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St. Gaudy: Friendly mix

St. Gaudy Café has brought the world to Berlin mixing homemade (meat-free) food during the day with various events at night. Pop your head in for a tango-lesson, a poetry reading or even help them celebrate their one year anniversary on Saturday!

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Photo by Alexander McBride

If you’ve been looking for an all-in-one destination for coffee and veggie grub, film screenings, DJ nights, pizza and yoga classes, we’ve found your mecca. St. Gaudy café in Prenzlauer Berg has already become a favorite among locals – especially English-speaking expats – since it opened its doors a year ago.

The Irish-Australian couple that runs the café employs a staff hailing from Sweden, Ireland, Italy and Australia, and the atmosphere at St. Gaudy is nothing if not polyglot. The most easily recognizable member of the team is fully local however: it’s Charlie, a mutt from a local shelter who is usually there to greet customers at the door. If you see him, you have to rub his tummy. House rules.

St. Gaudy’s international blend also extends to the food. There is French-style quiche (€4), a killer lunch bagel with homemade aubergine-tomato pesto (€2.50 – a cheeky extra 40 cents if toasted) and a range of inventive salads with ingredients like grilled pumpkin, feta cheese and tahini (€4.50 with soup).

And soon to be added to the regular menu… Francesca’s nouveau-Milanese pizza: thin-crust slices with creative topping combinations, like pear and gorgonzola, rocket and sun-dried tomatoes.

Top your lunch with a cup of well-foamed cappuccino for €1.80. And since wireless internet is free, you might be tempted to join the congregation of Prenzl’Berg’s coffee-and-laptop devotees for a bit of leisurely afternoon work.

St. Gaudy is also a predilection site for sweet-toothed pilgrims. Their white-painted counter overflows with mouthwatering treats, like almond cheesecake on a choco-cherry base or a cranberry-white-chocolate müsli bake (€2.30) or cranberry slice with lemon cream cheese frosting (€1.50). The best deal however is probably the English-influenced breakfast combo: €2,50 for beans and toast (or a croissant) served with a glass of Saft.

Evenings at St. Gaudy attract rotating crowds, from P’Berg moms on their yoga night out to grammar disciples on their language swap Stunde. There are also poetry readings, tango nights, film screenings and art exhibitions – most of which take place in the adjoining event space Bhind.

One event that might appeal to everyone is the St. Gaudy anniversary celebration on December 4. The party starts at 19:00 with an open prosecco-and-coffee bar and will continue into the night with performances by Eric Eckhart, a Berlin-based singer-songwriter from the US, and DJ Egon Carter.