There are two bears at Odd Café. There’s one that lays overturned, with its paws holding the glass of a table. Another, smaller, is made of china and roams amongst the bagels in the counter cabinet. The place is not named after these small oddities, but rather the odd, coincidental trio of friends that came together to start the cafe in April 2023. Despite all odds, the trio – Sanghyun No and Jonghwan Kim from South Korea (and the people behind Swordmaster Noodle), and their friend Ivana Stanic from Serbia – met and decided to open this neighborhood cafe together.
While the space has charming handmade furniture – repurposed table legs stand alone holding stone tabletops, mismatched chairs, even a rocket and typewriter – it’s intention and design keep the space sleek and bright. Brighter still is the service: the team are clearly enjoying running their new space and it seeps into the friendly service. For a savory treat, bagels are handmade onsite by Ivana. Our favorites are the salmon and cream cheese, and the goat cheese and honey. They’re perfectly seasoned and make an easy breakfast with a friend, or for an un-messy remote working breakfast if you decide to set up and work here for the day. If you’d like something sweet, they have cakes also made in-house, including a whisky honey cake, basque cheesecake, apple cinnamon blondie or a classic chunky choc-brownie. Their Lotus latte is made with Biscotti (yum) and they have a Bonbon espresso, which is Sanghyun’s take on a Vietnamese condensed milk coffee. All the coffee uses a single origin Ethiopian Sidamo bean – Sanghyun’s preference and a favorite among coffee enthusiasts. Their teas are also special – hand packaged themselves, they have a special Sujeong Cha tea which is a reinterpretation of the traditional Korean Sujeong cinnamon tea, Jeju Baram green tea and Jeju Dol which is made from organic brown roasted rice and green tea. Between their sweets, bagels, sunny terrace and neighborhood-cafe service, there’s many reasons it’s not so odd to visit Odd.
Text & Photos: Savannah van der Niet
Odd Café, Zelterstr.6, 10439 Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map
Wed–Sun 8h30–17h30
@odd_cafe_ber
