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Best Coffee at Zoologischer Garten in Berlin [Article]

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Sep 28, 2017 5:19:24 AM

Best Coffee at Zoologischer Garten in Berlin

Being new to Berlin I went out one day to find the best coffee in Berlin. I just had a craving for cake, a double espresso and sitting in some cafe to engross myself in the feeling of the pulsating, creative city, which Berlin definitely is. So the source of information, as I do not know a lot of people in Berlin and I like exploring, was, of course, Google. 

A hotspot for coffee I identified and I could easily get to from home was Zoologischer Garten. This might be due to the fact that this is the place where most people go as it is close to the center. If you are central and a lot of people come to your place that is already an advantage for Google rankings. When you read this overview keep this in mind. You might not find the best insider tips in the next lines, but definitely, the best alternative when you do not have a lot of time and need a bit more detail than on Yelp.

My background is that I have traveled wide and far, lived in Dublin, Stuttgart, Amsterdam and just like the good things in life, as my wife does. Unfortunately, I could not bring her along for a second opinion this time around. Stay tuned and visit this blog again as you will see more of this in future including the voice of my better half.

Berlin Tegel to Zoologischer Garten Bus

Sign for bus lines from Tegel to Berlin City Center

If you are coming from Berlin Tegel you will take the X9 or 109 to get to Berlin central. The last station on that bus ride will be Zoologischer Garten. It depends on where you get in as Berlin also has the Schoenefeld airport. There is a controversy about Tegel and it might get closed very soon, so get there as long as you can as Schoenefeld is at the other end of the town. The 109 takes about 15 - 20 minutes to center depending on traffic. This stop is close to Jungpfernheide S Bahn station where most people get off to take the bus to the airport if they do not opt for a taxi.

Berlin Zoologischer Garten front view

Central station Zoologischer Garten

Once you step out of the bus this is most likely the view you will be presented with. The nearby Zoo is the oldest Zoo in Germany and opened its doors in 1844. This is a visit in itself and I highly recommend it. During the second world war, there was a flak tower nearby the Zoo to protect Berlin from allied bombers. While the Russians cleared it out at the end of the war it became part of the British owned sector of Berlin afterward. Therefore the Britain's had to demolish it during the demilitarisation of Germany. This was done in 1947/48. The story of the flak towers in Berlin is interesting as everywhere they stood there are parks nowadays in Berlin, which I find quite ironic. If this interests you in detail read my post "An alternative day in Berin for walkers" and attend the corresponding "mountains of debris" Berlin Unterwelten tour. 

Zoo Palast on the day of german premier of Blade Runner 2045

Zoo Palast Cinema getting ready for premier of Blade Runner 2045

Follow Budapester Strasse to get further into the center and to the first stop that Google will guide you towards, Einstein Kaffee. I left out all chains I knew of like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Tchibo and also coffee shops in malls as that was not the experience I was looking for. Einstein Kaffee was the most promising to start with after eliminating those. It is about a five-minute walk from Zoologischer Garten station.

Budapester Strasse Street Sign

Budapester Strasse street sign

When you follow Budapester Strasse you will get to one of the most known churches in Berlin, the Gedaechtniskirche. This is the place where the yearly Christmas market in Berlin is held and unfortunately, also the Berlin terrorist attack of 2016 took place. The church is a Protestant one and has remained a ruin as a testament to the second world war. The modern belfry was added in 1963. The Berlin Name for the church is "der hohle Zahn" which means "the hollow tooth" in English.  

 

Gedaechtniskirche Berlin Budapester Strasse

The hollow tooth in the middle of Berlin

Cafe Einstein

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Cafe Einstein was first on the list. As you can see, here you can get more than just coffee. The barista was very friendly and well trained and you have a direct view of the plaza in front of the hollow tooth. It is always a good sign when the staff offers you water for free proactively with your double espresso as this is how it should be served. If you were to attend anything nearby the Kaiser Wilhelm church or wanted to sit after a longer shopping spree down Kurfuerstendamm this is an address to go to.

