JULIA KNOLLE RECOMMENDS: PANAMA

It was only a matter of time before Potsdamerstrasse got its own restaurant: in addition to the Andreas Murkudis concept store, the Swedish brand Acne Studios and a handful of galleries, Panama restaurant and bar is now also open. Before the historical scandal of the Panama Papers, the children’s book “The Trip to Panama” filled young minds with images of a beautiful and distant land. This symbiosis of the exotic and tradition is exactly what attracted Ludwig Cramer-Klett to the concept, and why his 3rd restaurant (after Katz Orange in Mitte and Candy on Bone in Kreuzberg) takes its name. The whimsical menu reads like a journey to another world: divided into “Leaves & Flowers” and “Grains & Vegetables”, each dish is a tiny miracle prepared under the direction of Sophia Rudolph. My favorite: the venison tartare with shiitake mushrooms, currants and nigella seeds, filled with roasted eggplant cream, goats cheese and watermelon. For the perfect end to the evening, move on to the bar for a Basil Smash, with basil and a marvellous touch of ginger. (Text: Julia Knolle / Photos: (top, right) Philipp Langenheim & Corina Schadendorf, (bottom left) Anna Küfner)

Panama Restaurant & Bar, Potsdamerstr.91, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten; map
Tue-Sat from 17h

Julia Knolle is the Editorial Director of the online magazine hey-woman.com. Before this, she worked at German Vogue and has lived in Berlin-Mitte since 2008.

Restaurants

SILVESTER — MENUS, CONCERTS AND MORE TO BRING IN 2024

It’s barely Christmas and people are already asking what your plans are for New Years. Half your friends are out of the city, the other half are starting to text in the group chat to see what the plans are. Stress less: we’ve been keeping an eye on tips for you and here are some easy options to have a special evening… Want somewhere with dinner and the party all in one? Listening bar Anima is celebrating their first new years after opening this year, with a 4-course meal complemented with a wine pairing by Ritual Wine. You’ll need to reserve a spot, and after dessert they’re clearing the tables and opening to all to dance in 2024, (though you’ll be first to have a cocktail in your hand for the firework view of the spree…). Oh, Panama is also offering a dinner-party combo. This restaurant makes modern German cuisine and for New Year’s they have a 5-course special menu. There are two options: the regular menu which includes pike perch and venison with brioche dumpling, or the vegetarian which stars pumpkin with celeriac garum and celery cutlet with black cabbage. After, step next door to Tiger Bar for the afterparty.

Thinking more about food than the party? St. Bart are doing a 4-course menu for New years complete with bubbles, wine and cocktails. If you want to end the night Michelin, Bonvivant also has a 6-course vegan and vegetarian menu. If a non-stop buffet sounds more your style, Open House is the place to be with shared plates and bottles of wine all night long. Want to end your year with some classical music? The Berlin Philharmonie is doing a New Year’s Concert, and streaming it live in concerts across Germany. Okay, if you’re still here you’re more of a night owl… If you’re only thinking of the dancing part of the night, Torte Bar might be more your style – they’re throwing a party with Nadine Hemming and Imad. Or simply wander the streets and follow the sound of the fireworks.

Text: Savannah van der Niet / Photos: Robyn Steffen & Carmen Triana

@anima.berlin
@oh.panama
@st.bart.pub
@bonvivantberlin
@openhouse.berlin
@berlin.phil
@torte.ber.berlin

Activities, Cafes

WORKSHOPS, SOURDOUGH, COMMUNITY: KEIT TAKES LOCAL TO A NEW LEVEL

When you think “locally sourced” how far do you think? How about within 100km? That’s the distance that Kolja Orzeszko and Thanos Petalotis decided on when they founded Keit. What started as a market stall and small bakery in Schöneberg is now also an iconic wheat-filled space in Friedrichshain. A neighborhood bakery through and through , they source all their products from 100km of Berlin City. So what does 100km really look like for sourcing ingredients? The fully organic and locally-sourced approach makes sustainability one of the key values of Keit. Within the challenging distance of 100km, they’ve managed to source, not just wheat (the main of three farms they use is Ökohof Kuhhorst, located in Havelland) but even the most challenging ingredient of salt. They work with farmers to support the local ecosystem, supporting them through trial and error to achieve the best seeds and grains they can. The result is a truly non-homogenous Berlin loaf – a taste you can only get here.

On the menu are five loaves, including rye or wheat sourdough, two baguettes, and four brötchen, alongside other seasonal products. The space resembles a wheat field – stems of dried crops stand upright in the chic store on Boxhagener Platz. Also running workshops in German and English, hosted by a Keit baker. We attended one and enjoyed the intimate nature of the workshop, sent home with full stomachs, rising dough, a sourdough starter kit, and the knowledge of how to continue our bread-making passion. If you aren’t in the area you can buy one of their sourdough starter kits to make at home, or try out their loaves at one of the places they supply to: Oh, Panama, Klinke, or Kioski.

