ENJOY MEDITERRANEAN FUSION CUISINE ON LAYLA’S SUMMER TERRACE

We’ve revisited one of our tips – because there’s news at Layla: not only can you eat at this elegant restaurant vis-à-vis Tempodrom, but now you can also take a little taste of summer with you on the new terrace. Here you’ll find everything Berlin’s summer has to offer: balmy temperatures, a gentle breeze and, of course, the best of the Mediterranean cuisine that Layla stands for – in its very own “Meir” style. By “the best” we mean the incomparable mix of spices, flavors and ingredients from the Mediterranean region, with which the renowned Israeli chef Meir Adoni impresses his visitors time and again. In addition to signature dishes such as lamb chops cooked on the grill and seasoned with a “secret” pepper (that’s all we were told!) and the distinctive kubana (a traditional Shabbat bread) Layla is now a nice destination for sophisticated sunset drinks. At the beginning of May 2023, the new terrace opened with over 50 seats where you can enjoy summery drink creations by bar manager Valery Lela Shargorodsky.

One such drink is the Gamba: a fancy cocktail with a tequila bell pepper infusion, apricot and guava. It’s accompanied by sharing plates. Additional items on the menu include Middle Eastern Tacos and the Lima Beans Masabacha. Our tip: secure seats outside by the window, where you can enjoy the open air and take a peek through the window at the open kitchen, which can be seen from all sides and is one of our personal highlights. So, if you’re in the mood for summer and fancy a relaxed, discovery-filled evening, come on over. The terrace offers enough space to end the evening in a large group – something the sharing plates are ideal for. P.S. Meir himself will be in town for a few days (13-17.06.2023) cooking in the open kitchen – adding an extra portion of good vibes to the evening.

Text & Photos: Robyn Steffen

Layla, Hallesche Str.10, 10963 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Tue–Sat from 18h, bar open daily from 18h. You can make reservation here.

@layla_berlin

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Restaurants

YAKITORI AND ROOFTOP VIEWS OVER KREUZBERG — TORIKABIN FROM STOKE

Traditional practices, refined aesthetics and a deep respect for quality ingredients – nothing fascinates me more than the food culture of Japan. It’s so much more than just sushi and ramen, but the principle is always the same: craft takes the most important role, along with the right ingredients. With Torikabin, you can literally experience this firsthand in the summer above the rooftops of Kreuzberg. The dinner project is part of Stoke, a concept by Jeffrey Claudio, Jessica Tan and Niklas Harmsen. Jeffrey worked among others at Burnt Ends in Singapore, and Jessica Tan spent a long time at Ralae Group in Copenhagen. With Torikabin, they have created a temporary installation where they can realize their vision of wood fired cooking and warm hospitality. Throughout summer 2023, a small wooden cabin stands on the roof of Aufbau Haus on Moritzplatz, with a traditional noren waving along to the rhythm of the wind at the entrance. You sit close together on wooden stools, and in the middle is the open kitchen, where Jeffrey prepares the yakitori skewers before your eyes. Yakitori traditionally consists of chicken meat barbecued over an open fire. The meat is seasoned with salt and pepper or dipped in a “tare” sauce, mixed together from soy sauce, mirin and sake. Sounds simple? Maybe – but the simpler the ingredients, the less room there is to cover up mistakes. The meat is served accompanied by seasonal pickled vegetables, rice and a potato salad I’ll probably rave about forever.

There’s also a vegetarian menu: the skewer concept remains, with tofu, grilled cheese and various vegetables prepared for you on the wood fire. In the evening Jessica pours the wine, mixes whisky and soda drinks and serves Berliner Fuerst Wiacek beer. To top it off are grilled strawberries – really memorable strawberries. For Jeffrey, Jessica and Niklas, Torikabin is an art installation, for me the evening was so much more. This is where craftsmanship, hospitality, the most tender chicken, Japanese highballs and flames meet amidst sunset views over Berlin. FOMO? Absolutely justified at Torikabin!

