Wintergarten Café im Literaturhaus

Description:

• Set within a Tuscan-style brick villa that was built in 1885, 1 block south of the Ku'Damm, a few steps from the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum, this cafe is part of a private foundation that's devoted to the promotion -- through lectures and research -- of German literature. In addition to a prestigious and respectable bookshop that fills the building's basement, it contains lecture halls, offices that have links to Germany's academic community, and exhibition space for temporary exhibitions that cost from 3€ to 5€ ($4.80-$8). The best way to unlock the secrets of this place is to head for the cafe and restaurant, with tables that fill two old-fashioned Berliner-style rooms and spill into a much sought-after garden during clement weather. If you're hungry, the cheerful, old-Berliner-style staff will serve platters of noodles with cheese, rigatoni with beef strips, Argentine steaks with herbs and parsleyed potatoes, and cucumber and tuna salads. It's open daily 9:30am to 1am.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010