Café Camaleon Mediterranean tapas in a chic 60s ambience

When you think of tapas, some classics like chorizo, dates wrapped in bacon, patatas bravas or pimientos del padron certainly come to mind. Our experience at Café Camaleon in Berlin Mitte shows that tapas can be supra-regional and (almost) vegetarian, modern, surprising and very finely tuned. The newly founded café is part of the boutique hotel Casa Camper, part of the shoe brand of the same name, whose first model provided the name Camaleon.

Located on Rosenthaler Platz, the first thing that strikes you when you visit is how pleasantly quiet the café is. Although the windows and tables along the entire length of the café face the busy street, you don't hear anything of it in Café Camaleon. Therefore, you can fully concentrate on the culinary highlights offered here while listening to pleasant music in the chic design of the café with the extra-long counter and the open kitchen.

Café Camaleon offers everything from breakfast to dinner. The menu changes regularly to match the eponymous chameleon of a modern, cool and eclectic city. Likewise, the colours of the menu adapt to create a new whole. The concept is to create a cross-country mix of Mediterranean cuisine, as well as to combine traditional dishes with a modern touch.

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Spain meets Israel, meets Turkey, meets Italy, meets Greece and many more; makes a successful mix from the hand of Chef Fabrizio Agabiti. We start with the only meat on today's menu: classic Spanish croquetas, breaded chicken balls whose crispy crust harmonises wonderfully with the light, tender-grainy texture of the chicken inside.

To accompany this, we taste the first highlight of the evening: fried artichokes, which taste truly incomparable. This is accompanied by a light Mallorcan white wine, Brutus, which also belongs to Camper, in collaboration with Rivas wines. The next course combines a wide variety of flavours and influences: Tender burrata on a bed of yellow and beetroot tartare, it combines sweetness and acidity in an extremely successful way.

This is accompanied by baked aubergine with pesto, hazelnuts and parmesan. The tasty preparation of an aubergine is a high art, which is more than fulfilled here. We enjoy a red wine with that course. The Mallorcan Cuvée 12 Volts comes with its distinct fruity note and a beautiful cover with a drawing by Gary Bateman; very young and fresh.

Slowly it becomes more savoury. We get a Parmentier cream with beetroot chips, a semi-soft egg in the middle, similar to a shakshuka and a good pinch of freshly grated truffle. Accompanied by a simple pasta, also refined with truffle and delicious. The whole is rounded off with a Galician red wine, whose distinct berry notes perfectly complement the taste of the noble mushroom.

It may come as a surprise, but there is still a little room in the stomach and we get another simple but delicious creation: a slow-roasted leek, cut lengthwise, garnished with Romanesco sauce and herbs. A delight. Now we have reached the end of our capacity. But since a meal without dessert is a sad meal, we still manage a piece of finely tuned Spanish cheesecake.

True to the motto of the chameleon, tastes and dishes from different Mediterranean countries have come together here to create a harmonious work of art. If you want to enjoy the same kind of food in a young, dynamic and chic restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere, then Café Camaleon is the place to go. We will be back!