Kreuzberger Himmel Syrian specialities from refugees

Just as there are, unfortunately, always people in need, there are also always those who provide help with self-sacrificing initiatives and set an example of charity. One such initiative is the association Be an Angel e. V. and the associated restaurant Kreuzberger Himmel.

The association has been helping refugees since 2015. First, with a straightforward approach, in which the members took in refugees in their flats at the height of the so-called refugee crisis. They continued to support people with language courses, school places, asylum procedures and much more.

Little by little, a small initiative became an association, which eventually gave rise to the idea of creating an anchor and a springboard for refugees by founding a restaurant.

With Kreuzberger Himmel, the refugees want to give back some of the hospitality they themselves experienced in Germany. At the same time, it allows them to share something of their own culture. Guests are served delicious specialities of Syrian cuisine in a pleasant ambience.

According to the motto "Food connects", people from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan work together in the restaurant team. But there is another nice initiative behind the project: all employees are trained simultaneously so they can later work in other restaurants.

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We immediately sense the excellent mood and team spirit during our visit. The service welcomes us in a good mood and leads us to our table. The interior of warm saffron tones, together with a few plants and discreet wall decorations, creates a calm ambience, despite the hustle and bustle of the completely booked restaurant.

As mentioned, the focus at Kreuzberger Himmel is on Syrian cuisine. So we start with deliciously crispy sanbousaks: deep-fried, filled dough rolls with tender cheese and spicy minced meat.

This is accompanied by a colourful platter of cold, mixed starters: tasty, well-known classics like hummus and baba ganoush, plus shawander, a salad of baked beetroot with walnuts and chawry, consisting of white cabbage, garlic and cashews. We eat plenty of olives and fine pita bread with it and enjoy a glass of Lebanese Cuvées de Printemps.

For the main course, we choose Kabse, a chicken steak with lemon, served with rice cooked with vegetables and oriental spices with almonds and cashews - a hearty Syrian feast. The restaurant also serves kibbeh, which are bulgur meatballs with various fillings, in this case onions, chickpeas, walnuts, sultanas and peppers. The meatballs taste aromatic and simply delicious.

The dishes from the hands of chef Laylali Jafaar are just as convincing as the great initiative on which Kreuzberger Himmel is based. If you want to find out more and cook oriental delicacies at home, you will find plenty of inspiration in the recently published cookbook Layali, Oriental Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant Kreuzberger Himmel.

Maximilian Zeh

Marketing & PR