Monday, 27 November 2023
To find a place offering at least partially organic meals, snacks or coffee isn't a big deal in Salzburg, and places like the Bio-Burgermeister are frequent tourist destinations. But there's more than just healthy organic fast food –
from pleasantly modernized Austrian bars over cultured beer spots to slightly esoteric day cafes there's a broad range of places to choose from. What you shouldn't expect are authentic restaurants offering elaborated international cuisines, but that's probably not what you are here for anyway.
Burgers
When you're hungry and don't know where to go head for the Bio-Burgermeister in the middle of busy Linzergasse pedestrian street. With its liberal opening hours (no closing day, open until 10 pm) and central location this no-frills burger grill is serving both, meat, vegetarian, and vegan versions, purely made with organic ingredients. The service is swift, the burgers and side-dishes fresh, crisp and tasty, and most of the soft drinks and the beer are organic, too (though you have to check the bottles for organic labelling). The hot varieties I would describe as spicy rather than hot, and they come up with interesting seasonal versions like the pumpkin burger with a pumpkin patty. For meat patties you can choose between medium-done and medium-rare. The place serves neither desserts nor coffee.
Unfortunately it has implemented bad habits of conventional fast-food places, too: It produces a lot of waste since the meals are served on cardboard one-way plates, and the staff is neither busy cleaning the tables nor refilling paper towels.
If the burgermeister is too crowded or you prefer to produce less waste a burger restaurant is just a few steps away: The Ludwig doesn't promise fully organic burgers, but organic patties made from organic beef, turkey or mushrooms, organic pulled pork and bacon.
In addition to burgers the place also serves salad bowls, desserts and breakfast (including organic eggs in a number of varieties). Among the drinks fruit juices and teas are organic.
Located in a pleasant backyard with a small fountain this cafe cum restaurant is also a much nicer place to spend time with friends or family – during the warm season on the spacious terrace, on rainy or cold days in the large urban-rustic dining room.
Austrian
The Urbankeller is not just a perfect address for a rustic meal accompanied by local organic beer, wine, juice or lemonade in the restaurant or a civilised drink at the adjacent bar. It also houses a stage for live acts – predominantly rock, jazz or experimental theatre, and the occasional crime play reading. Although the place is certified by Bio Austria not everything is organic. Fully organic dishes however are clearly marked with a green logo on the menu, and a good deal of the un-marked meat-based dishes (including nose-to-tail ones using offal) are served with organic meat (check for the "bio" keyword). Vegan and vegetarian options are also available. If you consider one of the typical Austrian flour-based desserts ("Mehlspeisen") make sure to come with sufficient appetite.
Schallmooser Hauptstraße where the Urbankeller is located changes its name to Linzergasse (or Linzer Gasse, the naming is not consistent) when it runs over into a pedestrian area towards the river Salzach. Amid its touristic jumble you'll find the Stadtkrug, a family-owned hotel and restaurant of old, with roots in the 14th century. The family runs an organic highland cattle farm north of Salzburg and serves the beef at the restaurant specialising in typical Austrian dishes. The farm has its own slaughterhouse on premise which allows the cattle to die as stress-free as possible within their known habitat. The chicken served in the Stadtkrug is also organic as are some hard cheeses and the ice-cream and other products made from sheep's milk. The breakfast at the hotel unfortunately is not organic.
Directly located on Linzergasse, almost down by the river, but nevertheless not a place that tourists will recognise at a first glance, the Innergebirg restaurant serves traditional Austrian mountain cuisine with local ingredients from the Pongau, the Pinzgau and the Salzburger Land areas. All the meat comes from the Rostatt organic farm (which also is a farm stay).
Note that the restaurant is closed on Sundays.
Another beergarden down in the old town is associated with the local brewery Die Weisse
specializing in weiss beer. They also brew one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic organic variety (watch out for the bio label) which nicely go together with a hearty Austrian meal – the beef here is
organic and you may ask the waiter for likely other organic ingredients. Of course there's indoor seating, too.
