Gorki Park

Emplacement :

Ambiance :

Evenements bizarres :

Social :

Toilettes :

Produits :

I had to meet with a guy interested in doing a workshop together and we racked our brains for a decent cafe mid-way between Kreuzberg, where I live, and Pankow, where he lives. Gorki Park, in my book a smidgen closer to him than to me, was a nice compromise. I arrived a half hour before our official rendez-vous time so I decided to order some food. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the lunch special: 2 courses and a soft drink for only 6 EUR! Excellent. I took a seat at one of the small, bistro-style wooden tables in the first room and settled in. The place has a nice, retro feel to it and stays true to the Russian nature of its namesake. The first room offers a big table at the window and a long bar, unfortunately with no counter seating. I love to sit at the counter and counters are few and far between in this town. When I went to check whether the dude was also there early I discovered two more equally as comfy and well-decorated rooms: a space upstairs for larger groups, and a second storefront room for the smokers. The smoker room was very jovial and loud, reminiscent of a Parisian brasserie. Back at my table I leafed through La Liberation, one of many international newspapers available at the counter. It was even from the same day. There's no news like news I always say. I was served my food and scarfed down the tasty, crunchy and plentiful salad while eavesdropping on the international gang next to me. Were they language students? Or just friends? They were having a good time, laughing and giggling, cracking nerdy language jokes and making international puns. I hope that I give off the same good-natured cosmpolitain impression when I'm out with my friends. My dance buddy arrived and we had a nice, but pretty much standard coffee. Strong and robust, but more long an "elongated" espresso, as they like to serve coffee in Germany. The cookie that came with was pre-packaged but tasty nonetheless. We had a long talk there, seated side by side and watching customers enter and exit. In the first room there was a bit of a draft but I preferred it to the other for our conference. I would have been distracted by all the good mood had I been with the smokers. And sick from all the smoke.