Every good – and every so-so – evening at the theater ends with a glass of wine. Or two. I especially like having mine in the theater’s own canteen. There, you can have a bite to eat after the show, discuss the play, meet the performers and other theatergoers. The mood is jovial, and in a way the play lives on. Now, as of January 2022, the Berliner Ensemble, located at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, also has such a space – the Berliner Kantine. None other than Alireza Farahmand (creator of Themroc) and his partners Maxi Ebel and Raffaela Zerilli have dusted off the old canteen – breathing new life into it, so to speak. It has certainly paid off! The new rooms are radiant, the walls are hung with artworks by artist friends, and the kitchen smells wonderful. The three hosts welcome guests for lunch and dinner in their canteen with daily changing main dishes: pasta, cheese spaetzle or “Senfeier” (eggs in mustard sauce), beloved classics like the “Berlin Duet” (boulette with potato salad), a bouillabaisse and “Sabzi Polo Ba Morgh” (herbed rice & braised saffron chicken). All Persian dishes are from Ali’s family cookbooks, which have their roots in Iran.
The dining hall is buzzing: Cast and crew, neighbors and visitors alike all come to enjoy the food. We have dessert and a coffee in the newly designed courtyard and admire the new building of the venue (since 2019) – the New House. We stay because it is wonderful to sit beneath the awnings and trees. In the evening, we snag tickets for Lena Brasch’s sold-out play, “It’s Britney Bitch!” After an hour of intense solo performance by Sina Martens, we end the evening at the Berliner Ensemble’s own champagne bar, the Surabaya Bar. The concept seems to work: a meeting point that creates a place of connection for everyone in and beyond the theater world.
Text: Milena Kalojanov / Photos: Savannah van der Niet
Berliner Kantine, Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1, Berlin–Mitte; map
Mon–Fri 10–00h, Sat & Sun 14-00h
@bk_berlinerkantine