On the other side of the Salzach river September 2018 saw the opening of a new fully organic, predominantly biodynamic restaurant and bar opposite the museum of modern art inside the Mönchsberg cliff, the Humboldt, a pleasantly modernized version of an Austrian "Gaststube", with geometric dark-wooden interior, a light-and-steam installation serving as a fire place surrogate, green cushions, table-clothes made from felt, and a green-lighted bar. For lunch on weekdays you can choose between two set menus consisting of a soup or salad (your choice), and a vegetarian or omnivore main dish which come at 9 or 11 euros, respectively. In the evening the kitchen emphasizes on Austrian signature dishes like the Viennese Schnitzel (a delicate, crisp, yet melting dream), boiled filet ("Tafelspitz"), and pancakes ("Palatschinken") as dessert (which were quite unexceptional).
The menu clearly marks organic, biodynamic, vegan and vegetarian items and also lists the sources of all ingredients which usually are Austrian farms and producers, often located in the vicinity. In all drink classes organic options are available, and often you have no choice but to drink organic. The bar keeps open until late each day, making it the perfect place for an evening out, and there's outdoor seating, too.
Indian
Back in town, just a few steps from the Stadtkrug vegetarian fusion food with roots in the Indian cuisines has been served for almost 20 years at Spicy Spices. This pleasant eatery may not be the place for the romantic dinner but is a nice location for a chat with friends, accompanied by a healthy lunch, a coffee, chai and/or cake, all organic. You can also shop for their home-made spice mixtures, chutneys and pickles which make tasty gifts.
International
The second surviving organic restaurant of old also draws its inspiration from the subcontinent and East-Western fusion. The Heart of Joy is a vegetarian (vegan friendly), predominantly organic cafe cum eatery run by followers of Sri Shinmoy. The latter is openly presented which may not be your idea of the perfect surroundings for a recreational sip of coffee or an Italian, Austrian, oriental or Indian inspired lunch in this otherwise pleasant location. Students are entitled a ten percent discount, and breakfast on weekends is being served all day.
For a simple lunch or a piece of home-made organic cake you may also try the A* bar in nearby Auerspergstraße.
If you are near the main train station on a weekday during daytime the bistro Leichtsinn ("carelessness") is worth a try. You'll find it if you leave the train station in western direction via Südtiroler Platz and walk in southern direction along Rainerstraße parallel to the tracks until you reach Elisabethstraße.
Tea, beer, and cheese are always organic here, and
the owners promise to prefer organic and regional ingredients, but admit that some ingredients such as avocados definitely won't be organic. Unfortunately I did not get an answer to whether the meat and other products of animalic origin are organic, so better ask about them.
The menu changes daily, and you always have the choice between
a soup, one vegan, one vegetarian and one meat- or fish-based dish in addition to salads (mix your own from the salad bar), home-made foccachia sandwiches, wraps, quiches, and empanadas (the owner-chief originates from Ecuador). The place is great for
breakfast, there are home-made cakes (also vegan), shortbreads and fair-trade coffee, and if you need provisions for your travel, simply order to take away.
Fine dining restaurants in the 2020ies can be reasonably expected to work together with small-scale organic gardeners, bakers and/or butchers, but they often do this in the closet. So I found the
Genussprojekt at Ursulinenplatz, with a view on the river Salzach, but I am disappointed to report
that the only classified organic ingredients on their menu are fruit juices and beef.
Beef-lovers may give it a try and ask about the veges, the flour, and whether there are
natural wines, too. So far no first-hand review from me yet.
Italian
Arguably the city's best pizza can be had when entering a non-descript entrance on Franz-Josef-Straße south of Paris-Lodron-Straße: Here you find a place boringly dubbed Organic Pizza Salzburg, and this is exactly what it is: A totally unpretentious venue serving glorious 100% organic pizza in vegetarian, vegan and omnivore varieties, all well worth their 9.80 to 16.80 EUR. Instead of the standard base made from wheat you may order one made with spelt. Choose your drinks from the fridge (most, but not all organic), and have a home-made organic and vegan cake with fairly traded ingredients and/or a locally produced ice-cream to end your meal. No frills, just love, and in contrast to other fast food places covered here you will be served on real plates instead of paper waste. Unfortunately the place is closed on Mondays and Sundays.
