Zum Schusterjungen

Corner establishment on Danziger Straße at the edge of the Helmholtz Kiez

The address is on the corner of Lychener Straße, and the street itself tells a piece of city history: From 1822 it was called Communicationsweg, from 1874 after the city of Danzig, then from 1875 Elbinger Straße, from 1950 Dimitroffstraße, and only since 1995 has it borne its current name again. Zum Schusterjungen thus stands at an address that has been renamed four times within two hundred years. All around, the Helmholtz Kiez begins, bordered by the Ringbahn, Prenzlauer Allee, Danziger Straße, and Schönhauser Allee, and named after the square in its center, which everyone just calls Helmi. Lychener, Schliemann, and Dunckerstraße have given the quarter the nickname “LSD Quarter”. Predominantly renovated Gründerzeit buildings, cobblestones, and street trees characterize the area, along with the listed Pappelallee cemetery park, the Gethsemane Church, and the Göhrener Ei building ensemble. Eberswalder Straße station is about a minute’s walk away, and bars, vegan snack bars, and fashion boutiques have settled all around. In recent decades, the Kiez has transformed from a trendy district to a family-friendly one, and the establishment on the corner is one of the few places where old Prenzlauer Berg is still visible.

Traditional Home Cooking since the 1920s and the Namesake Roll

Behind the brown-painted facade with often fogged-up windows lies a room that looks like a cozy parlor: bare wooden tables, candlelight, old paintings, stained-glass windows, and patina on the walls. The pub has existed since the 1920s, called successively Klöckner Eck, Zur Klause, and finally Zum Schusterjungen; in the GDR, it was a workers’ pub with Soljanka, meatballs (Bouletten), and mustard egg, today it is privately run and the menu is available in five languages. The name is apt, as a “Schusterjunge” in Berlin is a rye-wheat roll. Accordingly, one of the house specialties is “Zwei Schusterjungs” (Two Shoemaker’s Boys), served with Harz cheese, smoked ham, lard, and gherkin for 9.50 Euros. Alongside this is the full range of traditional home cooking: Eisbein (pork hock) with sauerkraut and pea puree for 14.50 Euros, Berlin-style calf’s liver with onions and apple rings, Sauerbraten (pot roast) and beef roulade with red cabbage and dumplings, Caper Meatballs (Kapern-Klopse), Berlin Meatball (Berliner Boulette), and as an East German classic, baked “Würzfleisch” (spiced meat ragout). For those without meat, there’s a separate section with jacket potatoes and herb quark, mustard eggs on mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach with fried eggs. The Berliner Weiße (a local beer) is mixed in-house.