One place I re-visited over and over again during my trip to Berlin was Veganz, this entirely vegan supermarket has two locations and I frequented the super convenient Warschauer Strasse location over and over. Situated in a prime location right by the S and U bahn station of the same name the building not only contains the Veganz store itself but also all vegan cafe Goodies, Mio Matto vegan restaurant and avesu, a vegan shoe store.
Upon entering the door you're drawn towards Veganz fresh produce to your right and Goodies pastries on your left. You can imagine which way I turned most often!
Within walking distance from our hostel Goodies was usually our first stop of the day. They have a wonderful selection of breads, cakes, pastries and sandwiches as well as a refrigerator chock full of salads. I can never resist a croissant and this one was flakey outside and soft inside, whilst it wasn't the best I've ever had it was by no means the worst. It could have been perked up with some jam or margarine but my German doesn't stretch that far!
My buddy Tabitha went for a spicy sweet potato lentil bagel which seemed like an odd combo to me but apparently it was quite delicious. I also grabbed a soba noodle salad (not pictured) from their chiller on the way to the airport. The noodles were smothered in peanut sauce and it was chock full of peas, it was so good that I ate most of it on the train on the way to the airport!
When the weather was clear and dry we took advantage of Goodies plentiful outdoor seating options and enjoyed many, many slices of cake.
This perfect looking chocolate mousse cake with a raspberry topping was my favourite. We found that occasionally the cakes were a little dry so I started choosing by going for the newest looking cake rather than by flavour which is a method that I find works pretty well!
Both Veganz locations are chock full of European vegan products as well as the things I think most of us in the EU are excited by, the US imports! As well as Tofurky roasts, slices, sausages, and pizzas, I spotted both Daiya and Follow Your Heart vegan cheeses, Eat Pastry cookie dough, Dandies marshmallows, Upton's seitan and Coconut Bliss ice cream. Pretty cool right?!
Having been the the US recently and with plans to go back in the not too distant future I skipped most of the US imports, apart from the Dandies, I can never resist a bag of delicious puffy marshmallows, and came home with a bag overflowing with German salami, some of the best sour gummy sweets I've ever eaten, huge bags of vital wheat gluten (so that I can make seitan all the time) and a few bars of my favourite Nirwana Noir praline chocolate.
The second Veganz location up on Schivelbeiner Strasse is stuffed with just as many amazing vegan treats and, in addition to the store, they also have a Goodies cafe. Wonderful. I had a thoroughly enjoyable apple frangipane tart and we both tried a toffee cake which to be honest was not great due to the overwhelming cinnamon flavour.
Back at the Warschauer Strasse location we tried the vegan brunch at the upscale and beautifully decorated Mio Matto restaurant. An all you can eat set up is always going to be a winner in my book and we loved checking out their plentiful buffet before filling up our plates with mock meats, tofu scramble, salads, potatoes and fresh fruits and veggies. There were also plenty of different breads to choose from as well as muesli, yoghurt and little chocolate cakes.
It was one of the best brunches I've ever had in the city, it even rivals my previous favourite brunch from the sadly closed Hans Wurst. I wish that somewhere in Brighton would do a euro-style vegan brunch like this, I'm sure I'd become a regular.
If you're visiting Berlin do not skip Veganz. Honestly, this place is vegan heaven and I am more than a little excited that London will be getting it's very own Veganz in 2014.