1. BERLIN BITES By FRANÇOISE POILANE
It may not be a feast for
the eyes, but the nooks
and crannies of the Neues
Kreuzberger Zentrum com-
plex pack in more authentic
budget deliciousness per
square metre than nearly
anywhere else in Berlin.
Here are our favourites.
Tadim
Nearly two decades old, this Turkish street food
stand is one of the few in the city to have an
English menu – likely instituted after its place-
ment on all the “best döner in Berlin” lists. It’s
not just the giant cone of 100 percent certified
veal spinning in the window that’s got the guide-
books salivating; it’s the pillowy, homemade-
before-your-eyes flatbread (€3.50) durum (€4)
or lamaçun (€4) cradling that meat along with
copious amounts of vegetables and a light touch
with the sauce. We won’t go so far as to call it
health food, but it’s certainly one of the most
virtuous-tasting kebabs you’ll eat. JS Adalbert-
str. 98, Sun-Thu 9-1, Fri-Sat 9-2
Stari Most
Most börek (burek, bureka, you get the picture)
in Berlin tend to be soggy grease bombs. Not
at this 12-year-old Bosnian Imbiss, where chef/
owner Imeri Jusuf rolls up the doughy snacks
with spinach and cottage cheese, brushes them
with oil and bakes them à la minute. The result
is dense but fluffy, a bit crispy on the outside
and a great-value breakfast or light lunch at just
€2.50. A lot of Balkan guys from around the Kiez
also come here for the cevapcici (€4), cylindrical
grilled meatballs served with chilli sauce, kajmak
(similar to cream cheese) and homemade bread.
JS Reichenberger Str. 175, daily 8-21
Taka Fisch House
Kotti’s not exactly the first place in Berlin you’d
look for great seafood, but this Turkish fish
restaurant, here since before the Wall fell, does
an honourable job of transporting you out of your
grubby surroundings to the shores of the Black
Sea. Not because of the ambience (there is none)
but due to the fresh salmon, trout, mackerel and
sea bass, served pan-fried with nothing more than
a squeeze of lemon, salad and bread (owner Avni
Kazanci says sauce hides the fish’s flavour). You’ll
see big plates of fried hamsi (Turkish anchovies,
€7) on nearly every table; you can also get your
fish served in a baguette sandwich for a reason-
able €3-3.50. JS Adalbertstr. 97, Mon-Thu 11-
23:30, Fri-Sat 11-24, Sun 11-23
Lasan
It only takes one glance in the window to discern
that Abdullah Gemschied’s Kurdish Iraqi eatery
is all about the Fladenbrot: puffy, chewy naan-like
rounds made by slapping dough onto the inside
of a blazing-hot tandoori oven. Gemschied set
up shop on Kotti seven years ago, opening Lasan
as a sister restaurant to his original bakery of the
same name on Kottbusser Damm. You’ll see ded-
icated customers coming in and out to purchase
the bread by the bagful, but we suggest you
enjoy it on the spot with an order of tandoori
chicken (€6.50), some lamb biryani (€12) or a
vegetarian spread with hummus, falafel, halloumi
and salad (€8.50). JS Adalbertstr. 96, Mon-Fri
11-23, Sat-Sun 12-23
Padisah Baklava
Not only is this bakery home to some of the
best Turkish sweets you’ll eat in Berlin, it’s
surprisingly progressive: manager and trained
psychotherapist Çiğdem Balki takes care of
business while her husband Hikmet mans the
oven. The pair have been running the store for
five years now, supplying over 250 Berlin-wide
clients (including cafés, restaurants and big
hotels) with countless permutations of pastry,
nuts and syrup. There’s coconut, semolina
and most importantly, plenty of classic bak-
lava with pistachios. Antep pistachios, to be
precise. “That’s the main difference between
us and some other stores in Kotti,” boasts
Çiğdem. “We use only high-quality pistachios.
We also buy first-class butter – not margarine
like some do.” You can taste the difference,
and you’ll also have to pay for it, although at
€16-24 per kilo (roughly €1-1.50 per piece),
it’s not that much more expensive than other,
inferior bakeries. Wash that “green gold” down
with some real Turkish Mokka, the thick, milk-
free kind of coffee that’s hard to come by in
Germany. Then lean back and enjoy the view –
which might include Hikmet giving a junkie a
piece of baklava before asking him to shoot up
somewhere else. It’s still Kotti, after all. JH
Reichenberger Str. 177, daily 11-21
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MARIARUNARSDOTTIR
Padisah Baklava
Tadim
48 • APRIL 2016
Kotti’s best
cheap eats
Taka Fisch House
Lasan
48-49 Food 148.indd 48 21/03/16 22:47