Vegan
For Italian and decidedly vegan food (including pizza) you have to wait for the re-opening of
Vegitalian. This no-frills restaurant stepped in as the hotel restaurant of The Keep near Salzburg Hauptbahnhof train station between spring and autumn 2022 and is planning a re-opening in Nonntal. It's not 100% organic, but most ingredients come from regional and/or organic producers. No further review here (yet) since I haven't had the chance to visit.
Just a few steps from Organic Pizza Salzburg you'll find a novelty in the city: a crowd-founded vegan cafe. The
Gustav serves
breakfast, sandwiches, soups and salads as well as smoothies and cakes, everything predominantly organic. Unfortunately it is closed most days of the week, so check below to avoid a bad surprise.
For a vegan or vegetarian, partially organic lunch, dinner or weekend brunch the neighbourhood of Gneis was a pleasant destination before the Covid-19 pandemics. Then chef Julia and her happily carnivore dog announced a refurbishment of the The Green Garden, and I am still waiting to see a re-opening. The place consisted of two locations, a daily (except Mondays) open restaurant, and a cafe cum wine bar annex. There was no general commitment to organic certification, but Julia promised to use predominantly fresh seasonal Austrian ingredients as far as possible produced without chemically synthesized fertilizers and preservatives. The tea (including iced tea), most wines, some beers, eggs and goat cheese were certified organic. On the menu you were to find bowls, soups, salads, vegan burgers as well as pasta and vegetable versions of Austrian signature dishes like the schnitzel, but the place was great for breakfast and healthy snacks, too. During the nice season The Green Garden sold vegan organic ice-cream to both, guests and passers-by.
Coffee and cakes
For the real coffee thing head for Röstzimmer 15 a few meters from "Spicy Spices". A cosy living room serving artisanal (though not necessarily organically certified) chocolates and pastries with Ethiopian organic coffee roasted in the room next door where you also can have a small lunch.
An Italian-style coffee drink prepared with organic milk can also be had at Fabis Frozen Bioyogurt.
Fancy an organic coffee drink on the go, made with organic milk or plant-based drink, on your way from the old town before crossing the Mozartsteg pedestrian bridge over the river Salzach? Take your coffee mug and stop by what's arguably the city's tiniest coffee house,
We love coffee.
Unfortunately they do not have any eathenware and will serve their Italian-style coffee or flat whites in a paper cup. What a waste – since I did not have a cup at hand I cannot say anything about the quality.
When you take a stroll or bicycle tour along the river Salzach in southern direction (towards castle and zoo Hellbrunn) stop by the farm cafe of the Bienenlieb beekeepers. You may simply step by for a coffee break or a home-made organic soup with honey bread, but if you are planning to have breakfast on Saturday (from March through December) make sure to call upfront for reservation.
Temporarily closed
Closed or no longer organic
- Ährlich, Wolf-Dietrich-Str. 7
- Enoteca Settemila, Bergstr. 9
- Zum Hirschenwirt, St.-Julien-Str. 21-23 (no longer organic)
- Franziskischlössl, Stefan-Zweig-Weg
- klein & fein, Rupertgassei 9 (cafe and delicatessen)
- Kuchenfee, Paris-Lodron-Str. 19 (partially organic cafe)
- Ökohof Feldinger/Rochushof, Rochusgasse 6 (organic
supermarket and self-service restaurant)
- Rosencafé, Steingasse 4 (fully organic cafe cum gastro bar)
- Stadtimbiss, Franz-Josef-Str. 19 (successor is not organic)
- Schützenwirt, Dorf 96, St. Jakob am Thurn
2023-11-27 17:00:00
[Salzburg, organic, lunch, dinner, takeaway, restaurant, cafe, eatery, coffee, ice-cream, fastfood, vegetarian, vegan, Austrian, Indian, burgers, pizza, supermarkets, grocery, wine, beergarden]
Link
Tuesday, 14 November 2023
Eating out organic in Mannheim is different than in other cities: First it means vegetarian and vegan-friendly (almost) without exceptions. Second there seem to be no places serving national kitchens – no German Wirtshaus, no French cuisine, no Turkish fastfood and not even a mock Italian place. And finally organic here means organic for everyone, not just for a wealthy, hip and urban clientele. As a result you may miss cleverly designed cool places as much as refined coffeehouses or classy gourmet restaurants. The good news is that Mannheim's organic restaurants and cafes are extremely affordable.
