Photo by Ralf Rüller
Berlin’s specialty coffee spots have a reputation for snobbery. The Barn, first opened on Mitte’s Augustraße back in 2010 and head of the pack for nearly a decade, was once infamous among locals for its laptop intolerance and banning dogs and strollers on their pristine Schönhauser Allee premises, while meeting requests for ‘your usual splash of milk’ with judgemental stares. Founders Ralf Rüller and Andreas Poulakidas have since expanded with a Kurfürstendamm branch at Café Kranzler, and seemingly mellowed out. The opening of their fourth and newest location on Friedelstraße last month could well herald a new, more democratic era in the history of the world-renowned coffee institution. The Neukölln café keeps the focus on their trademark light-roasted, single-origin specialty coffee and its unmistakable sour and flowery flavour, which is definitely more of an acquired taste than a crowd-pleasing tang. But at least here you can sample it for a mere €2.20 with a cup of the house Batch Brew (until then only available at their Mitte location). Furthermore, next to their superior croissants (Berlin’s best – baked by sister-company Splendid Delikatessen and a whopping €2.50 you won’t regret spending), they will serve hot dishes, starting with poached eggs (€7). Design-wise the new location is less clean than the others, but still maintaining the typical third-wave coffee-shop look with a top-notch industrial interior and distressed brick walls. An XXL communal table invites locals and tourists to sit together and socialise. Now let’s hope it won’t be filled with laptops!
