Kitten Deli Where Tel Aviv comes to Neukölln

The terrace is well-frequented, and the restaurant is buzzing with colourful activity. It has long since ceased to be an insider tip, and for good reason. The Kitten Deli in Neukölln is worth a visit at any time of day with its Israeli cuisine, tangy drinks and delicious homemade pastries.

Ngoc Duong and Creme Guides are old friends. We have long appreciated their café Katie's Blue Cat, and have finally visited their not-so-new restaurant, right next door on Friedelstraße. In 2020, the year the world changed for all of us, Ngoc opened Kitten Deli with her business partner, Itamar Lanner.

The result is a kind of relationship triangle of their catering businesses. The baked goods from Katie's Blue Cat, whose bakery is in the back room of the deli, go to the Kitten Deli and the Middle Bistro on Mainzer Straße. The latter, in turn, provides the menu for the deli: delicious Israeli dishes that I would describe as "sneaky vegetarian". They work so well that the vegetarian and vegan fare easily manages without meat substitutes.

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While we are classically drawn to the shakshuka, restaurant manager Dimitris recommends the "Sabich Plate". We rarely turn down recommendations and are delighted with the result. A whole roasted aubergine, with a soft-boiled organic egg, tahini, potatoes, harissa and a sauce of pickled mangoes, pleases the eye and the palate.

Accompanied by tangy mimosas in not-too-small doses, we enjoy "triplets", wonderfully spiced jacket potatoes, served with fermented courgettes. We also taste a new addition to the menu: sea asparagus on garlic tahini yoghurt with red pepper oil and walnuts. For those who don't know, sea asparagus is a thin seaweed that looks like green asparagus and tastes fresh, crunchy and slightly salty. A successful combination.

Everything is accompanied by fragrant homemade challa and pita bread. Tired of the rich selection, Dimitris recommends a Cynar Spritz, made from artichoke liqueur. The bitter serves its purpose admirably and grounds the stomach for the thick pancakes at the end, without which we really wouldn't have wanted to leave the sunny terrace. The Kitten Deli convinces with its Tel Aviv flair, so you can and should accept a little waiting time for seats.

Maximilian Zeh

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