Text & Photos: Robyn Steffen

Torikabin at Aufbau Haus, Prinzenstr.84.1, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map

Thu–Sat 18–23h, until the end of August 2023. First sitting 18–20h, second sitting 20h30–22h30. You can make reservations here.

@stoke.berlin

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Restaurants, Shops

HOMEMADE KIMCHI MEETS SPANISH CHEESE: SEOUL AND ANDALUSIA EATS AT KOCHU KARU DELI

It all started eleven years ago when Bini Lee and José Morillo opened the charming restaurant Kochu Karu on Eberswalder Straße. Within a short time, Kochu Karu had become a well-known and popular address for innovative cuisine in Berlin. The two incorporate much from their respective homelands into their cooking: Bini comes from South Korea and used to perform on stage as an opera singer, and Kochu Karu’s eye-catching interior was also inspired by her past. Her friends from the theater collaborated on the design and interior décor and the striking mural was created by Berlin-based illustrator Ulrich Scheel. Hailing from Andalusia, José was the chef during Bini’s internship that got her started in the restaurant business. Their roots are very important to both of them. They feel strongly that their cuisine is neither Korean nor Spanish, but a fusion of memories, family recipes and traditional methods of production.

As restaurant owners, Bini and José had to figure things out during the pandemic, and after their successful “Nimm Mahl! – To Go Service,” the two discovered that many of Kochu Karu’s delicious products could also be packaged very well by the jar. So when a small storefront directly across from their restaurant became available last year, the two didn’t hesitate for long: the Kochu Karu Deli was born! Here, gourmets can find homemade kimchi, apple-wasabi dressing or their own soy sauce, a lovingly curated selection of natural wines, Spanish cheese and ham, as well as rotating hot dishes such as hearty Tempel Bibimbap and what are surely the most delicious roast beef sandwiches in Prenzlauer Berg. All dishes can be enjoyed on the spot or packed to go. And since Bini and José can never sit still, they are now sharing their knowledge and appreciation for good food with interested participants as part of their new Tasty Sunday series. For example: What is kimchi, what makes it so good, and what else can I do with it? Here you can broaden your culinary horizons in a relaxed atmosphere, talk shop, philosophize, feast – and toast to a delicious evening.

Text & Photos: Natascha Hamel

Kochu Karu Deli, Eberswalder Str.16, 10437 Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map
Wed–Sat 12–19h & Sun 12–16h

Kochu Karu Restaurant, Eberswalder Str.35, 10437 Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map
Wed–Sat 18–23h30

@kochukaruberlin

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FRENCH BISTRONOMIE IN KREUZBERG — MASTAN COMBINES TRADITIONAL METHODS WITH MODERNITY

If you bring upscale cuisine and casual bistro character together, it results in what is known as a “bistronomie” restaurant – a place where good cuisine doesn’t have to be accompanied by a fancy atmosphere and expensive prices. Yann Mastantuono opened Mastan, his small bistronomie restaurant located between Mehringdamm and Südstern, in April 2023. The concept is all about fine food, casual get-togethers and affordable prices – in other words, everything you could want on a night out! Born in Marseille, Yann grew up with the cuisine of the South of France. Later he moved to Paris, where he gained his first insights into first-class bistro cuisine and honed his technical skills as head chef at Le Verre Volé sur Mer and Aux Lyonnais – Alain Ducasse. Yann then moved to Berlin on account of the openness and joie de vivre of the people here. “They see through glitz and want honesty,” he says.

