Café Pförtner

The vibes and the staff were fantastic. Really enjoyed checking out the space and would return again but I wouldn't recommend ordering the vegan option. What I ordered was a veggie bowl and what I received looked like at least three of Jay-Z's 99 problems. It looked like a sacrifice to the many faced god. It looked like it was prepared by an exceptional and highly-ambitious preschooler. Reader, to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. But I have hope, I'll try this place again some other time.

Such a wonderful place. And their lunch menu is delicious.

The management seems a bit chaotic, easily a line at cashier. But at least the person was friendly. The cake was huge. Unsure if that was the normal size or just because I had to wait for a while so I got a big one. There is an old bus where you can dine inside. It is an interesting experience.

The food at Café Pförtner is delicious and always interesting (although certainly quite pricey a lot of the time). The main reason for 4 and not 5 stars is that there is always a long wait for the food - today we waited over an hour for it even though there were not that many others here with us, and it's always been about 30 minutes or so the many other times I've been here. In addition, though ordering two of the same dishes, one even somehow came out significantly before the other.

Fantastic food and service, the restaurant is located in a nice quiet area and the tables are cozy

The vibe and the location are great!! However the food was too oily and tasteless. We took the pulpit tartare and the pear salad. Price is okay, but still not worth it

Lovely and lively casual place. Just for a drink or for a fresh dish from a small but ever changing menu list. Waiting for the summer to sit outdoors in front of what was the doorkeeping house of the bus depot.

A really cool cafe indeed! The staff if very friendly and there is wifi in case you wanna pretend to work! ❤️ Can be a bit cold during winter, but well, we are in Berlin 😅

Found this Cafe on Pinterest, determined to come here while I was staying in Berlin. Absolutely worth it! Instagram worthy for sure.

Are you looking for a different experience? Are you ready to have a beer in a bus? If the answer is yes, please try it out! Why enjoying your beer somewhere else! Very relaxing, very cosy and if you like to smoke inside, there is an extra room for it :)

Unfortunately not anymore what it used to be...SHAME! Portions are smaller now and prices have gone up. The style has changed a bit too unfortunately...overall for me it has lost its charm together with its quality.

On our first night in Berlin, we were looking for a place close by to our apt in Wedding. I didn't exactly know what to expect, but this place was close by and had a good review on Yelp. This place was excellent. I base my relative judgements on my experience eating in the USA at all kinds of places. I would say that the food here is very high level in a place like Los Angeles, and would have been much more expensive there as well. I had a delicious homemade squid ink pasta with perfectly cooked salmon in a light butter/wine sauce. My husband described his pork dish as one of the best things he's ever eaten. He said that there's a way that fat can be perfect, and this was it. We also enjoyed some nice wine and beer on tap. The atmosphere is very boutique and the place itself is an industrial area that feels like it's in the middle of nowhere. There are a few tables in a front room, then one or two around the corner, and more tables in a converted school bus out back. This is where we ate. When we arrived, most of the tables had reserved signs on them and I wasn't sure we'd get a seat. I talked to the nice guy at the counter in terrible German requesting a table. He smiled and gestured at one small table they had in the front, or he said, "You can go in the bus." So we went to the bus. What a cool spot! When we first sat down, there were a few other tables occupied, and it was quiet. Perhaps a little too quiet due to the close proximity of the tables in the bus. However, shortly into a couple drinks, we were comfortable and chatting at a moderate level. A little bit later in the meal, it seemed everyone in the bus was more chatty and the atmosphere was lively, but not too loud. It was just right. The service concept may not be for everyone. You have to order at the counter and then the food comes out. If you want more drinks, or anything else, you have to walk back up to the counter to order more. However, when I went up again, I never had to wait too long. And, the man at the counter has his eye out and is very accommodating. When we were paying our bill, he offered us a shot of grappa on the house and sent us on our way. All told, the food was excellent, the atmosphere is hipstery and cool, and the staff are very nice. I loved this place and will probably go back before we leave Berlin ;)

Yelp had clued me in that this was more of a restaurant than a cafe, but I still went with a friend for coffee. Packed on a Wednesday at lunch time, we made our way through the crowded front to the connecting school bus seating. Yes - school bus. A little chilly, even with the heaters, it was quiet and charming and we really enjoyed our Milchkaffee (2 euro) and caramel walnut cake (3 euro). The cake was a little sweet for my German friend, but was ideal for my American sweet tooth. The menu is very small, but looks well crafted. A Hähnchen keule was 12 euros - a bit steep for lunch in Wedding, but looked really lovely. As I live right around the corner I have been meaning to visit for ages and was happy to finally have the chance. While I doubt I'd go all the time, I need to take the Mann there for a meal sometime and would happily do another Kaffee & Kuchen.

Bad service. My GF and I went there with 30mins to spare for a quick coffee, a sandwich from the cabinet and a small portion of muesli. After waiting 20 minutes we had to remind the waitress that we had ordered food and coffee. We then recieved two very hurried, unapologetic cappucinos which were followed, eventually, by our food. The owner/manager seemed unphased. Consequently, we had no time to enjoy the food and were late to work. It's such a shame that this standard of service is slowly becoming the norm in Berlin. I should have just boiled an egg at home.

Expensive. Be sure to bring your wallet! This otherwise modest-looking café, has a management that fancies itself, fancy. Unfortunately this has the effect of not attracting neighborhood regulars; unless regulars is the pushy client who prevented us from getting the bill settled for about another 7 minutes, by forcing her way in front of us to the counter. Ugly to boot! Setting prices higher to do what they are doing - having a gourmet menu instead of dishes six months ago, while small, were something related to the surroundings - has left a café that no longer has the modest soul. We would have been better-off going to Uferlos nearby. There, the carved wooden tables and interior better match the menu. {Service is reliably decent at either location - no complaints.} 'Café Pforter' is at the site of the security watch-building-part, of the bus repair facility of the public transit company, which it was, prior to being turned-over five years ago to garages holding large-sculpture artists, a bonzai-tree place, and periodic sushi imbiss. The actual employee-cantine is further back, and has a interior similar to it's intended use. So, while the café building and surrounding say 'cheap black coffee', you know the kind grandma made, the prices say 'cash-in her retirement check'. There's a discordant mismatch, like the kind that often goes-on across the street and pretends to be art with a high price. The café is positioned, from a management perspective, to mirror that. If you like shelling-out lots of cash and most importantly, time, for 'nails on a chalkboard' performances across the street, this cafe will suit you well; and yet digest better. The obsenity to the soul that is most of modern art, meets a cafe that promises simple dishes without fuss, while delivering gourmet dishes with commensurate prices, as if the chef just walked out of an advanced culinary school.

Delicious food, OK prices, and quirky location (the bus section) which is nice for kids.

This is a total scam. I came here for a dinner, attracted by the bus outside. The place is nice but the portions are so little that you will be forced to take a second round of the same thing (in my case it was pasta). In the end I paid 22 euro for "two" plates of fettuccine and a bottle of water. Never again.

Very good value lunch deals plus great coffee and high calorie sweet treats. Comfortable and cosy. A place to spend more time rather than grabbing lunch

Went there after a concert by chance, nice location, food was slighty burntish. Food price are okay but drinks completely not, definitely overpriced.