At first, Parker bowles felt a bit empty, but that was partly because we came early (and by „early“ we mean Sunday at 11:00), and mainly because the place is so huge. It’s well designed, comprised of two big spaces separated by a few steps, with a big open-plan kitchen visible from both. Two massive layers of metal bars double as a wine bottle wall and the focal point of the room, and large brown wooden tables give a bit of an American western flair to it all.

Parker bowles’ new Weekend-Frühstück menu is all about an American-Mexican mix. We went veggie as usual with pancakes, Huevos Rotos and Huevos Rancheros. The pancake dish included two impressively-sized banana pancakes with maple syrup on the side, and both Huevos dishes were served in big bowles as the establishment’s name suggests. Topped with one of the kindest servers we encountered so far in Berlin (who even knew how to say in Hebrew: „I’m a little duckling“. Long story..) – it was a heart-warming experience on a cold day.

Design: American-western, spacious, wooden and gorgeous-looking

Plate test: squeeky-clean. All 3 dishes were yummy and satisfying

Soundtrack: existed, but nothing stuck. Pleasant but not memorable

Kids: why not? Plenty of room to run around

Pets: possible

Service: great, friendly and very fast

Coffee: black, dark and tasty

Prices: 6 – 8 euro, coffee not included

Parker Bowles

http://parker-bowles.com/en/

Prinzenstr. 85d, Berlin

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We have a confession to make: we often choose our brunch spots based on their names (case in point: Suicide Sue). Since we love our aunts, a place called „Aunt Benny“ naturally appealed to us. And we’re happy to report that „Benny“ (who’s not an actual person as far as we know..) is now just as beloved as our blood­related aunts.

Aunt Benny is a good place for brunch. It’s a compact and cosy space with small green wooden tables and one big wooden table for groups, families or friendly strangers. The menu is written on a dark wall panel that hangs above the display counter. It’s self service, so don’t be shy and just stand in line and order your food.

We went for the weekend brunches, one veggie and one vegan, which were both a delight. With no less than 7 (!!) types of cheese, 4 sorts of bread including an olive one, onion jam, dried tomatoes, artichoke, olives and loads more – we were all ready to explode. All this, for a very reasonable 8 Euros per brunch.

The button line: You made us smile, Aunt Benny. We’ll come to visit again soon

The plate test: we left behind squeaky­clean plates

Crowd: young, social and Friedrichshain­style hipsters. Full at all times

Soundtrack: too noisy to hear

Kids: Yes. Yes

Pets: Yes

Service: Up to you. Self service

Price: 8 Euro for the weekend brunch

Aunt Benny

http://auntbenny.com/

Oderstrasse 7 / Enter: Jessnerstrasse, Berlin

 

Cafe Butter’s weekend brunch buffet is a hidden gem. When first entering the place, it looks like so many other Prenzlauer Berg establishments: two open spaces on separate levels, neither too big nor too small, lighting that’s a bit on the darker side, and packed full. Nothing mind-blowing.

And then we saw the third level: a small space, in which the food is hidden in plain sight, luring our noses up the stairs with a yummy scent. Up close, the little buffet turned out to be a big surprise: rich, easy on the eyes and tasty as hell.

There’s a distinct order in which one should fill up their plate, starting off with the selection of cheese, salami and salads (greens, beetroot, lentils, potatoes, Caprese). Once the digestive juices are flowing, awaiting are scrambled eggs, sausages and awesome stir fried potatoes. The sweet department has some cereals to choose from, waffles and pancakes, and the German-must-have: apple mousse. Surprisingly though, given the place’s name, sweets were the weakest link of the buffet. Disclaimer: there was no unanimous consensus for the above sentence.

The bottom line: overall great brunch. Can do better in the sweets department

The plate test: we cleaned our plates, went back for more, cleaned them again and.. (you get the hang of it)

Crowd: not a spare chair in sight. P-Berg types, families with babies, groups of friends

Soundtrack: slightly noisy chatter. There might have also been music, but the unnoticeable kind

Kids: yes

Pets: brunch-day might be a bit too crowded for medium+ sized dogs

Service: fast

Price: 7.90€ for the brunch

Café Butter

http://www.cafe-butter.de/

Pappelallee 73, Berlin

Stepping into Gipfeltreffen feels like stepping into a stranger’s house, and immediately wanting to become his friend. The place is warm and cosy, with old furniture, sofas in different shapes and colors, wooden tables and many little artsy artefacts laying around or hanging on the walls. Someone at Gipfeltreffen has a great eye for detail.

 We tested the cheese breakfast, a sandwich and the Canadian pancakes. The pancakes where the fluffy (and best) kind and made everybody smile, the sandwich girl was content with her modest choice and we all chipped in to help clean out the Käse Frühstück plate.