Inner city
For breakfast (or a snack or coffee during the day) head for Bio-Bäcker Bihn on the ground floor of the Stadthaus housing the city library and other communal facilities and staging the city's part of the Mannheim/Heidelberg International Film Festival. Enter the complex from the north-eastern entry facing Paradeplatz, and you'll find the unpretentious bakery cum self-service cafe at the right hand site.
The breakfast options served on work- and Saturdays until noon are sufficient for two not too hungry ones; you can choose from a menu which also boosts three vegan varieties or combine yourself. Coffee or tea on the go is possible, but you should rather bring your own refillable cup (or buy one on the spot) as a one-way paper beaker righteously will be charged with 25 cents. For breakfast, lunch or in between freshly prepared sandwiches are available, too (though no longer in the evening). The coffee comes from an automat, and the rather cheap-looking interior design maintains a low threshold. If you come with a family or friends pay together which will give you a small discount (10% above 20 €, 12% above 30 € and 15 percent of a total above 50€).
If you fancy a better coffee in the Schwetzingerstadt neighbourhood you may step by Eddie's, the city's zero waste grocery store.
For an organic coffee, spritzer (of fruit juice and sparkling water) or wine head for the north-western neighbourhood of Jungbusch. The vegetarian, vegan-friendly gastro pub Kombüse serves Mexican-style fastfood as well as a daily changing soup and main course, on availability (but not reliably) using organic veges. It keeps open until late and may give you an impression of the city's subculture. The place also offers a take away service, but kindly invites guests to bring their own re-usable cups and jars. You will be charged the extra expense if you insist on one-way packaging.
South of the main train station
Interestingly the hippest and most expensive places aren't located in the very city centre but south of the railway tracks. The first one is the Glückstein in Lindenhof south of the railway tracks, a short way from the banks of the river Rhine. This organic vegan restaurant took over from Frankfurt-based raw eatery Rohkosteria.
You can choose from the menu which still contains a lot of raw dishes
(bowls and salads, burgers, wraps, falafel, vegetable "pasta", smoothies, shots, cakes and cookies), and two warm and filling daily specials at 8 EUR (I had a simple, yet very tasty lentils-based lasagna).
Although the place is open in the evenings no alcohol is being served here, and you can also have caffeine-free lupin-based "coffee" drinks.
The pleasantly designed interior and the unexcited atmosphere make it an ideal place to stay for a while.
If you have a bicycle take the chance to visit the neighbourhood of Neckarau where you will find two real gems: The first one opened in 2019: Hedonist is another modern, thoroughly designed eatery, friendly, but less homely than Glückstein, rather the type of place where you expect busy business people to have a recreational and healthy lunch break (but no worries, the audience isn't that uniform). You can buy everything to take away, much of it in returnable glass jars with a deposit of 2 EUR – salads, desserts, falafel and burger sandwiches, pasta, but also German-style pork and fish main courses. On weekdays a set menu consisting of a main course and a dessert is available at lunch time. On the Thursday I was there it was (very filling and quite dry) falafel with some salad, a spoon of pickled beetroot, a small amount of lentil salad, prefectly crisp potato chips and tasty (though too cold) potato salad. While the food is being served guests may collect the generous glass of dessert from the fridge. I had the so-called cheesecake which wasn't actually a cake but a cheese cream with oranges and sponge biscuits. There were also tiramisu and blueberry or raspberry mascarpone cream. The entire vegetarian meal came at 8 EUR, if you choose a fish or meat main course the price tag increases to 11 or even 15 EUR.
There's also a rack of selected wines, pickles and condiments to buy home. The place is fuelled by renewable energies.
