Cafe Melt Caramel is a hole-in-the-wall type of place in Friedrichshain (Grunbergerstraße 40) - specialising in crepes, cakes, galettes and coffee.
We have walked past this place many many times as it is in our local neighbourhood, but its just been one of those places that we walk past always on the way somewhere else, remarking - we must go there someday!
Today we finally went there. We invited a good friend along to check it out.
Outside there are a couple of tables, but now is not the season to be sitting outside in Berlin.
Inside, the shop is extremely cosy, with three tables for customers, a service counter at the back and a separate crepe making area near the front door.
We were the only customers, at 11am, and took our seats and our time to decide what the have. The menu looks rather brief, but includes several crepes (starting from 1.50 Euros), Galettes (pretty much savoury crepes, around 3.50 Euros) and hot drinks starting from 1.50 Euros.
There is also a cabinet displaying a variety of cakes and quiches.
The lady running the shop acknowledged us but let us sit there as we decided. Due to the small size of the cafe we were able to order from our table to the woman behind the counter. We all went for the basic crepes, butter & sugar and cinnamon & sugar, each 1.50 Euros. We also ordered a small coffee (1.50 Euros), large coffee (1.90 Euros) and a chai latte (2.90 Euros).
Our coffees and chai were made first and the coffee in particular was extremely hot. The coffees were not bad and had good strong flavour. The chai was made with powder from a brand of chai powder common in the cafes around Berlin.
The crepes were then made separately, and because the cafe only has one crepe hotplate they were made one at a time. A lot of care goes into the crepe preparation. My only criticism is that as only one can be made at a time, by the time all are made, two out of three crepes have lost most of their heat.
They were damn tasty though!
We sat in the cafe for about an hour and a half, part way joined by another customer. We never felt rushed (mainly because it wasn't busy and no need to give up tables) and the shop lady was always present but never invasive, not bothered by our conversation nor constantly asking us if we wanted to order anything else.
After our long lazy brunch snack we settled the bill, leaving a small (maybe too small!) tip in the tip jar.
We all enjoyed the experience, the food was good, drinks were good, and the cosy atmosphere on a cold day was just perfect. We would all definitely go back again and while I'd like to say that next time I will try some of the other items on offer - I doubt I will be able to pass up those tasty 1.50 euro crepes!
Cafe Melt Caramel
Grunbergerstraße 40
Friedrichshain, Berlin
No comments:
Post a Comment