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

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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