Right next to the Hedonist you'll find the second place, a carefully curated and decorated cafe cum wine shop cum organic delicatessen dubbed Bittersüß ("bitter sweet"). Too beautiful to call it an owner-run organic grocery store you can buy all daily necessities here – fresh fruits and veges, and dairy products as well as organic bodycare. But on top of all this you'll find French sweets, selected cognac and other spirits, an abundance of wine, delicate chocolates, and last but not least the delicious products of the organic ginger bread bakery Friedmann in the same neighbourhood. Between noon and 2pm vegetarian lunch is being served on weekdays – the daily changing menu you'll find on a hand-written piece of paper at the cashier desk.
North of the Neckar river
Bicycle lovers must not miss out the city's first bike cafe in the Neckarstadt north of the river Neckar. The
Café Flamme Rouge (dubbed after the red flag displayed one kilometer before the end of a bike race) was established in 2005 and serves
organic bread and rolls from the
Lummerland organic bakery with biodynamic vegetarian spreads, partially organic coffee, home-made pesto, pancakes and a lunch dish (the menu changes on Mondays and Thursdays).
Also located in Neckarstadt Ost the
Café Pfau
has a focus on regional, but unfortunately not organic ingredients. Organic products are used in the kitchen here and there, and the milk is always organic, though neither the (locally roasted) coffee or tea.
More to try
The following place I had on my research list but could not make it there:
No longer organic
The Wohnhunger gifts and things shop does no longer offer organic soups or stews for lunch, and does not use organic milk for their coffee drinks. The coffee itself may occasionally be organic (as they also sell organic beans) but usually isn't.
Closed
Of the following places you may find remnants on the web but be assured: They do no longer exist.
- Café Vogelfrei, C3, 20
- Bio-Bäcker Bihn, M3, 7(moved to Stadthaus)
- envita Bio-Restaurant, Im Stadthaus N1, 1 (replaced by organic bakery Bihn)
- Hellers Vegetarisches Restaurant & Café, N7, 13–15
- O’ Dog Café, M5, 8 (Hot dogs)
-
- mundgrün veganerie, T3, 7 (vegan) (preceeded by Sonnenblume Naturkost)
- Veggie-Stadel (formerly Bio-Stadel), Lindenhofstr. 62 replaced by Rohkosteria
- Rohkosteria, Lindenhofstr. 62, replaced by Glückstein
- Bio-Bäcker Bihn, Kurfürstenstr. 7
2023-11-14 20:00:00
[Mannheim, organic, breakfast, lunch, coffee, cafe, eatery, vegan, vegetarian, restaurant, bakeries, ice-cream, delicatessen, wine]
Link
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
If you fancy a freshly made organic ice-cream in Bremen be prepared to work out – hope for good weather, rent a bicycle and do as many locals do: Set out on a 15 kilometers ride, first in direction University, and then on the
dyke safeguarding the land against the river Wümme to a dairy farm run by friendly family Kaemena in Niederblockland.
On the embankment cars are allowed with a special permit only, but an astonishing number of locals come here by bicycle, foot or skating to enjoy an organic ice-cream (the scoop goes for 2.20 EUR in 2023), coffee or cold organic drink and enjoy the farm and the countryside.
The ice-cream is made right here on the farm: from the milking station to the ice-cream factory it's only about 25 metres, and another few metres to the cafe.
Don't miss the poppy seed ice-cream and the varieties based on buttermilk and yogurt. And please, avoid ordering your ice-cream in a one-way paper cup: for a little surplus you can have a vegan wafer cup (free for two or more scoops), compostable if you do not eat it. You may also take a free wafer ice-spoon instead of a plastics one.
Opening hours on pleasant summer days may be a little longer than announced,
and the ice-cream parlour is closed in winter.
The farm itself is driven according to the seven Bioland principles, with about 80 cows (which all have individual names) and calves who are fed by and kept together with their mothers until they eat grass and hay (which is at an age of about five weeks). The cattle race comes without horns naturally, so no harm is done to the animals in order to remove them. The farm also keeps a few other animals like geese, two pigs, a couple of goats, pheasants and chicken (both hens and cocks) and gives home to a lot of wildlife like a sparrow colony and swallows.