The bottom line: nothing too special, but an overall delightful experience

The plate test: all cleaned out. We wouldn’t have refused another round of the fluffy Pfannkuchen

Soundtrack: chill-out, soft jazz, Bob Marly, Yael Naim

Sitting arrangement: outside tables are added during the summer. Always full, natürlich

Crowed: local, friendly, many families

Kids: yes, and lots of them

Pets: yes, and lots of them

Service: slow-ish and nice. But who’s in a hurry, anyway?

Prices: 3.50€ for the sandwich, 6.50€ cheese breakfast, 6.60€ for the pancakes

Gipfeltreffen

http://gipfeltreffen-kreuzberg.de/

Gorlitzerstr. 68, Berlin

One would want to get to Schuchmanns as early as possible on a sunny summer Sunday. Sadly, we got there past 11:30 on a cold Sunday morning, only to find the place packed, the beautiful outside-on-the-maybachufer deck closed for the winter, and no available table to rest our freezing behinds. We made a reservation for the following Sunday and went for a nearby option not worth mentioning.

Seven days later we were there “Punkt” on time and were escorted by a kind waitress to our table. The place was packed again, and for good reason. Even before the food reached our table we liked the setting. It’s warm and cosy, with red brick walls, beautiful lamps that make for a pleasant light, and an overall great atmosphere.

From the breakfast menu we chose the pancake breakfast, the veggie-cheese one and the vegan offering. The pancakes were fat and fluffy, the vegan breakfast was full of nice original spreads and the cheesy was, well, full of cheese. Both breakfasts came with lots of vegetables and fruits and a variety of breads, and though we cleared our plates we didn’t want to leave.

The bottom line: nice, warm and tasty. We’ll be back

Crowd: young, groups of friends or couples

Kids: no kids spotted

Pets: none detected, and the place might be a bit too crowded

Soundtrack: none. Just mellow chatter

Service: flawless

Schuchmanns

http://schuchmanns.com/

Paul-Lincke-Ufer 22, Berlin

Reservation are recommended

The first time we met, she said: “you’re with me”. And indeed I am. And will be, for the rest of our lives.

We got married in New York this fall (Well, only two of us. Brunch for three, Wedding for two..) . Both because we love the city, and due to the paperwork in Germany being much more a pain in the ass than anything else. It also gave us a great opportunity to continue a now three-year-long tradition of breakfasts at the place we consider to be heaven on earth: Good Enough To Eat.

 Though it’s on the other side of the pond, and despite only visiting New York a total of three times, we’ve managed to sample the better part of their menu and get many Good-Enough-hours under our belt. By the end of each visit to the city, the staff would already recognise us with a smile and a nod in the morning. Some people like to be recognized at their local bar or coffee shop, but for me the epitome of the “Cheers” fantasy lies in Good Enough To Eat.

Looking at the menu, you’d think it’s just another typical American diner: Apple pancakes, eggs Benedict, French toast from a cinna-bun, Waffles, BLT sandwich with home fries, omelettes and the mandatory free coffee re-fills. But it’s only once the smell hits your nostrils, your pupils get dilated at the sight of your plate, and your taste buds sizzle after the first encounter with the food – that you understand why the place has been around for over 30 years (and why its name is the understatement of the century).

Oh, and don’t get us started on the fluffy, divine strawberry butter that accompanies almost every dish..

Bottom line: best place on the upper west side. Of the world, that is.

The plate test: portions are more than generous, but we never leave a crumb.

SoundTrack: diner-chatter

Kids: very friendly

Pets: only outside

Service: The best. We still owe a big “Thank You” for the manager, who made our wedding day even more special. Need we say more?

Price: 9-12$ for most main dishes

Crowd: mostly local, well-informed tourists, and two addicts from Berlin

 Good Enough To Eat

http://goodenoughtoeat.com/

520 Columbus Ave (At 85th Street), Manhattan, New York

Schwarze Pumpe is one of those places, that look exactly like what one would imagine a very cool place in Berlin to look like. It’s dark, cosy and full of old wooden chairs, tables that don’t match, exposed brick walls, things hanging from the ceiling, and old bar stools made of heavy metal pipes. The interior design is composed of the kind of things you see on the street and fancy taking home, but never actually do. They all add up to a very nice, very Berlin-like atmosphere.

However, that’s where the magic ends. We came for a Sunday brunch. It was a buffet. Probably the cheapest in town: only 5 euro (hats off for that). Cheese, vegetables, eggs, sausages, hash browns – all the usual suspects. Nothing very special, nothing to write home about. It’s the service that cracked us, the service! We live in Berlin for a few years now, so we’ve grown accustomed not to expect much in that area, but despite all that – the service in Schwarze Pumpe was off the charts. And by that we mean: lost, and never to be found.

There was one waiters doing everything, or in fact, not doing anything. Since brunch was a buffet we needed only two things from her: coffee and the bill. It took us a very long time to get her attention and even longer to get what we asked for: coffee, and the bill. So if you have no money and lots of time, the Schwarze Pumpe brunch might be the thing for you.

