Photo by Françoise Pollâne
Take back brunch! Once primarily the domain of Australians, breakfast in Neukölln is now anyone’s game. Here’s the final of our three-part series featuring the latest hyped spots (and, yes, it’s from Down Under).
There’s something undeniably endearing about the backstory of The Future Breakfast owners Katie James & Florian Tränkner. The Australian-German duo started off selling breakfast and coffee from a very Instagrammable vintage caravan at Markthalle Neun, Bite Club or pop up brunches at Isla Coffee in Neukölln. Smart way to build a following. In March, the Future Breakfast sedentarised on Böhmischer Platz in southern Neuköllln. The minimalist menu matches the spartan modernism of the place: four dishes. Always a good sign. It’s also refreshingly free of the usual avo-toast. Instead they offer Eggs Benedict (€9.50) that don’t just look as pretty as an Instagram, but are actually tasty – and thoroughly filling. The innovation here is the substitution of ham with oyster mushrooms that have been apparently marinated or cooked in chipotle sauce. The yolks of the slightly undercooked poached eggs bleed over the mushrooms into the home-baked English muffins – creating an interesting version of that elusive Benedict fusion. The matcha pancakes are a little disappointing though: a mount of greenish doughy discs, topped with green apples and a giant blob of sesame-coconut whip, matcha fans will miss the earthy taste of the green tea powder – overpowered by the black sesame – and the pancakes we tried that day came so doughy that it was hard to tell if they were just accidentally undercooked or if pancakes shouldn’t be vegan after all. There’s also a hearty Pearl Barley Bowl (€9), a pantry mixture awash with roasted sweet potato and bits and pieces like pomegranate, kale and cashew that’s as filling as the eggs but easier on the stomach (top it with two eggs for €11). The food is slow to come here – the wait can be over 25 minutes even at opening time – so be prepared to enjoy a few a cups of (good) coffee (€2.50-4, from The Barn) to make the wait more bearable. As for the prices, they’re not low, but the staff is cheerful and hipster-quality food (organic eggs, lots of Instagrammable homemade like-bait) has a cost.