There's a nice playground for children, and if you want to stay longer (minimum one week) the family rents out several pleasant holiday apartments (but make sure to book well in advance for holiday seasons).
In May 2022 the Kaemenas opened a new Sunday-open ice-cream parlour cum farm shop in the Neustadt. If you don't want to have your ice-cream on the go, there's little seating, a few benches outdoor, and some high chairs inside, to have a coffee, milk-shake or a "cold" chocolate with ice-cream. The cafe participates in the Recup scheme, so make sure to have your hot or cold drink to take away in a returnable cup.
Unlike the cafe at the farm this place will keep open around the year and provide you not only with ice-cream but also with cheese, jogurt, and milk.
Starting with the covid-19 summers a stylish mobile coffee bar of the Coffee Bike franchise has been popping up in the very city centre on Ansgarikirchhof during the warm season. In addition to the fully organic coffee drinks there is a separate mobile booth with Kaemena's ice-cream. Unfortunately they do not offer neither eatable ice-cream wafers nor earthenware cups for the coffee, so you are forced to enjoy it in non-compostable one-way cups unless you bring your own.
If you are in the vicinity of the university's refectory around lunch time on a weekday visit the organic ice-cream booth inside the
Uni-Mensa: Opposite the refectory's check-out you get the scoop of organic ice-cream produced in Hamburg at an unbeatable price (1.30 EUR in 2023). They offer three dairy and even more vegan flavours (my favourite: the vegan salted peanut butter). You may pay cash or by the Studierendenwerk prepaid card.
Closed
2023-08-22 18:00:00
[Bremen, Neustadt, Blockland, organic, ice-cream, cafe, accommodation, farms]
Link
Sunday, 04 June 2023
What a shame: Italy is one of the largest producers of
organic food and the home of the gelato – but if you want to have an organic
ice-cream in Venice you have to stick to
Amorino, a French franchise concept,
famous for its elaborate ice-cream served in the shape of roses. Two shops in
town (one in Cannaregio, one in S. Polo) serve their expensive, yet very palatable fare. The flavours marked "organic" are 100 percent organic and organically certified, other flavours may contain organic ingredients, too.
Once predominantly organic, but no more
Right after arrival at Venezia Santa Lucia train station, you may arm yourself for the queueing at the waterbus ticket office with an ice-cream, milk-shake or granita from Gelateria Grom fronting the entrance hall towards Canal Grande. Before the acquisition by Unilever in 2015 they promised to use organic milk, some organic fruit, only natural ingredients and of course no additives, and had in general an eco-conscious agenda. However: Following the acquisition all hints to the former supplier of organic fruit, the Mura Mura farm, gradually disappeared. In 2019 the promise was reduced to "natural ingredients", and the only thing they promised to use in organic quality is the milk for the milk shakes ("frappe"). In 2022 also this hint was gone, but I spotted an organic milk package next to the coffee machine at the St. Lucia branch in June 2023. Nevertheless – the ice-cream is still good, and a favourite of the locals, too, as can be seen by the increasing number of often crowded Grom branches in Italian cities.
For the ice-cream you have to specify a size – small, medium or large – and can choose a suitable number of varieties; up to two varieties for the small size, and up to three for medium size. For something different (or if you are vegan) try a granita water ice slush. However, these are served in plastics-coated paper cups, while you can have your ice-cream in an eatable (and compostable) wafer "cono".
Grom has more, in fact older branches in Venice, one of them on Campo San Barnaba square. If departing the waterbus at Ca' Rezzonico stop you can't miss it when following the only way into the open of the square and keep an eye on the left side.
Watch out for green-washed independent ice-cream parlours
On local websites the owner of Gelateria Alaska, a small whole-in-the-wall shop near Campo Santo was dubbed "king of organic ice-cream in Venice", so I went there to try and ask. While the all-natural ice-cream itself was perfectly palatable he told me that the main ingredients, milk and sugar, were too expensive, but he would occasionally use organic fruit and spices. Unfortunately he couldn't tell me whether any of the flavours on display contained organic ingredients that day.
If you read my post on Rovigo you may be tempted to try Gelato Fantasy in Calle dei Fabbri. DON'T! They are not connected with the Gelateria Fantasy in Rovigo, and they definitely do not use organic ingredients.
