When Nicola and Alessandro saw the shuttered stamp store “Briefmarken” on Karl-Marx-Allee, they knew they’d found the spot. For a year, the two friends had been searching for a place to open a cozy wine bar introducing Berliners to their favorite things from Italy, with small plates and hand-picked bottles from traditional vintners. The storefront, with its original East German neon sign, wallpaper and cabinetry, appealed to their sense of nostalgia and Nicola’s love of stamps. So this spring, Briefmarken Weine opened its doors, blending the store’s philatelic past with the owners’ flea market treasures. Its motto: “Grandi Vini, Piccola Cucina.” It’s a lovely place to while away the evening under the allee’s tall lindens. Pick a wine at whim from the handwritten menu, from a place you dream of visiting — Liguria? Sicily? — plus some incredibly fresh mozzarella or the pasta of the day. Time slows as one of the owners gently pours your wine, noting that it contains a whole season of Italian sun. You can feel its warmth in your glass as twilight falls over the Stalinbauten.
Briefmarken Weine, Karl-Marx-Allee 99, 10243 Berlin-Friedrichshain; map
Mon-Sat 19-24h
Leslie Kuo is a designer working with food, culture, andurban nature. She lives in Honolulu and in Berlin, where she’s been documenting Karl-Marx-Allee, since 2007.
