Pappa e Ciccia Something for Everyone

Nicole Schuman, owner of restaurant Pappa e Ciccia, doesn’t look at all like an Italian mother figure. And yet she’s been uniting guests with Italian cuisine in a wonderfully cosy atmosphere every evening for ten years now.

Raised in Freiburg, she studied photography in San Fransisco and fell in love in Milan, where she both had a daughter and discovered her passion for gastronomy. One warm summer evening in Liguria, on holiday with "la famiglia", the idea arose for a gourmet food shop in Berlin, which Nicole Schuman later opened in Kreuzberg.

In 2006 she moved to Mitte, where it wasn’t long until the store turned into an Italian restaurant where national and international filmstars can be found many an evening along with her loyal regulars. The Pappa e Ciccia kitchen is constantly changing, but Italian cuisine remains at its core.

The interior is a cosy, cosmopolitan hub that could very easily be Nicole Schuman’s own private home, the guests her friends invited for dinner. The courteous, laid-back service makes you feel like part of the family.

The fully seated table next to us is enjoying classics like "Vitello Tonnato", "Penne all’Arrabbiata", and "Tagliolini with white truffel" along with heavenly aromatic meat and fish dishes. They seem to be enjoying everything, which isn’t making the question of what to choose for our own dinner any easier.

We end up with perfectly cooked octopus on creamy polenta with an aromatic black olive pesto for our starter, which really hits the spot- as does our intermediate course of chanterelle risotto with a glorious helping of mushrooms and perfect consistency.

To accompany our summery swordfish with tomato marmalade and radishes, Aldo serves a side of blanched broccoli with almonds and chilli; the "Sicilian Caponata" comes with a juicy filet mignon with gremolata and marinated onions. Abiocco! What a meal!

Pappa e Ciccia is the kind of place you leave already wanting to return, so we’ve reserved a table for breakfast this coming weekend, when fresh cinnamon rolls with butter, granola, panini, and egg dishes are served between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Constanze Hallensleben

Founder Creme Guides