Ceased to exist
The following place does no longer exist, though you find still find references on the web:
2023-06-04 13:15:00
[Venice, Venezia, organic, ice-cream]
Link
Sunday, 16 October 2022
Nowhere in Germany it is easier to adhere to an organic lifestyle than in its capital – provided you aim for appropriately inhabited neighbourhoods all you have to do is to keep your eyes open. Many of those neighbourhoods can be found in the administrative unit of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and this blog will cover only the tip of the iceberg, i.e. the places I found during a two-days visit. The places covered in the first two sections are all located in Kreuzberg 61, the neighbourhood considered the bourgeouis part of Kreuzberg.
The German Museum of Technology near tube-station Möckernbrücke clearly is a place to spend hours in – but what if you start to feel hungry or the urge for a coffee? For the occasional tourist this wonderful museum seems to be located in the middle of nowhere, but don't dispair! Head East and follow Tempelhofer Ufer back to the tube station, and turn to the right after the second traffic-light. A few steps into Großbeerenstraße you will find an organic gem with roots back in former West-Berlin's green-alternative past. Today it's a friendly though a little worn-out grocery cum eatery dubbed Ökotussi ("eco-Sheila") run by a bunch of practical women. Stop by for a hearty vegetarian (usually vegan) lunch (the vegan lasagna we had was delicious and sufficient for two), a salad or snack or an Italian-style coffee drink.
Follow Zossener Straße from tube-stop Gneisenaustraße in Southern direction, and you'll end up in a neighbourhood that most eco-conscious people will consider the ultimate paradise: three organic (or predominantly organic) whole-sale supermarkets, four organic bakeries, four at minimum partially organic restaurants and eateries, and a number of other shops offering selected organic products, everything within a five minutes walk, all with liberal opening hours compared to the rest of Germany. The eateries of this neighbourhood dubbed Bergmannkiez try to outdo one another in advertising their vegan options – it seems a luxury to point out that vegan even here usually does not imply organic.
Restaurants and eateries
Promenading Bergmannstraße (which makes for the Southern border of Marheinekeplatz) to the West you will find Fratelli La Bionda, a decent Italian pizzeria using organic flour and tomatoes for their pizze. No place for lunch since the restaurant does not open before evening. If you take your seat around the tables on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, opposing a park with a children's playground you will kindly be asked to move inside around half past 9 pm. Since the eateries covered below all close between 8 and 9 pm (or even earlier during the weekend) this place is the only option for your evening out covered in this post.
This nicely restored mall is a Mekka for foodies. Opposite Friesenstraße you will find Piechas Bio-Buffet, a slow-food whole-organic grill. Although vegan and vegetarian dishes are offered, too, their focus is clearly on organic meat, from nose to tail. Arguably Berlin's best beef burgers are served here, and unlike other places they won't cook your meat to death when you forget to order rare. If you want to try Berliner Currywurst (curried sausage) and other German meat dishes at all – so here. Heavily frequented during lunch hours service can be a bit bumpy, and more frequent cleaning of the bar tables would often be nice. You can choose from an impressive range of organic softdrinks, or have beer or very decent cider made from apples organically grown in the wild of Berlin's surroundings. Mayonaise and ketchup for your fries have to be ordered separately.
If you walk around the booth you will find the counter of the organic butcher's shop where you can buy sausages, offal and all the cuts from free-range cattle and pigs kept well at small-scale organic farms in the vicinity and slaughtered respectfully.
Bakeries
Lunch and coffee drinks are also being served by organic bakery Beumer & Lutum, a few steps north on Zossener Straße. If you want your coffee on the go make sure to bring your own mug which entitles you to a small discount. While the two organic bakery boothes within the Marheineke mall – Mehlwurm in the centre of the market hall, and Biobackhaus in the North-Eastern part – are closed on Sundays and open at 8 am, Beumer & Lutum is catering for the early bird Monday through Saturday from 7 am. It also used to keep open on Sundays, but that's past: Due to staff shortness in 2022 the shop is open only on weekday mornings. It offers a small selection of organic food items to complete your breakfast table. The bakery boothes in the mall still have longer opening hours, but do not serve coffee or lunch. Mehlwurm is the first bakery I know of offering an open source bread (with beetroot and walnuts).