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 This is the view from the entrance at daytime when I went in late summer / early autumn. As you can see the look and feel is very crisp and slick. Not necessarily the experience I wanted for the day as it is not too far off from what you get at McCafe or Starbucks on the surface. That is not necessarily bad just not really "berlin authentic". Still, Einstein is tidy, spotless and very organized. Next was to have a closer look at the selection of cakes.

Sacher Tart and Cheesecake at Cafe Einstein Berlin

Sacher Tart and Cheesecake at Cafe Einstein Berlin

Blackberry ? raspberry cake at Cafe einstein

Blackberry / Raspberry cake 

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Pear Poppy Tart cafe einstein

Pear Poppy tart

Peach Tart Cafe einstein Berlin

 Peach Tart

 

Double Espresso Pear Poppy Tart Vafe Einstein Berlin

Presentation Cafe Einstein

BIll at Cafe Einstein

Cafe Einstein in Budapester Strasse was great and I personally think good value for money. Very clean, very stylish, in the heart of Berlin and reachable without getting lost. This is the type of cafe I would invite my business associates to or someone for whom I am not quite sure how laid back they really are. The more interesting visit with some cultural and historical background would be the Cafe Einstein Stammhaus in Kurfuerstenstrasse 58. This house was given to Goebbels secret mistress Henny Porten and was used as a secret gambling den. The address was reopened under the name "Cafe Einstein" in 1978 to bring the Viennese style of coffee house to Berlin. If you want to know more about this you can read "Cafe Einstein Stamm - Die Geschite des Berliner Kaffeehauses". Overall I had the look and feel of a Starbucks with better cake and coffee in the Einstein at Budapester Strasse. I have to try the Stammhaus soon as this seems to be the heart and soul of cafe Einstein and the satellite does not do it full justice.

Ampelmann

Next stop according to Google maps was Ampelmann. You get to Ampelmann directly when you come out of one of the exits of the underground station Kurfuerstendamm. Maybe that is also why it is ranked so highly on the Google Maps app. All in all, Ampelmann is a great place for souvenirs, but definitely not to have a nice cup of coffee. I decided to skip it as this was not the experience I was looking for on that very day, namely getting some artsy fartsy coffee and tea down my throat and being a bit more like a Berliner (or at least getting better at pretending to be one). 

A good thing for Ampelmann is that it is not far off the Gedaechtniskirche, which most tourists will visit. Rather than getting a souvenir which everybody gets in the shop which is directly in the church, walk these couple of steps to get something a bit more out of the box. The "Ampelmann" was the eastern version of the green and red lights for pedestrians. This is a more light-hearted piece for small talk than a piece of the wall to bring home to your loved ones. If you have teenagers back home, this is the place to go where you can quickly get something that is reasonably cool and not a jumper with "Berlin" on it. Of course, if you want to support the church itself, get one of the more classical souvenirs in its associated shop.

Ampelmann Kurfuerstendamm front view

Ampelmann Kurfuerstendamm front view

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"Greenlighted" at Ampelmann

Merchandise at Ampelmann

"Cool" merchandise at Ampelmann

 

Schwarzes Cafe

As this trip was more of a creative outburst then a well-executed marshall plan I got disheartened after Ampelmann. It was also approaching 6 pm and I wanted to be at home in time and not turn the little trip into a proper night out. Therefore I had only one more stop left. Consulting Google maps again I went to the cafe in the area which had not necessarily the best, but the most reviews (700+). The name of the street "Kantstrasse" was already promising. I had to walk about 10 minutes from Ampelmann to get there following the instructions of the nice lady trapped in my smartphone.

Schwarzes Cafe means "Black Cafe" if translated to English and is in my opinion in a more sophisticated area of Berlin. Across the street you will find Stilwerk, basically the higher upper class to a very rich version of Ikea (and everybody who ever bought anything there will be hugely insulted that I even dared to compare the two). On the way to Schwarzes cafe, you will also come across one or two smaller Ateliers. 