Bottom line: Life’s too short to wait for the coffee, and bill

The plate test: Okish

SoundTrack: we didn’t notice

Kids: none

Pets: possible

Service: no service. None

Price: cheap. 5 Euro for buffet brunch

Crowd: local, from the kiez

Schwarze Pumpe

http://www.schwarzepumpe-berlin.de/

Choriner Str. 76, Berlin

Suicide Sue is an exciting place. Well, first of all, because of the name. That was enough to get us to come. Then the location: a quiet and pleasant street near Helholmtzplatz in Prenzlauer Berg. We showed up on a fair-weather Sunday and sat down around a shaded table outside. Inside there’s a welcoming and cosy space, with a wooden bar in the center and a counter where you order, choose desserts and can track the progress of order.

The breakfast choices run between Sweet (croissant and home-made marmalade), Savory (eggs, sausages and all the rest), pancakes, fruit salad, a vegetarian breakfast and the house special (a meal for two, which we chose in its veggie version). “Sue” prides itself on home-made spreads that are adventurous and superb: avocado and chilli, ricotta and dry tomatoes, beet, horseradish and apples, brie and dates, camembert and berries and list goes on.

Everything is served on wooden planks and in white vials. Simple and beautiful. And not to mention delicious. Since our first visit there we came back for seconds and will be back again.

The bottom line: original and marvelous.

Crowd: young, local, some families

Children: kid-friendly indeed

Pets: welcoming. Water bowl and dog bed await the 4-legged visitors

Soundtrack: French inside, quiet urban chatter on the outside

Suicide Sue

http://www.suicidesue.com

Dunckerstr. 2A, Berlin

 

We went to Chipps on a lovely Berlin summer’s day (yes, we do occasionally get some of those). The skies were blue and the air crisp, so we decided to walk. The road took us through the majestic splendor of the Mitte district, across the Museum Island and Unter den Linden (once a glorious boulevard, and nowadays, a not-less-glorious building site of the city’s new U-Bahn line). By the time we got to Chipps we felt like proper tourists, so we did what tourists do: grab a spot in the sun.

Chipps has a nice clean design, with lots of mirrors and a marvelous central bar. But on a lovely Berlin summer’s day, who bothers to even look in? All the outside benches were already full: lots of tourists, families with kids, couples with no kids, of all ages and languages.

The place offers breakfasts ranging from 6 to 9 Euros. We tried a blueberry waffle with whipped cream, eggs florentine and the lumber jack breakfast (French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and maple syrup. Heavenly combination). The dishes were all beautifully plated, and tasty as well. The only thing that might prevent us from dropping by again is the fact we really have no interesting business in this part of town.

The bottom line: very touristic, but being a tourist in Berlin for a day is great! And yummy!

The plate test: all were left clean

Soundtrack: classical music inside. Multi-Culti chatter outside

Kids: yes

Pets: yes, outside

Service: nice and efficient

Price: 6-9 for breakfasts, without the drinks

Crowd: tourists, and locals who have visitors 

Chipps

http://www.chipps.eu/

Jägerstraße 35, Berlin

 

 

What would you do if you owned a bar that stood empty during the morning, while you recover from last night’s hangover? In the case of Lagari, the answer is: rent it out to people who are serving what some might claim is the hottest American Brunch in town. So hot, that you can now get it on weekdays as well (10:00-16:00).

 The California Breakfast Slam is the local answer for American expats with a craving for brunch that tastes like home. And by “home” we mean “California-Style” – with a delicate and blessed Mexican influence. Amongst the brunches you can find fluffy pancakes, black beans and eggs on a tortilla, eggs Benedict (or Florentine, if you’re a veggie) and more.

The location itself is mundane and irrelevant. On a nice sunny day everyone is sitting outside, on the traffic island. It seems like ages ago now, but when we visited there it was a hot day. Too hot for Berlin, and believe it or not – there were not enough parasols to shade all the tables. You couldn’t fit a Brötchen between the brunch-eners: youngsters, expats and locals. But nothing was gonna stand in our way of enjoying the enormous portions. We fell head-over-heals for the pancakes, bitched about the heat for a while, and sat there for quite a while before we were able to stand up. It was filling.

The city is crawling with expats (as we know from being ones ourselves), so reservations for groups of more than 4 people are highly recommended during the weekends.

 The bottom line: For hungry California lovers, who are not shy of some black beans.

 The plate test: couldn’t finish. We were out numbered.

 Price: 8-10, not including drinks.

 Soundtrack: of the street. Pleasant multi-lingual chatter.

 Kids: why not? Sitting in the street.

 Pets: why not? Sitting in the street.

 Crowd: locals and visitors who know why they’re coming

California Breakfast Slam (at Lagari)

 Pflügerstrasse 19, Neukolln-Kreuzberg

 Email for reservations: cabslam@gmail.com