Wiener schnitzel aside, Berlin is a hot destination. Designer Yoske Nishiumi takes Theme on an extensive tour of his adopted city.
Yoske Nishiumi Bio
Occupation: Designer & event organizer. Founder of Koi Klub, a monthly club night in Berlin for creative people, which lead to the publication of koi mag. Collaborated with Onitsuka Tiger on a highly coveted, limited edition line of sneakers. The latest one is called Big Koi and will be coming out in November. Please check it out.
How long you’ve lived in your city:
I was traveling through Asia and flew over to Germany from Nepal in 2000. I have been living here since then.
Eat & Drink
Favorite high-end restaurant:
Japanese: Udagawa, Steglitz Feuerbachstraße 24, (030) 792 2373. According to yakuza [Japanese mafia] I met on the train while traveling from Prague to Berlin, this is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Europe. I don’t know if it’s the best in Europe, but it’s the best in Berlin for sure.
Chinese: Ming Dynastie, Brückenstraße 6, (030) 3087 5680. Its location, right in front of the Chinese embassy, already explains why this restaurant offers the most authentic and best Chinese food in town.
Italian: Sale e Tabacchi, Kochstraße 18, (030) 252 1155. This restaurant is popular not only for its nice pasta, but because the rooms have great, high ceilings.
German: Café Schönbrunn, In Friedrichshain Park, (030) 4679 3893. The location is in the beautiful Friedrichshain Park. I am sure having a wiener schnitzel while sitting on the terrace will make you smile.
Best deal restaurant:
Definitely the Japanese restaurant Sasaya, Lychenerstraße 50, (030) 4471 7721. Best to order the tagesmenü [today’s specials]. Service is friendly and casual. A reservation is strongly recommended.
Best street food:
Konnopke’s Imbiss, at U2 Eberswalderstraße, beneath the station. Konnopke has been perfecting the art of the curry wurst since 1930.
Favorite cafe:
Cafe Bravo in the courtyard of the Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Auguststraße 69. If it’s art you are after, Kunst-Werke is the first place to go in
Berlin. There’s a slide from the window out into the courtyard. The cafe is in the courtyard.
Best place to work on laptop with free Wi-Fi:
Cafe St. Oberholz, Rosenthalerstraße 72, (030) 2408 5586.
Favorite bar:
Munz Club on Munzstraße. It’s a members-only bar that’s only open on the weekends. Has a beautiful cigar room with a nice fireplace. The best place to go in wintertime. You need to know someone to get in.
Read
Best bookstore:
Pro qm, Almstadtstraße 48-50, Mitte, (030) 2472 8520. The owner is very friendly and helpful.
Best magazine stand:
Kiosk Cafe on Chausseestraße. You can enjoy simple, but nice pasta and a wide selection of magazines at the same time. It can be a bit hectic at lunchtime because of IT offices in the area.
Shop
Best boutique:
Starstyling, Mulackstraße 4, (030) 9700 5182. Weird, yet cool. Wide selection of original Starstyling T-shirts and sweatshirts. Ask them to show you the workspace behind the shop. It’s more interesting than the shop itself.
Best Shop, Alte Schönhauserstraße 6, (030) 2463 2485. This is the only shop in Berlin that sells my girlfriend’s label, Reality Studio. Also stocks Surface to Air and the Belgian label Own. One of the best places to collect flyers for Berlin clubs.
WoodWood, Rochstraße 4, (030) 2809 9039. WoodWood is the only store in Europe that mixes Polo Ralph Lauren with Comme des Garçons or Danish designer Henrik Vibskov.
Apartment Cash, Memhardstraße 8, (030) 2804 2253. The off-season store for famous boutique Apartment. You can find designer vintage as well as Apartment’s off-season stock. I bought Dries Van Noten shoes from 2003 for just €50!
Firmament, Schröderstraße 8. Look for Original Fake and Visvim.
Solebox, Nürnbergerstraße 16, (030) 9120 6690. Limited edition sneakers. Solebox sells five styles from the Onitsuka Tiger Fabre Koi Klub sneaker line, which I designed.
Stue, Torstraße 70 in Mitte, (030) 2472 7650. The place to find Danish furniture and all kinds of nice household goods.
Oona, Auguststraße 26 in Mitte, (030) 2804 5905. It’s the only place where you can see jewelry from Bless and Jiro Kamata, a young Japanese jewelry designer. I like this minimal space very much.
Sightsee
Favorite art space/gallery/museum:
Kunst-Werke, Auguststraße 69. Mentioned in “favorite cafe.”
Favorite outdoor space:
The Soviet Cenotaph in Treptower Park. One of Berlin’s most monumental, but largely unknown, sights. Built by the Soviet army to commemorate the fallen Russian soldiers of the Second World War.
Best touristy thing to do:
Go up to the restaurant at the top of the TV Tower in Alexanderplatz. You can see the whole of Berlin, as the restaurant rotates once every thirty minutes. The food is also not so bad.
A thing only a local does or knows about:
Credit cards are not accepted at most places. Most shops close at 8 p.m. Renting an apartment in Berlin is cheaper than other cities in Germany.
The must-see thing in your city:
Holocaust Memorial next to Brandenburg Gate. It’s a place to wander around and get lost, physically as well as with your thoughts.
Berghain, a club in Berlin.
How would you spend a day off in your city?
Summer: Go to one of the lakes, either by car or train.
Winter: Stay at home and go to bars or clubs at night.
Issue 24 Apprentices
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