One simple and very effective rule I learned from my mother for picking a good place when you do not know your way around is to have a look whether it is busy. If a place is not busy, you can reasonably assume that it is crap as the locals not frequent it. If it is busy you will usually get good value for money or a great experience depending on your wallet. While cafe einstein and Ampelmann were not busy the street in front of schwarzes cafe was. There was a guy in a wheel chair reading his newspaper and drinking his tea. A punk who looked clean sipping on a tea and a woman with a crazy frenchman hat sipping her champagne. I was of to a good start.

When I came in I could directly see that the music came from a cassette deck and I was sure that I had hit the jackpot. Exactly the type of cafe I was looking for when I set out on this little adventure.

I had a little nose around and did not directly sit down which paid of. You can easily miss the seats in the back as it is in a blind spot when you come in and the door to the "Innenhof" is very small. This is the kind of berlin experience I was looking for. I sat down in the characteristic "Berliner Innenhof" which had some nice green around and was quiet. Nice change from the ugly backyards of Dublin where I used to live for more than eight years.

Looking at the menu you will find the prices to be reasonable. There is even a special treat to be found: Absinth! If you really want to go off the rockers and get all creative like Oscar Wilde order a bottle of that with some sugar and let the rest of the night unfold. I did not feel like that so I ordered tea, hot chocolate, and a croissant.

The English breakfast tea was almost served like a proper afternoon tea in Ireland. Contrary to what you might think afternoon tea is a full meal of tea complimented by scones, sandwiches and little pieces of cake. My wife says that Ireland has everything the continent has, just a little shittier. Afternoon tea is a huge exception from that rule. The best one we had was in London in the "Oscar Wilde room" (by the way very fitting for a German Iirish couple to have afternoon tea in London in there, just read his biography) on my 30 birthday before we went to see Les Miserable on the Westend. The only thing missing was the metal or silver tea pot instead of ceramic. This is very close to proper tea which is hard to get on the continent based on Irish/English standards. There is even a black market on facebook where a guy sells Fallon's tea bags as the best you can get in Germany is not even close to the real thing. 

The hot chocolate was served with cream without being asked and at no extra charge. This is how my hot chocolate should always be handed out. If you are lactose intolerant, you would not order hot chocolate in the first place...

The croissant was good and not fresh. In all fairness, it was a bit odd to order a croissant with Nutella and butter at 7 pm. I am sure in the mornings you will get a great croissant which is fresh and smells like butter. Staff was very nice and would definetly have put it into the microwave or oven to give it a little extra kick if I had asked for it. 

Staff was a bit slow but it is a big cafe with downstairs, upstairs and outside and there were only two waiters there. You also can't expect a McDonalds service in terms of speed or Michelin star restaurant quality service when you deliberately pick a place which aims to attract poeple who are laid back and creative. I dod not take offense, but some reviews explain themselves if they were written by american tourists in a rush to get to their next agenda point.

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Schwarzes Cafe front view

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Cassette Deck, wonder if they have the Guardians of the galaxy soundtracks

IMG-2328.jpgFresh flowers at the entrance

 

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 Quick view into the kitchen when passing by

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View out to the Innenhof mainly couples without children when I was there

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 View to back door from Innenhof. The door is easy to miss if you do not know there is an outside area in the back

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Tea is served

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"With cream please"

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Croissant from the morning in the evening (Odd people order odd things)

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Some call it art, I don't have a clue

Conclusion

If you get to zoologischer Garten und you want the Berlin experience for coffee based on what I have tested go straight to Schwarzes Cafe in Kantstrasse. Prices are good, ambiente is excellent and you might even get a little absinth to enjoy your stay even more. The way back to the main attractions is not far and you will definetly have seen something more interesting than just another starbucks.

Further reading

 

Topics: Think Deeper