Tuesday to Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Kaffeehaus Dallmayr
Leipziger Str. 16
10117 Berlin-Mitte
.How to get there
What do you associate with the term museum café? Hot and cold drinks, a few pieces of cake and maybe a salad in a white room - more canteen than café. This association is frighteningly familiar. All the better that there are always "hidden gems", as the Dallmayr coffee house in Berlin Mitte proves.
The Berlin branch of the Munich-based company is relatively inconspicuous. Situated on Leipziger Straße, only a discreet sign above the entrance points to the café; the listed building, which houses the Museum of Communication, does not allow for more.
When you enter the premises, all the clichés of a museum café fall overboard. First of all, the interior of the coffee house is separate so that the feeling of a museum café does not arise at all. Breakfast and lunch are offered, and during the week, there is also a dedicated business lunch that changes weekly.
We arrive on a Sunday for breakfast. We can choose seating between the cosy interior with its high stucco ceilings and Munich coffee house charm or the terrace, which is elevated in the inner courtyard and offers a sheltered place in the sun, somewhat removed from the noise of Berlin-Mitte.
The breakfast menu at Kaffeehaus Dallmayr cleverly mixes breakfast classics with hearty Bavarian elements and modern dishes that are now a well-deserved must - keyword: Eggs Benedict. Host Katrin Schwarze lets us taste the whole range.
With cappuccino, green tea and freshly squeezed orange juice, we get down to business. We can look forward to hearty plate dishes, delicate cream spreads for a selection of breads, bircher muesli, fruit bowls and more.
We start with three eggs Benedict while they are still warm and tender. Served on toasted brioche, these come with ham and spinach, smoked salmon or avocado. Graceful, not too powerful and with a delicious hollandaise. Quasi obligatory at Dallmayr are the "Greetings from Munich": a couple of white sausages with crispy pretzels and butter shaped like a guglhupf. A classic that already brings a little beer garden spirit into the morning.
All the more modern then is the "Der frühe Vogel" (The Early Bird), which is actually filling enough on its own as a plate dish. It is a Belgian waffle with crispy chicken, cheddar cheese, bacon, maple syrup and cucumber-radish relish. The US classic chicken waffle is becoming increasingly popular in Berlin. And rightly so, we think, because the sweet and salty combination works very well, at least in the Dallmayr version.
With the remaining stomach capacity, we turn to the fresh fruit dishes. The vegan "Power Bowl" with vegetable yoghurt, avocado, crunch and berries is particularly light and delicious. From healthy to hearty, from bread to a plate dish, you can start the morning here with everything your heart desires. And if you like it particularly extensive, you'll find what you're looking for with the richly filled étagère for two.
So you should let go of your preconceptions about museum cafés and take Kaffeehaus Dallmayr for what it is: a location worth visiting for breakfast, lunch or simply a drink on the terrace.