Tuesday to Saturday: 4:00pm - 11:00pm
Lausebengel
Grimmstraße 21
10967 Berlin-Kreuzberg
.How to get there
Berlin cuisine generally has a somewhat dusty reputation: lavish, greasy, pub food. Since mid-2019, "Lausebengel" in Kreuzberg's Graefekiez has been proving that Berlin cuisine can also be thought of in a completely different way. The premises themselves look back on a long gastronomic tradition: for over 35 years they housed legendary Kreuzberg location Café Rizz - always full, always energetic.
Janosch, one of the rascals, actually grew up in the building next door. Even as a little boy, he passed by here all the time. Then, when he saw that the former owner wanted to quit, he rounded up his entire entourage. It was to be Berlin cuisine, mainly because Janosch and his business partner Tim found it exciting to "spruce up" the classic grandma kitchen.
The most beautiful thing, they said, is when several generations come together here for a culinary encounter. And since Berlin cuisine definitely also includes influences from Turkish, Arabic and Vietnamese cuisine for both of them, the Lausebengel's culinary approach goes a bit in all directions with a broad understanding of Berlin cuisine. As a Berliner, Janosch would have eaten his first kebab before his first currywurst, jokes Tim.
The beer sommelier is responsible for the beer selection at Lausebengel and has "a tendency for manufaktured beer and beer with an honest story." That's why Lausebengel mainly serves beer that doesn't exclude big breweries, but favors the small ones. This also means: no large wine list, but a large variety of beers.
At a total of ten taps and from several other bottles, one demonstrates at Lausebengel a part of the approximately 150 existing beer styles, among them sometimes a Bavarian brewery like Bayreuther Hell or smaller Berlin breweries like BRLO or Berliner Berg.
That's exactly how it has to be done here, and exactly how the self-proclaimed Lausebengels do it, everything is incredibly coherent. The concept of Berlin and its influences runs charmingly and undogmatically through the store: Inside you can still see quite deliberately where the bar and the podium of Café Rizz stood at the time, the bar was made up of old doors from antique shops.
The seat cushions are reminiscent of Turkish cafés and the large-format mural was specially penned by Milli Fuller, Janosch's wife. A short six-month renovation was followed by the opening in mid-2019 and a few carefree months before March 2020, when it just reopened with a new head chef after the forced Corona break.
Basically, nothing has changed in Lausebengels concept of modern Berlin cuisine and beer variety. On the contrary, Janosch and Tim have found a chef in Dean who can identify strongly with their gastronomic vision of creating a kind of neighborhood living room here.
"That was very convincing, because that's actually exactly what describes my kitchen," explains the chef, who found his way into the kitchen late in life, but already has a few notable stints to his name, such as head chef at Crackers.
We feast our way through his homemade Berlin bites, meant for sharing or as pub grub for the small appetite. Wonderfully tender matjes with capers and pickles, beet with goat's cheese and, of course, the Blutwurstkrokette with black pudding from Neukölln in filo dough, which can already be called a modern classic with a clear conscience.
"Dead granny" in modern. In addition, larger plate dishes are also available from the regularly changing menu. Everyone will find what they are looking for here. Just to drink a beer is just as welcome as to have a bite to eat - just like Berlin, each one a little bit as he:she wants.
If you are not convinced yet, you should not miss the "Kanten Brot". It's accompanied by Brandenburg curd cheese with freshly bitter linseed oil, Dean's secret weapon, his homemade celery salt, and his homemade beer butter. Truly a dream, and one that fits in perfectly with the concept of beer diversity.
And then there's this incredibly charming corner in the middle of Kreuzberg's greenery. So somehow everything comes together quite wonderfully simply here in the former Café Rizz. "It's a magical thing," Janosch gets romantic for a moment, "the light on this corner is incredible. When I sit here between 5 and 7 p.m., it's always good."
We can only underline that. Thoughtful but undogmatic, neat beer and fine cuisine, and this - yes, it does fit - magical place in the Graefekiez.