Cee Cee is a weekly email magazine with hand-selected recommendations for Berlin and beyond. Every now and then you’ll find paid posts as part of the newsletter, marked as “Sponsored Posts”. Subscribe here to receive Cee Cee every Thursday and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more tips!
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Lunch at Frank, which opened in late April 2021, will transport you around the globe. The imposing cafe on Prenzlauer Berg’s Schönhauser Allee offers monthly changing menus inspired by different global cuisines, with one or two specialities served each day of the week. Founders Olli and Daniel are engineers and interior architects by trade, and this is evident in the design of the cafe. The two mastered the craft of welding over lockdown, thus much of the furniture in the space has been made and designed by the pair personally. High ceilings and harsh metals contrast with warm woods and huge windows, flooding the room with light.
So what about the food? Options you can expect include an octopus burger with habanero and zucchini (Fridays), wild garlic risotto with whole grain barley, green asparagus, broad beans and rhubarb (Tuesdays) as well as “Korean Fried Chicken” with chili sauce and gan jiang mayo (Saturdays). All this is accompanied by French pastries made on site, delicious coffee from Röststätte Berlin and fresh juices such as the Lässiger Rainer which is packed with coconut water, orange, carrot, chamomile, turmeric, black pepper and agave. But that’s not all: the chefs behind Frank have worked with Sicilian gelateria Duo to create some unique ice cream flavors, such as asparagus and a delicious miso and sake topped with nuts. We can’t wait till things open up properly and we can spend hours just sitting in the space, but until then the team will gladly serve up your lunchtime treat to go – it’s the next best thing!
Text: Lottie Mac / Photos: Lee Edward & Annika Hillig
Frank, Schönhauser Allee 176, 10119, Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map
Open for takeaway Mon–Sun 8h30–18h
Whether it’s the clothes we wear, the coffee we drink or the cosmetics we put on our face – we all want to reduce our environmental impact. Helping you with this tricky task are the folks at Itsapark. The Berlin-based online marketplace launched on 04.05.2021 with a selection of brands – from small and local to established and global – who all share the same goal to cut waste and offer ethical alternatives. The platform is one of H&M’s “New Ventures” and specializes in beauty, fashion, active, rental and wellness items, such as the soy wax candles and natural fragrances from Cee Cee pick Garden State Candles that are perfect for lifting up lockdown days at home. More brands are set to follow, but to give you a taster the site has teamed up with three Berlin shops for some special launch deals starting this Saturday, 08.05. First up is the Black Isle Bakery in Mitte, where you can make your coffee “circular” with a free reusable cup when you buy one of their hot drinks to go. Over in Prenzlauer Berg, vintage shop Dear is offering a free fabric spray with every fashion purchase, from sneakersto skirts. Finally, why not pick up some ingredients for your spring salads from our florist friends at Marsano, who are handing out free organic herbs when you buy a bouquet of their seasonal flowers. The offers run until 15.05.21 on a first come, first served basis so you best be quick. Good luck!
Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Ana Petrovic
For the latest offers and partners check out the Itsapark website or Instagram.
Looking for ways to introduce bursts of color and experimental forms into your home? We aren’t talking furniture or art, we’re talking flowers. Located inside a little red brick outbuilding of St. Thomas Kirchhof on Hermannstraße you’ll find Studio Linné, the flower shop which is anything but old fashioned. The shop was founded in 2020 by floral designer Misha Todirascu, whose floristry style seeks to break with tradition by combining Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, with contemporary aesthetics. If you take a peek inside the studio window, you will see the team at work creating custom arrangements and ready-made bouquets, whose unconventional styles and eye-popping candy colors make them perfect for all special occasions – not least the upcoming Mother’s Day (09.05.2021).
The team does large-scale installations for events and photoshoots, but you can also enjoy the floristry yourself by picking up a bunch from the studio window. Whether you have specific needs and tastes or are happy to give the florist a free hand, the team always seems to have a solution. And if you just want a nice bouquet in a hurry, there are ready-prepared flowers on show too. Once you have chosen your floral gift, you can grab a bite or drink to-go from the neighboring 21gramm before heading over to Tempelhofer Feld. It’s what spring days are made for…
Text: Lottie Mac / Photos: Studio Linné
Ready-made bouquets are available to pick-up during Mother’s Day weekend.
Studio Linné, Hermannstr.179, 12049 Berlin–Neukölln; map
Tue–Sat 12–19h, Sun 12–16h
You can order flowers for delivery and pick-up online (or just drop by the window)
In an era of fast fashion and rapid trends, the garments from Soji Solarin stand out. Why? Because this Berlin-based fashion designer creates clothes that come with context. Having studied fashion and tailoring in California, Solarin’s latest Spring/Summer collection, Journey Just Come, is loosely informed by his own journey from Nigeria to America and then to Berlin in 2018. The influence of migration starts with the name of the collection, which comes from “Johnny just come”, a Nigerian saying from the city of Lagos to describe newcomers. It’s a theme you also see in the designs, which are inspired by photographs of Solarin’s family and friends that were taken in the first few days after they migrated to a new place. Solarin took the style elements from the clothes the people were wearing in the photos and incorporated them into his own designs.
The resulting men’s collection includes formal pieces as well as ready-to-wear casuals that feature both modern and classical influences: You see tie-dye tracksuits and straight leg jeans but also flared leg trousers and exaggerated shirt collars. Fresh touches collide with traditional forms and cuts found in fashion from the past – it’s 1970s flair combined with modern streetwear. The Berlin-designed collection is manufactured in the EU and can be ordered online. And by the way: womenswear is coming in the next collection, so keep an eye out.
Text: Lottie Mac / Photos: Matias Alfonzo
Soji Solarin
The collection is available for purchase in the online store and is due to be available via 50-m Store, Café Forgot, APOC store, & Congruent Space soon.
Don’t have a balcony but still want to grow your own herbs? Here’s a suggestion: the smart indoor garden from startup BerlinGreen which lets you grow greens within your own four walls. Their GreenBox is a handmade wooden plant box in which you can grow up to eight different herbs, salad leaves and even vegetables like courgettes. The system uses so-called PlantPlugs instead of conventional soil (they are 100% biodegradable and filled with nutrients!) which you can order in combination with your chosen seed mix. Based at the Motionlab workspace in Kreuzberg, the startup wanted to make a planter that was sustainable, smart and good looking. And this box is certainly smart: it comes with an accompanying app which lets you set the correct light via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to simulate sunlight and help your plants grow as quickly and healthily as possible. It even reminds you when it’s time to water.
Not only is this high-tech approach fun, but it means you will never have to mourn drowned or dried out plants again. Instead, you’ll get the freshest and most pollutant-free herbs in town. Whether you use it as a “herb bar” on the kitchen counter or for natural decoration in your living room, the handy box makes your space brighter and greener. And best of all: no green fingers are needed – just a swipe and a tap on your touchscreen…
Text: Annika Hillig / Photos: Sophie Döring
BerlinGreen – you can buy the GreenBox and PlantPlugs and seeds from BerlinGreen in their online shop. For every product sold, a tree will be planted to offset the CO2.
ANMELDUNG