When you enter Mastan, you are greeted warmly and immediately understand the concept from the interior: an inviting wooden counter right at the entrance just like in French bistros, and small seating areas at the windows covered with white tablecloths. At the counter you can relax with a glass of wine (a selection of organic and natural wines from France, Germany and Austria) and sample typical cheese and sausage specialities. Then, if you’re still hungry, you can order à la carte. Here you will find the likes of a cream of pea soup with fresh goat’s cheese and Pimentón de la vera, veal tartare with crisp Granny Smith apple, tarragon and Cedri lemon gel with slivers of wild oysters hidden inside. For the main course there’s guinea fowl with wild garlic, white asparagus and bacon, or a Mediterranean fish soup with gurnard, fennel and rouille. For dessert, you can’t miss out on the cheese platter, which Yann gets right next door at Les Epicuriens in the Marheineke indoor market. Direct contact with producers is important to the chef, and he is keen to discover the best regional products. He also doesn’t want to miss out on contact with his guests: he likes to leave the kitchen in the evening to greet diners and share a glass of wine. You can spend hours at Mastan without having to go all out. It might get noisy and crowded at times, but that’s the charm of a French bistro. Combining delicious, unpretentious dishes and fine-dining cooking techniques, this place will have you parting ways on a high: Merci et à très bientôt!

Text: Robyn Steffen / Photos: Robyn Steffen & Florian Kroll

Mastan, Gneisenaustr.67, 10961 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Tue–Thu 18–22h30, Fri & Sat 18–23h

@restaurantmastan_berlin

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MUSCHEL BAR — HELMHOLTZPLATZ EATERY SERVES A SIMPLE MENU OF MUSSELS AND FRIES

Blue cheese and mussels, celery and spritz – two combos that had never really occurred to me…until now. I am officially a convert, and will be making regular trips to Helmholtzplatz’s Muschel Bar, which has been serving seafood delights since January 2023. The name says it all: this place serves mussels (blue mussels to be precise) and little else. It’s all very consistent and to the point. Owner Martin is an experienced restaurateur, having previously run the Gasthaus Figl pizzeria on Urbanstraße. Martin decided to start a completely different business, one reduced to a single dish: moules frites! The mussels here are served on simple enamel plates and eaten at high wooden tables that give the place a bar-like feeling. Outside, you can make yourself comfortable at one of the little bistro tables. This setup wasn’t the original plan: the intention was to open a Levantine bistro, but life intervened and the venue – a former Imbiss – reopened as a mussel bar.

Small decorative objects behind the counter and on shelves bear witness to the previous plans, while cast-iron pots – used to prepare the mussels – highlight the current dish of choice. With a tiled floor and an eclectic matte-earthy color scheme, the eatery looks authentic and at ease. It’s a fun place to meet up with your mussel-loving friends (not too many, though: the restaurant is small). We ate our way through all three menu items and would be hard pressed to say which was our favorite. There’s the light white wine and vermouth mussels or the classic Provençal version with tomato, fennel, celery and saffron. We were big fans of the blue cheese mussels, which, we learned, are actually a classic (clearly we are due an educational trip to the French coast). All three plates are enjoyable, homemade variations on the classic recipes. There’s little crazy, new and wild about this place – it’s all unpretentious, unhip, rustic, casual and delicious. Besides the french fries (a must), we also tried the poutine (one portion is more than enough for one person). The dish will also keep vegetarians happy: instead of chicken gravy, this French-Canadian comfort food is made with homemade blue cheese. If you do end up in a food coma (not unlikely), barman Sven will be happy to serve you a tart celery kombucha or celery spritz with sparkling wine – our aperitif trend for 2023. One thing’s for sure: you’ll leave this mollusc Mecca full and in a good mood.

Text: Nina Trippel / Fotos: Savannah van der Niet

Muschel Bar, Dunckerstr.10, 10437 Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map
Wed–Sun 17–22h

@muschelbar

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ENJOY MEDITERRANEAN FUSION CUISINE ON LAYLA’S SUMMER TERRACE

YAKITORI AND ROOFTOP VIEWS OVER KREUZBERG — TORIKABIN FROM STOKE

HOMEMADE KIMCHI MEETS SPANISH CHEESE: SEOUL AND ANDALUSIA EATS AT KOCHU KARU DELI

FRENCH BISTRONOMIE IN KREUZBERG — MASTAN COMBINES TRADITIONAL METHODS WITH MODERNITY

MUSCHEL BAR — HELMHOLTZPLATZ EATERY SERVES A SIMPLE MENU OF MUSSELS AND FRIES