For the sweet tooth
Italian-style organic coffee drinks can also be had from the Tanne b ice-cream parlour on the crossing of Zossener and Bergmannstraße. They use organic milk for their all-natural ice-creams served in vegan cones, and offer vegan options, too. Children are served slightly smaller scoops for the price of 80 cents (instead of 1.20 euros for regular servings). In 2019 the ice-cream season has been announced to start 7th March.
Around the corner from Fratelli La Bionda you'll find cosy Cafe Conni Island where you can treat yourself with lovely home-made, partially organic cakes and a coffee drink made with organic milk. The place is run by an artist whom you can hire to paint your walls with art, and since she usually serves herself the opening hours are restricted to afternoons and the second half of the week.
Supermarkets
With a branch of the vegan supermarket chain Veganz on the first floor of Marheineke-Markthalle facing Marheinekeplatz, a branch of Berlin-based organic wholesale chain Bio-Company on Bergmannstraße/Friesenstraße crossing and an Alnatura branch on the East-side of the park, all with liberal opening hours compared to German standards it's hard to find an excuse for not buying organic. The Bio-Company bakery booth even opens for the early bird at 7:30 am.
While both, Alnatura an Bio-Company sell exclusively organically certified items you have to be careful at Veganz: The grocery products and most of the German and Austrian brands on display are organic (and can be found in almost any other organic supermarket), but they also offer a lot of imported vegan products, and a great deal of them are not organic. Unfortunately these are not clearly marked on the shelves, so you should be familiar with organic branding outside the continent. On the plus side this Veganz supermarket introduced self-service dispensers offering more than 80 different dry products waiting to be filled in the containers you brought with you.
Shopping
If you're on a shopping spree or in search for a gift, and the body care sections of the organic supermarkets seem too boring, there's an organic beauty shop dubbed Belladonna in Bergmannstraße. Light and inviting, with a great selection of all kinds of natural creams, body lotions, perfumes, hair care, make-up and much more, both for men and women, this is a must-go for everyone, not just beauty addicts.
Also need new clothes? One of the three Berlin-based shops of the Dresden-based organic fashion and interior design label Tranquillo is located right in the vicinity.
The Japanese go mad about Trippen shoes, and if you go for fairly and eco-consciously produced leather shoes of unusual design (some of the soles alone can be considered art) the Trippen factory outlet near tube stop Schlesisches Tor is definitely worth a visit. Unlike in their stylish flagship store within Hackesche Höfe you have to browse shoe boxes for your size, and all the pairs are remaining stock or have small defects like miscolourings. In return prices are well below usual market price. You will find children's, women's and men's shoes (even the ones better described as sculptures are astonishingly comfy), and the staff is very helpful.
Kreuzberg 36
One of the many organic groceries turned partially organic eateries and delis is Der Milchladen ("The milk shop") near tube stop Moritzplatz. In the heart of what is dubbed the wild and autonomous migrant Kreuzberg you can have a hearty lunch, sandwiches, coffee and (cheese) cake as well as breakfast, vegan, vegetarian and omnivore.
The place is situated a few steps from the flagship store of one of the oldest eco-conscious Berlin fashion labels, Luzifer in Oranienstraße. All their clothes are made of linen and hemp, and unlike other labels they don't have short-lived collections: If you wore out your favourite dress, shirt or pair of trousers, you will usually be able to buy a replacement. When my favourite dress (of which I had two copies) after ten years continous use had too many holes they happily made a new one of the good parts for a very competitive price. They offer both, a men's and a women's collection, and you will often be served a tisane or a cookie in their light and friendly showroom.
Shut down
The following places are closed for good:
2022-10-16 21:00:00
[Berlin, Kreuzberg, organic, vegan, Italian, pizza, coffee, ice-cream, supermarkets, fashion, bodycare, household, shoes, deli, grocery, eatery, zero_waste, bakeries, butcher, burgers, confectioners]
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