mason d.
Yelp
at first glance, Myxa may seem to simply fit the bill for Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain cafés: in a gutted apartment with rough walls? check. mellow lighting? check. Oma's flohmarkt furniture? check. the usual suspects of cakes? (yum and) check. look closer though and you'll see Myxa pulls it off with their own vibe, just the right balance of coziness+style. much of the furniture is handmade, providing a great rustic balance to the accent of the decorative couches+flohmarkt chairs. where some cafés devour available space with secondhand furniture (so you're no longer sure if you're in a café or a trödelmarkt...), Myxa isn't cluttered - instead furniture is clustered to make comfy sitting nooks, but without making the café cramped. add to this high ceilings, big potted plants spilling green from every corner, raw brick walls and a great little bar with exposed storage shelves (and an oddly lovely staircase going nowhere, carrying bottles of red wine) and the result feels somehow more like a country farmhouse than a Neukölln café. (check out the photos: http://aplacecalledmyxa.tumblr.com/pictures)
Myxa's food+drink offerings have equally fun touches - they offer the regular array of espresso drinks, but also Greek coffee and frappé; chocolate and carrot cakes; a nice run of bottled beer (eg Tannenzäpfle, Augustiner) and red+white wines; an array of mixed breakfasts and simple lunches, including quiches, dakos (a bit like a Greek bruschetta) and gemista (filled tomatoes or peppers). add to this fantastic music on the record player (i haven't heard Woodie Guthrie and Jolie Holland in any other café here...), but also occasional live music and other performances, and you have the kind of place that *invites* you to linger. in a section of the city where many places either get the mood *OR* the drinks+eats correct, Myxa's struck on a good balance of both that feels natural, a welcome addition to the great, sleepy-ish strip of bars+cafés+bookstore around Hobrechtstrasse.
