Bars
MaMi’s Food & Wine Indulgence in the sous-terrain
Map
Opening Times
Monday to Friday 18-23 h
Address
MaMi's Food and Wine
Oderbergerstraße 13
10435 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
.How to get there
price level
I must confess: I have a soft spot for cellar and sous-terrain restaurants. Be it pizzerias, jazz pubs (unfortunately becoming rarer and rarer these days) or nice wine and tapas bars. We recently visited a particularly lovely example of the latter category. MaMi's Food & Wine is a wine bar that opened last year and serves tapas with influences ranging from Spanish, German and Far Eastern.
MaMi stands for the brother and sister team, Marcel and Miriam. After many years of experience in various upscale gastronomic establishments and countries, they have combined their knowledge and opened their own restaurant. At the end of the last lockdown, the Oderberger Straße, rich in gastronomy, has got a new place for wine lovers to go.
When we arrive, it is an unusual 24 degrees for October, and we are tempted to take a seat on the terrace. But that would mean missing out on the wonderfully decelerated atmosphere of MaMi's Food & Wine. So we sit between partly painted, partly bare, light brick walls and a few tastefully selected works of art. The music selection is soft and compliments the pleasant interior. The view of the extensive wine selection at the counter promises an enjoyable evening.
Marcel and Miriam have a special connection to the wines: Miriam, who has worked in some well-known restaurants, knows some of the winemakers personally from her time in the Kamptal in Austria. Among others, she worked for Alexander Herrmann, with whose wife Eva she also trained as a sommelière. Therefore, the wine list currently has a clear Austrian focus, which we are happy to be introduced to.
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The concept at MaMi's Food & Wine is selected tapas to share. That's why we're served the "Tischlein-Deck-Dich" surprise menu, which can, of course, be adapted in advance according to personal preferences. After the aperitif, MaMi's Rosé Sparkling, we start Spanish-style with fresh bread, mustard sardines and a selection of hams. Iberico and German smoked ham are accompanied by an extremely fine saffron aioli. The saffron is sourced from Afghanistan, made possible through the contacts of one of the team members and from a similar fair cultivation as at Conflictfood.
The next course brings the Berlin Food Week back to life as we get MaMi's city menu: leek pickled in soy sauce with two different creams of almond and apple jalapeño. Marcel makes his own soy sauce. In general, he is a big fan of Asian ingredients, which is also why he worked at Tim Raue, most recently as deputy chef. The fine-dining influences are clearly noticeable, as in the trout tartare with soy sauce, lovage and lemon jelly. Delicious!
Also common to both is their time in Mallorca, which gives us their very own version of pimientos de Padron with dulce de leche, parmesan and preserved lemon. Again, fruit and salt complement each other wonderfully here. Both the very intense pumpkin soup and a fruity Mallorcan Golos Blanc go wonderfully with it.
The next and last savoury course is not only delicious but also fun: we scramble a hearty beef bolognese (vegan if desired) with the help of small lettuce leaves as finger food. Also, a reminiscence of Asia, as the Chinese couple at the next table notes, reminding them of some regions of their homeland. They are accompanied by a bowl of plucked roast pork, deep-fried potatoes and kumquat. Autumn invites us to enjoy red wine again at this point; it will be an Austrian Carnuntum from winery Dorli Muhr.
A cheesecake cream and a light Möselchen from Zeitinger Schlossberg make the finale. The intense chocolatiness of a dark chocolate ganache is perfectly complemented by a Danish cherry wine. The pairing of food and wine is convincing, as is the homemade limoncello that we are allowed to taste at the end. With Mallorcan lemons and significantly less sugar than usual, its fruitiness and lightness should convince even limoncello fans.
Every week, one to three dishes change on the menu of MaMi's Food & Wine, promising a new discovery with every visit - and we are already looking forward to it!
