National Geographic Traveller UK - 01 e 02.2022

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by splashing through torrential rain — is

richly rewarded with chef Dalad Kambhu’s

contemporary tasting menu. Served ‘family-

style’ (all at the same time), every dish is

beautiful to look at and lovingly made with,

as far as possible, regional produce. A pair of

peppery nasturtium leaves rest gently on soft

patties of venison tartare made with a fiery,

homemade chilli paste; shiitake mushrooms

and a curl of red onion bathe in a deeply

umami bowl of smoked eel broth, garnished

with borage flowers grown at a permaculture

garden north of Berlin. For dessert, slices of

poached pear come with soft meringue and a

fish sauce caramel, paired with a pale-yellow

Riesling from Germany’s Mosel region. ‘Kin

dee’, I learn, is Thai for ‘eat well’ — something

that’s not hard to do here.

The next morning, I head to Gropius Bau,

an exhibition venue set in a Renaissance-

style building close to Potsdamer Platz in the

sprawling Kreuzberg district. Inside the grand

entrance, an atrium leads into Beba, where I

meet the restaurant’s owner, Shani Leiderman,

for coffee. Beneath a soaring ceiling, we sit at a

small, round table, a basil plant in a glass mug

between us, its straggly roots visible in the

water beneath. More than a table decoration,

it’s all part of the ethos at Beba: at the far side

of the restaurant are four rather incongruous,

brightly lit glass cabinets stacked with trays

of leafy plants. These so-called vertical farms

supply the kitchen with all the fresh herbs

and leafy vegetables required for Shani’s

menu, which, she says, draws its inspiration

“from ancient traditions in different Jewish

communities around the world”.

Shani points out two types of greens: pak

choi (“we use it fresh in salad, it’s soft and

young”) and mustard leaves (“usually they

wilt so fast they’re unusable; it’s a privilege

having them here alive”), as well as an array

of herbs, including sorrel, purple basil and

dill. The seedlings are delivered twice weekly

from a central hub belonging to Berlin

startup Infarm, an indoor farming specialist.

Once the plants have arrived, there’s little

for Shani and her team to do until it’s time

to harvest them. “The plants grow in water,

not soil, and get exactly what they need:

pesticide-free nutrition, light and air.

“They’re self-regulating; the rest is connected

and controlled by the Berlin control centre,”

says Shani. The restaurant can then configure

supply to its demand, and Shani doesn’t

need any gardening know-how herself. With

a line that’s the stuff of science fiction, she

continues: “the farmer is in the cloud”.

Leaving Beba behind, I follow a fenced-

off strip of the Berlin Wall past the site

of the former Gestapo headquarters

— today a memorial and museum. After

circumnavigating a large group of tourists,

I eventually emerge onto Oranienplatz,

a wide, scruffy square that’s home to Ora,

a restaurant and wine bar set in a Victorian

JULIUS

Expect coffees and pastries by day

and a constantly evolving tasting

menu by night. Julius showcases

organic produce and sustainably

sourced meat, fish and dairy from

Berlin and further afield in small

plates such as horse mackerel on

brioche toast with cauliflower

puree and umeboshi plum, or

glazed pumpkin cooked in dashi

topped with Mangalitsa speck.

Wine and beer pairings are natural,

too. Tasting menu €65 (£55),

wine pairings €55 (£46) extra.

instagram.com/julius.ernst.berlin

FREA

The world’s first 100% vegan,

zero-waste restaurant, Frea offers

three-, four- and five-course

menus of plant-based dishes made

with ingredients sourced, as much

as possible, from Germany. Aiming

to keep its ecological footprint to

a minimum, leftover vegetables

go into an on-site composting

machine. A pretty pear and

beetroot dish features braised and

poached pear and beetroot, tidy

blobs of walnut-almond cream

and crunchy slithers of parsnip.

Four-course menu €53 (£48), wine

pairings €31 (£26) extra. frea.de

OSHIONE

Aureen Aipoh started out selling

gluten-free banana bread at

Kollwitzplatz Farmers’ Market;

today, she runs Oshione, whose

brunch and lunch menus use

organic vegetables from a local

supplier. Offerings include soup

specials and the likes of toasted

banana bread with tahini-date

paste, labneh and buckwheat

seeds. It’s also coeliac-friendly.

From €8 (£6.75). oshione.de

A TASTE OF

Berlin

Gnocchi dish, served at Ora

RIGHT: Wine-tasting at Julius

Jan/Feb 2022 69

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