Two Trick Pony

Two Trick Pony cooks a brunch with a British hand in a former pub beside the church at Suedstern, including a fry-up with black pudding. Jason Starmer and Gary Young moved from London to Kreuzberg after Brexit, no tables are reserved here at all, and the suppliers of the sourdough and the brioche are named on the menu by name.

An old pub at the eastern end of Bergmannstrasse

Two Trick Pony sits at Bergmannstrasse 52, at the eastern end of the street and right beside the church at Suedstern. The room used to be a pub and is bright and full of light today; outside there are further tables along the street. Immediately next door lie the four historic churchyards on Bergmannstrasse, which form a quiet counterpoint directly against the busy shopping street. The Bergmannkiez all around is marked by restored facades of the founding years and by many small owner-run shops for records, vintage clothing and design, alongside the Marheineke market hall, which opened as early as 1892 and parts of whose original facade survived the Second World War. The area is reached by the stations Suedstern and Mehringdamm as well as the M19 and M41 buses. Jason Starmer and Gary Young opened the place in 2020, after meeting in London and moving to Berlin following Brexit. The name plays on the English expression about a one-trick pony and turns it around.

A fry-up with black pudding and bread with a name

Brunch at Two Trick Pony comes not from a buffet but from a compact menu of eight main dishes and changing specials. The hand is British: the fry-up brings eggs, bacon, black pudding, mushroom, chipotle baked beans and a tomato and onion pickle onto one plate and costs 19 euros, and black pudding can be ordered on the side as well, which is rare in Berlin. Beside it stands a pumpkin shakshuka with green harissa, a goat cheese and sesame cream and pumpkin seed dukkah. The breakfast bun with omelette, cheese, crisp bacon and green chilli mayo comes to 14.50 euros. What stands out is how far the craft reaches into the details, from the fermented chilli oil to the red onion marmalade, and that the suppliers are named on the menu: the sourdough from Keit, the brioche from Albatross, the gluten free bread from Aera Bakery. Almost every dish has a vegan or vegetarian counterpart, the fry-up for instance with halloumi and spinach. No tables are reserved, payment is by card only, dogs are welcome and laptops expressly are not.