Döner. Truth be told, no Berliners want to eat it. It smells bad, tastes bad, and it’s even somewhat embarrassing to walk down the street with one in your hand. People associate döner with drunk tourists shoving their faces into them while trying to smile, lettuce shreds falling out of their mouths. And we’ve all seen döner meat being delivered on a rusty old van, wrapped in what resembles a giant condom, stacked upon each other. So if you ever buy a döner and immediately see that cute new neighbor whom you’ve been wanting to meet for weeks walking towards your direction… I strongly advice you to quietly turn the corner before she catches you with that “thing” in your hand. But thankfully there are exceptions to everything. The döner from Ilker Halici’s “Meraba Neuland Döner” is like no other. As far as I know it’s the only organic döner place in Berlin. Everyday he prepares one real chunk of good “Neuland” meat on a skewer after marinating it for six hours. The whole thing looks really appetizing, smells good, and even their spicy sauce is tasty! But don’t go too late as the place closes when the last portion is served, which is typically around 21h.

Meraba Neuland, Greifswalder Straße 34, 10407 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg; map

Daily 11-23h

Text: Michael Müller

Published in Cee Cee #8 on 9.6.2011