. Each La Marzocco espresso machine is hand crafted in Florence, Italy, and at 10.000 €, the espresso machine is probably the most expensive piece of equipment in the whole cafe. The love of coffee and making a damn good cup of it, is what drives Rodi & Ehran and it's working for them. They are currently working on opening a second Bagel & Coffee Culture just a few steps away from the current location. The new space will be much larger than the current one and is now under construction.
All photos were taken by Lexie
The Verdict
Everything about Bagel, Coffee & Culture was great. The only thing that could be improved a tiny bit is the atmosphere. It's right on a busy street and there was construction taking place when I visited so there was scaffolding everywhere. It's also pretty small so when you're sitting with a group of people it's pretty difficult to maneuver in and out of your seat if you need to get out for a smoke or bathroom break. But that's just nitpicking. It was super. You should pass by if you're in Berlin. Tell Rodi, Lexie says hi and to get someone to help him with downloading the pics. ;-)
Location
Adresse: Mehringdamm 66, 10961 Berlin Tel.: 030/65218825
Rodi: 015224107895
Erhan: 017622689203
Hours
Unsere Öffnungszeiten/ Opening hours:
Mo-Fr: 8 bis 20 Uhr und Sa: 9 bis 20 Uhr So: 10 bis 20