Cafe Gnosa

Oh, back in the days when there was no such thing as a smoothie, when “vegetarian” was a foreign word, and cake always had to be served with whipped cream!

At Café Gnosa, a gay-lesbian café in the district of St. Georg, time has come to a standstill. Since the 1950s, the cakes here have always been opulent. And even if the zeitgeist has changed: at Gnosa, you can continue to indulge. How about a pear-cream gateau? The display case with the wonderful cakes and pastries lets you forget a fearful look at the scales: Lübecker nut cake and rhubarb strudel invite you to feast as though there were no tomorrow.

The coffee is served in true style from pots – the way it ought to be. No Latte macchiatos in the face of classic specialities such as the Pharisäer (coffee, rum, cream), Caffè corretto (with grappa) or a chocolate and rum (with whipped cream). Apropos rum: the home-made rum balls are a must-try, as are the nut pastries and almond crescents.

The Gnosa is a popular meeting point, not just for coffee. You’d actually like to spend the whole day in the stylish retro-chic café. In the mornings, a sparkling wine breakfast for two (€ 29.90) will get rid of the last of your tiredness, a knuckle of pork from the set lunch menu (€ 10.90) will ensure enough digestive effort for a nap in one of the cosy armchairs in the back room. And then things get into gear: the kitchen, which transports the meals to the counter in the guest room via a dumb waiter in the cellar, is usually open until midnight, on Fridays even until one in the morning.

No question: It never gets boring at Café Gnosa, neither in culinary nor in any other regard. The tables are set close to one another, not only are the service staff friendly, the guests are too, making it easy to get into conversation. You’re never alone, which is why it can be a good idea to make a reservation beforehand.