Even though Helmholtzkiez is around the corner from my home, I’m seldom in the area. More’s the pity, since I’ve been missing out on Kajumi. Opened in 2020, the cafe is decorated with so much attention to detail that it feels like every little nook and cranny offers something to discover. Designers Ebrahim Qayumi and Emilia Giulini wanted to create a timeless interior that gives objects and designs from the past a place in the here and now. If you know a bit about design classics, you’ll immediately notice the skid-base chairs designed by Swedish architect Sven Markelius and the Artek stools by Alvar Aalto. The palette of red, blue and yellow is strongly reminiscent of the color theory of Bauhaus while the hand-painted tableware comes courtesy of German ceramics legend Hedwig Bollhagen.

The food on offer doesn’t disappoint, either, with vegan tahini banana bread, crème brûlée cookies and lemon meringue tartelettes. I particularly recommend the rosemary chocolate cookie, with its perfect balance of sweet and salty. The coffee comes in three varieties, all roasted in-house. Just ask the baristas if you need help choosing. You can get all this to go, of course, but it’s worth spending time in Kajumi whiling away the hours watching passers-by on the street in front. The cafe also sells a cute range of postcards. One hangs above my desk – a reminder of the afternoon I spent in a sunny cafe on a cloudy day… 

Text & Photos: Sophie Doering

Kajumi, Dunckerstr.73, 10437 Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map
Tue–Fri 8–18h, Sat 9h30–18h & Sun 10h30–18h

@kajumiberlin

In a 60s industrial complex not far from the Jewish Museum, a creative cosmos is emerging. Long a home for art galleries, the buildings have recently welcomed the Pool showroom for men’s fashion and, in July 2021, a new cafe called Akkurat. The place is a side project from Rocco Kopecny and Andreas Roth who run a namesake agency producing advertising and music videos. In addition to coffee from fairtrade Kreuzberg roastery Nano Kaffee, you can get delicious cheese and onion sandwiches, croissants and brioche that are either made in-house or sourced from La Maison bakery. As for the interior, the cafe’s gallery-like rooms and sleek yet welcoming design make this a perfect place for hanging out and winding down. The large window front makes the space look like a film set when the sun is shining, while the 2m-wide painting by Monja Gentschow makes you dream of summer days past.

The heart of the cafe is the counter, upon which sit two matte black grinders for the beans and a large coffee machine. The setup might look familiar to one or two coffee nerds: up until October 2020 it was used at the Tørnqvist cafe in Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel. Manager Core grew up in Kreuzberg and was previously the restaurant manager at Beuster Bar in Neukölln before stepping out on the city’s coffee scene. He has big plans for Akkurat, including an expanded terrace and regular pop-up events. The cafe is an ideal environment for taking a break from your home office: just grab your laptop and let the atmosphere inspire and motivate. That said, you might want to leave your work at home since this place really is too beautiful to be staring at a screen…

Text & Photos: Jonas Michel

Akkurat Café, Besselstr.13, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Mon–Fri 8h30–18h

@akkurat.cafe