Text: Savannah van der Niet / Photos: Savannah van der Niet für Silo Coffee und Cee Cee Creative

Keit, Grünbergerstr.75, 10245, Berlin–Friedrichshain; map
Keit, Goltzstr.18, 10781, Berlin-Schöneberg; map
Tue–Fri 10-19h, Sat 9–17h & Sun 9–13h

Keit’s next sourdough workshops are on 14.01. and 24.03. Book yourself a place here.

@keit.berlin

Restaurants, Miscellaneous

WILMINA HOTEL AND LOVIS RESTAURANT — HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE, SEASONAL VEGETABLES AND A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

As soon as you enter the second courtyard on Kantstraße 79, it suddenly gets quiet, cool and almost…sacred. From the entrance, a path winds its way towards a building: on the left is a planted wild garden, on the right a patch of abandoned land that has been completely reclaimed by nature. At the end is the entrance to what is now the Wilmina Hotel. It was once the Charlottenburg women’s prison whose 19th century site remains as a listed building. The first courtyard leads to the prison entrance which now serves as the main hall of Lovis Restaurant. The building facing the street is the former district court which has twice served as the venue for Amtsalon, a popup-slash-art-fair bringing together Berlin galleries. The concept, along with the transformation of the site itself, is the work of architects Grüntuch Ernst, who have managed to create a unique place without concealing the buildings’ occasionally dark history (during the Second World War, women resistance fighters were imprisoned there). Instead, the past is ever-present but never overwhelmingly so. The hotel rooms are encased ;in appropriately thick walls where you can sleep under dried flower arrangements in beds so comfortable that it’s no surprise that the hotel tested dozens of mattresses before choosing the perfect one. Everything is tasteful and reverent, unostentatious yet full of soul – something hotels free of the burden of history rarely achieve.

The hotel restaurant, for instance, feels like a restaurant that happens to be by a hotel. Its location allows you to dine without going through the hotel itself, giving you a feeling of absolute privacy. When you enter the bedrooms, your body feels ready to relax: after a shower you’ll want to go to bed with a book and never get up again – unless it’s to pay a visit to the sauna or get some food, that is. If it’s the latter, you’ll be well catered for at Lovis. Chef Sophia Rudolph (who you might know from Panama) serves consistent contemporary German cuisine. The focus here is on seasonal and regional vegetables – and that includes the breakfast, which is served in a special little nook exclusive to hotel guests. You’ll be served the likes of cheese from the Blomeyer’s Käse shop around the corner. Just another reason for a staycation out west – a place that lends itself perfectly to a break from big city life.

Text: Hilka Dirks / Photos: Robert Rieger / Credit: Wilmina

Wilmina Hotel and Lovis Restaurant, Kantstr.79, 10627 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map

Amtsalon takes place 16–18.09.2022. You can reserve a table at Lovis. Hotel bookings can be made online.

@wilmina
@lovisrestaurant
@amtsalon
@gruentuchernst

Activities

IN OUR HANDS: AN INTRODUCTION TO MUDRA MEDITATION BY ELA SPALDING — RECOMMENDED BY MARIANNE JACQUET

As we enter another introspective time with the pandemic, I felt it was appropriate to stay still for a moment and reflect on the bigger picture. What if our wellbeing can have an impact on our surroundings? And if so, how do we find the resources we need within ourselves? Through her work, Panamanian artist and dancer Ela Spalding shows you how. In 2018 she started developing In Our Hands, a meditation toolkit based on mudras – the hand gestures used in yoga. The series features a box set of cards, each one combining a photograph with an emotion and breathing instructions. Spalding’s approach explores the relationship between somatic awareness practice and ecology, and her cards help us use this solitary time for inspiration. The cards provide a welcome invitation to reconnect with our own ecosystem and breathe just that little bit easier. (Text: Marianne Jacquet / Photos: Bui Luu Quynh Nguyen)

Marianne Jacquet is an artist and founder of the Magic Ink creative hub.

In Our Hands by Ela Spalding (Ed.) can be purchased from the author or at Zabriskie, Reichenberger Str.150, 10999, Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Mon–Sat, 12–18h

@stereotropic
@zabriskebuchladen

Language

JULIA KNOLLE RECOMMENDS: PANAMA

SILVESTER — MENUS, CONCERTS AND MORE TO BRING IN 2024

WORKSHOPS, SOURDOUGH, COMMUNITY: KEIT TAKES LOCAL TO A NEW LEVEL

WILMINA HOTEL AND LOVIS RESTAURANT — HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE, SEASONAL VEGETABLES AND A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

IN OUR HANDS: AN INTRODUCTION TO MUDRA MEDITATION BY ELA SPALDING — RECOMMENDED BY MARIANNE JACQUET