Having no WiFi for a month has meant that I've been to a lot of coffee shops in Berlin. A LOT. And my list of criteria for a good coffee shop is pretty simple; plant milk (preferably Oatly barista), free WiFi and at least one cake option. Because I have a very sweet tooth.
So here are my favorites, in order of preference to work in, and with their district;
The best, without a doubt. A super Instagrammable interior, the cutest pink cups and everything is vegan. There's a massive selection of donuts, from rosemary butter to peanut butter and chocolate fudge. And they're all incredible.
The Maybachufer shop is the better to sit and work in, and tends to have free tables. Danzinger Strasse has high stools and is significantly smaller, though does have an amazing pink marbled floor. Both usually sell out of donuts by about 4pm, so get there early!
Cafe Kraft
This coffee shop gets the award for the best banana bread I've ever had. It may be small, but it has plenty of outside tables which are very popular. The coffee was decent, and though not the most welcoming staff when I went, it was easy to knuckle down and work here.
St. Oberholz
Now the coffee here is mediocre at best, especially the iced lattes. But bear with me. They're open until 10pm every day, and everyone is on laptops so no judgement here. My advice is get a Fritz Cola, and the vegan banana bread is the only cake but isn't half bad.
Apparently a lot of Berlin's tech startups began here and I can see why. Upstairs is a big co-working space but it's pretty expensive. There's a newer second location two blocks up as well, Zehdenicker, which looks virtually identical.
Located round the corner of my office in Friedrichshain, this place does really nice coffee and a really good vegan blueberry scone. You have to ask for a WiFi code that's available for two hours, which isn't ideal if you want to use both your phone and laptop, but it is fast. The staff are very hit and miss - one slipped me two codes with a knowing smile but another rolled his eyes when I asked for one. There's another location in Mitte, Litfaßplatz 3, but I haven't personally been.
A bookshop with mostly English books, loads of tables and a decent number of plugs. There's a room that bans laptops as well so it caters for everyone. The coffee was nice, though the vegan 'cookie' was basically a flat cake and not the best. The bagels they sell however are really nice, so for those with a sweet tooth I'd suggest an apple and cinnamon bagel with spread/jam instead.
The WiFi kicks you off after around 2 hours without warning though, and unless you're on Vodafone there's no hotspots around.
Super healthy and very modern, though you have to sit in designated places with a laptop and the plugs are few and far between. The coffee was really nice and no extra cost for oat milk which is a rarity in Berlin. They also sell a lot of more unusual health food including algae and the very intriguing coconut bacon.
Situated in hipsters paradise Kreuzberg, this was one of the best coffee's I've had in a long time, though sadly no cake. You had to sit in a designated spot with laptops though admittedly the WiFi was much better there. The staff were a bit aloof and the coffee was pretty expensive but it's a beautiful, modern place to work. There's another branch in Prenzlauer Berg I'm yet to try.
So that's all the places I've been hanging out working this past month! Have you been to any of these? Or do you have a different favourite? Let me know!
Hazel x
ReplyDeleteVery interesting.I would like to try all of them.