You've been there already because Kaffeemitte is no secret but anyway, I like it.
And to the anonymous reader who gently prodded me to say more: Because I'm a sucker for concrete and irises, because the espresso is affordable and not too acidic, because before there was nowhere else around Hackescher Markt I wanted to go when I wanted cake or small snacks.
Kaffeemitte, Weinmeisterstr. 9a, Berlin-Mitte (map)
Open M-F 7:30am-10pm, S-S 10am-10pm
I've been plagued by a succession of summer colds but despite my dogged cough I ventured out into the sudden heat. A scoop of bean-speckled vanilla ice cream worked wonders on my sore throat.
I've long savored Pappa e Ciccia's sweets (they were a front-runner in Berlin's "New York cheesecake" craze) so imagine my excitement when I learned they were opening an organic ice cream shop next door. I was too slow to alert you to the free ice cream last Wednesday, but let me assure you, a scoop of raspberry and basil is well worth the euro it will cost you.
Pappa e Ciccia, Schwedter Str. 18 (map)
Tel + 49 30 616 20801
The ice cream shop is open weekdays 1pm-10pm, weekends noon-10pm.
A quiet cafe with a chandelliered interior of gold and lush turquoise, an impromptu concert by the canal, the sweetest bookshop next door.
Goldmarie, Grimmstraße 29, Berlin Kreuzberg (map)
Open 9 am till late
Was it really just a week or so ago that I dawdled in the garden behind Heinz Minki drinking an Alster and watching children climb trees? If the days are as sunny as Google Weather's Berlin report seems to suggest then I certainly hope you'll consider doing the same tomorrow.
Heinz Minki, Vor dem Schlesischen Tor 3 (map)
Open from noon every day in the warm months
You'll know what a sucker I am for dumplings of all persuasions. While there's still a chill in the air I find I can't say no to a plateful of Knödel. Though reluctant to pay 8.90 for such homely fare, I had to sigh with pleasure as I sunk my fork into a succulent buttery ball of mushroom-studded goodness.
Leo Bettini, Mulackstraße 33, Berlin-Mitte (map)
Open M-Th 9.30am-6pm, F 9.30am-8pm, Sat noon-8pm (note that hot meals are only available after 12pm)
Tel. 60 50 74 49
You'll note that ruffled newspaper just tucked behind that upholstered chair, and can you imagine the sort of cafe it is now? I've never visited for their cakes, which tend to dryness, nor for their tea, which sits in a hottish glass from which an inevitably damp paper tag dangles. The Buchwald Cafe -- or, more properly, the Konditorei und Cafe G. Buchwald -- is famous for their Baumkuchen, though I don't think much of it.
I go for the wallpaper, those sturdy ugly chairs, that atmosphere exuded by grey-headed pensioners busy over their cake and coffee, and that man in a light corner idling over his newspaper, and the sense that Berlin is still encased in a dreamy, dusty layer.
Yes, what a crank I am! But even I enjoy idling in their postage-stamp of a garden overlooking a quiet cobbled street and the Spree, and you might like to know about it now that the afternoons are turning light. Thank you to Max and to Bleistifterin who alerted me to the place.
Konditorei und Cafe G.
Buchwald
Bartningallee 29, Berlin-Tiergarten (map)
Open M-Sat 9am-6pm, Sundays & Holidays 10am-6pm
Tel. +49 (0)30 - 391 59 31
And for those of you eager to enjoy these last, late days of warmth and thinning light: Majakowski's Gasthaus is an obvious place to name, but really, how fun it was to idle beneath the lindens and fork mouthfuls of plum cake (Zwetschgenkuchen) while talking about new motherhood.
Majakowski.Gasthaus, Majakowskiring 63, Berlin-Pankow (map)
Tel. (030) 4991 8250
Open (April-Sept.) T-Sa 11-midnight, Su 10-midnight; (Oct.-March) 12-midnight, Su 11-midnight; closed Mondays
Or perhaps not so very long after all, for what do new parents need more than a second living room to retreat to or entertain in, when one begins to chafe at the confines of a two-room flat that's housing three? In typical Prenzlauer Berg fashion the cafe that's opened up around the corner is even younger than our newborn (two weeks old to her five): out with the Christian bookshop, in with Sgaminegg.
For me, these are the halcyon days, where the sunflooded interior is mostly silent but for the stereo and the soft comings and goings of the owners and their friends. But passers-by look in, a Francophone trio spends a half-hour at one of the sidewalk tables, notebooks in hand, and who knows where the place will go next, if it will turn awful or remain quietly luminous?
And for those who are into that sort of thing, the little display in the back room features not only the plain-Jane Maldon sea salt but the smoked variety too.
Sgaminegg, Seelower Str. 2 (map)
Open M-F 10 am-8 pm, S 10am-6pm (a Sunday opening beckons) Update 2009: Open M-F 8.30am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm
Tel. (030) 44731525 / 0152 296 55477
And when the gorgeous weather seems to stretch on forever, then it's time to board the S-Bahn and finally make the journey down to Mutter Fourage. David and I were sure any Slow Food affiliate would be worth the trip, but were doubly pleased to see their lunch menu was exclusively vegetarian, and packed with dishes each as tempting as the next. After very careful consideration we opted for the creamy potato and black salsify gratin paired with the best salad I've had since our friend Áine was last in town, and decided that we'd have to revisit this garden center/cafe/organic grocery shop/concert venue/art gallery later in the summer.
After your meal, be sure you visit the side garden with the chickens in their tidy coop -- and you might take a further leaf from our book and unpuzzle the bus schedules to swing by the Max Liebermann Villa before heading back to the city center.
Mutter Fourage, Chausseestraße 15a, Berlin-Wannsee (map)
Tel. (030) 805 83 2 83
Open daily from 9am - 7pm (10am - 6 pm from October-April)
