Berlin

La Stella Nera Berlin

by

 

 

joe panel

I’m way behind on my list of new vegan places in Berlin, so I’ll start with the new collectively-run Italian restaurant, La Stella Nera.

That it’s collectively run is positive as it means that the people working there share in the ownership, the work and the income, too. After a scandal in Berlin involving accusations of shoddy worker treatment at another vegan place, it’s heartening to see somewhere like this.

But what of the food, I’m sure you’re asking! Well, perhaps the clearest indication of the quality is the fact that we couldn’t get in the first two times we went – it was just that busy. Now I’ve learned to phone ahead and reserve, especially on a weekend.

And there’s a reason it’s quickly become such a popular restaurant: the food is high quality. It’s all freshly made and it shows. The pizzas are cooked in a traditional wood-fired pizza oven (sit opposite the till and you can see inside as the pizzas are cooked) and there are also superb pasta dishes – again, the pasta is made on the premises.

pizza-with-potato%2c-mushroom-and-tofu%2c-at-la-stella-nera-in-berlin pizza-with-vegan-cheese-and-aubergine-at-la-stella-nera%2c-berlin

There are two types of pizza offered – ‘blanco’ and ‘rosso’, Italian for white and red. I’m not a huge fan of the blanco pizzas, which come without tomato sauce. The toppings are still nice, but I need that tomato on there! Most of the pizzas have no cheese either, but there are a few on the menu which have cheese if you need it.

The pizza bases are light and fluffy, and baked to perfection. Drizzle with some oil and they’re excellent on their own. There are no wacky toppings or stuffed crust. The menu features traditional pizza with good-quality ingredients.

pasta-with-mushrooms-at-la-stella-nera-berlin

The pasta pictured here was truly excellent, by the way – I can’t remember the name of it (my Italian isn’t as good as my German), it was basically pasta with some posh mushrooms, yet despite the simplicity of the dish, it was sublime. We’re planning on going back to have another one.

And if you still have room after all that, there’s a range of desserts including tiramisu and affogato. I’m not normally a fan of coffee in desserts, but both of these rocked my fairtrade, sweatshop-free socks off.

creamy-coffee-desserts%2c-including-tiramisu%2c-at-la-stella-nera-in-berlin

Despite the high-quality of the food, the place is down-to-earth and easy going – it’s not somewhere you have to dress up for!

So if you’re coming to Berlin, that’s yet another place on your must-visit list. Just remember to phone ahead on a weekend.

Visit La Stella Nera online.

nye-2017

New vegan donut café

by

Post by:

joe panel

Just when you thought that Berlin just couldn’t get any better for vegan food, along comes another place to make you drool. And this one is a corker!

Brammibal’s have been selling incredible vegan doughnuts at fairs and through other vegan cafés for about a year now, but finally they’ve achieved their goal of opening a café all of their own. And I’m pleased to say it’s excellent. The café is spacious and relaxing, a great place to spend an hour or so. It feels like it’s a piece of New York City transported across the Atlantic, I’m not quite sure why but that’s the feeling I get (in a good way!).

IMG_7515 IMG_7516 IMG_7518 IMG_7520 IMG_7521

The headline product is the doughnuts, of course. A wide range of sticky, sweet confections which are well worth travelling for. But it’s not all about the sugar – even though it’s not promoted much, they also have excellent coffee and sandwiches. We had one with grilled BBQ tempeh and portobello mushroom, and another with cashew cheese and smoked “lox”, made from thinly-sliced carrot. (Lox isn’t a word I’d ever heard in Britain, but I recently learned that it’s used in North America to describe smoked salmon. And it surely comes from the German word “lachs”.) They were both magnificent.

You can find out more about Brammibal’s online.

south of france cruise

Police called in to vegan restaurant opening

by

I absolutely LOVE this guest post from Joe. Nothing says the ‘rise of veganism’ quite like police having to be called in to calm crowds at a vegan restaurant opening!

Post by Joe:

joe panel

PR + FREE FOOD = PANDEMONIUM

After lots of promotion and press, plus an offer of free food on their opening night, the people behind new Berlin vegan burger joint Dandy Diner were always going to have their hands full. Though whether they expected to be so inundated that the police had to attend in order to manage the crowds, I don’t know.

