It was a Lonely Planet recommendation, but the description made it hard to tell-it was definitely trendy, but would it be good? We arrived, and it was, as promised, a scene. A hungover beautiful and eclectic mix of intellectuals, euro-hipsters, intimidating groups of girls that had ‘fun’ engraved in their shawls, and Turkish men.

I tried to get a look at people’s plates, just to see what the food looked like, but everyone’s plate was empty. Not just empty with the bones and the garnishes still there, but empty like three separate tables of people were currently scooping up the last bit of sauce with their knife and fork and slurping it up. A promising sign.

So we sat down and waited, but nobody came. The place was crowded and it seemed like there were at least 10 waiters, but when I followed their paths each “waiter” sat down with the plate of food they were bussing and started to eat. Which is when I realized it’s a buffet. The kind of place where if you don’t fend for yourself, you’re not going to get anywhere, and you’re certainly not going to get any food.

So we elbowed our way into the tiny back room with a huge variety of Turkish salads, eggs, crepes, meat and rice dishes, yogurts, fruit platters, everything you could possibly want on a Sunday afternoon. In no seeming order or organized fashion, you have to practically dance with people to slide by them and get to the proper platters in order to stack your plate high enough to fill every craving these mouth watering options were creating.

If I lived in Berlin, I would come here every weekend. The only downside being that they serve warm soda, but since it’s a Turkish restaurant it’s excusable to act as if we’re in the desert when we’re in Berlin.

Cafe Morgenland, Skalitzer Str. 35, Berlin – 030 6113291

Tweet