KaDeWe Berlin Food Hall
KaDeWe (prounouced as Kah-Dey-Vey) is the largest department store in Continental Europe. Short for Kaufhaus des Westens (the “Department Store of the West”), it is more than 60,000 square meters and attracts about 50,000 visitors every day.
But I don’t really care about shopping. The sole reason I am here? The gourmet food hall. The 6th and 7th floors are entirely devoted to food: sausages of every kind (from blood to brat), organ meats, fish, chocolate, pastries, produce, dried fruits, nuts, jams and jellies, salads, wine, champagne, cheese, bread and various ethnic foods.
The only thing missing? Free samples. Damn.
There are around 110 cooks and 40 bakers and confectioners supplying more than 30 gourmet counters. The top floor (added in the early 1990s) has a winter garden with a 1000-seat restaurant surrounded by an all-windowed wall offering a view over the Wittenbergplatz below. It reminded me of the some of the gourmet food halls in department stores in Japan or now Eataly in the U.S.
Here’s what I saw:
Disclosure: During my time in Germany I was a guest of Visit Berlin and the Eurail Group. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.
Mary @ Green Global Travel
YUM! Definitely wish there were some free samples for you 😉
Elaine
I was exposed to these mass food halls for the first time in Korea … I’ll have to check this out when I get to Germany!