Either way, it’s made the headlines today.

The Berliner Zeitung says: “Too full! Police break up opening party at the ‘Dandy Diner’. Pushing, shoving, and a long queue outside … by 10pm (just two hours after opening) they were already out of sauce. The police had to break up the party, as too many people were outside blocking the street.”

RBB-Berlin says: “Police had to curb the onslaught at Vegan snack bar. Around 300 people were inside, hoping to get hold of some food without meat or other animal ingredients. Shortly after 9pm there were so many people outside, that officers intervened, after consulting with the owners of the snack bar. Those outside were asked to leave.”

N-TV says: “Police disperse vegan opening party. When two fashion bloggers opened their first vegan snack bar, the people of Berlin weren’t slow to arrive. Hundreds of people appeared at the opening party, and when the rush became too large, police had to intervene”

Craziness at @dandydiner #BERLIN

A photo posted by becca (@beccacrawford) on

You can follow Dandy Diner over on Instagram.

south of france cruise

Berlin food update

by

Post by:

joe panel

When we first moved here last spring, the north-west part of the city was curiously lacking in vegan places, compared to the rest of Berlin.

While it is still a noticeably empty zone on the Happy Cow map, the situation has improved due to the opening of two all-vegan cafés, Geh Veg and Valladares. They’re both very nice places too.

Read more

New Vegan Drinks

by

Post by:

joe panel

You know, Berlin really is the city that keeps on giving, if you’re vegan. Hardly a week goes by without some new addition to the city’s vegan menu.

But one thing that Berlin has lacked is an equivalent to the London Vegan Drinks event… until now! (Well, until Friday 17th of July, anyway.) 

Read more

Dairy milk in vegan venue

by

Post by:

joe panel

One of the great things about Berlin is that there seems to be so many new vegan places to visit, it’s difficult to keep up!

A visit by my sister last weekend was the perfect opportunity to try somewhere we hadn’t been before, so we took a break from sightseeing and let the U-Bahn take us away from the tourist hordes, down to Neukölln, where there’s a new vegan tapas bar called Alaska. (I neglected to ask about the bizarre name, perhaps that particular US state is noted for its Spanish cuisine?)

It’s a really lovely place, a real oasis on a rather run-down street. Nicely decorated and comfortable, with a pleasant atmosphere, prompt service and very friendly multilingual staff.

Read more

Discount in Berlin

by

Post by:

joe panel

One of the great things about living in Berlin is that there’s a Veganz vegan supermarket a 10 minute walk away, or even less on the bike. Veganz is really more of a mini-supermarket, though they do have a huge range of products available.

But like all supermarkets, Veganz often has special offers or last- minute reductions on items nearing the end of their shelf-life. This is great for a cheapskate like me. My eyes can sense those bright orange price stickers before I’ve even set off. As a result, we end up trying exotic foodstuffs that are normally out of our price range. (Our freezer is full of bags of grated Daiya cheese that were a bargain at €0.99 each!)

Read more

Vegan ice cream parlour

by

Which city has won the Vegan Ice Cream Wars?

According to my buddy Joe, Berlin has just emerged victorious.

Check out what he had to say about this brand new vegan ice cream parlour that has opened up in his Berlin neighbourhood.

Read more

Berlin eating

by

Even though I am tucked up in bed in New York as the winter weather extremes howl outside, I wanted to let you know about a tasty food experience from Berlin.

That’s right. FGV is a global concern.

Vego Foodworld is a fast food diner-style affair with my kind of food. Sausages, burgers, chips and lashings of sumptuous just about sums up how things are run.

Check out some of the tasty treats we consumed during our stay a few months back.

2014-10-10 17.59.20 2014-10-10 18.00.01 2014-10-10 18.00.29The currywurst pictured in the middle was the stuff of fantasy. I adored it.

As a side note, the people behind this restaurant are also responsible for bringing the Vego chocolate bar to the masses. They have it branded to match the name of their establishment!

You can visit Vego Foodworld online.

qvd bottom banner