– A PORRIDGE CAFÉ COOKING THE SCOTTISH WAY BUT WITH UNIQUE TOPPINGS –

Hamburg – a cold, gray, rainy but nice and cozy city. In the winter our coolest artisan ice cream shops disappear for hibernation. That’s the time to discover future cafés, testing their craft. Last year it was Törnqvist at Luicella’s in St. Pauli. This year it is Bräi, in a friend’s, Joshi’s, ice cream shop. Most inhabitants I know don’t crave porridge breakfasts yet. They think of this child meal as icky and sticky and prefer nutella bread or cold muesli in milk. Still, the three friends Sara, Elisa and Ilona decided to test their passion here – with great success! 

First Grød, next Haferkater, now Bräi! 

I love to make porridge at home, but just as much love to taste how other places flavor, top and serve theirs. In Copenhagen I had tried Grød, in Berlin, Haferkater. My favorite porridge still had come from my own kitchen. But another place, a different atmosphere, a new taste, and no fear – to try again revealed Bräi’s unique porridge combinations!

The Scottish way with unique toppings.

Many cafés turn a porridge breakfast into a dessert, plus they’ll miss my beloved toppings from home. Bräi is the first porridge café that suits all my desires*.

They cook their oatmeal the Scottish way, with water and spices. It is unsweetened but still creamy and flavorful. The consistency and mouthfeel is smooth, but not too icky-sticky or liquid.  Lastly their topping selection combines classics like granola and peanut butter with uniques like pumpkin and feta. You get to choose which toppings you want, but for the indecisive, the three ladies have written their recommendations for each bowl on the menu. Here are my hits so far:

My hits so far:

• goat-cheese pear porridge with walnuts, goji berries and maple syrup
• berry porridge with homemade granola and dark chocolate chunks that slowly melt into the berry compote
• pumpkin-apple porridge with feta, pumpkin seeds, sesame and pumpkin seed oil (that salty sweet combo is to die for)
• carrot-orange porridge with goat cheese, walnuts and christmas cookies (sorry now it’s too late for that ;))

berry compote with granola, dark chocolate, amaranth

homemade apple compote, coconut, amaranth, granola

left: carrot, orange, xmas cookies, feta, walnuts – right: pistachio, fig, tahini, pumpkin

pear glazed in coconut oil, goji berries, goat cheese, maple syrup

I love these salty sweet combos, especially the feta and goat cheese are delectable. And I have not yet tried the fig-pistachio-tahini one, though with the menu changing all the time, there’s probably already lots more tempting sorts by now.

The portions are good and the prices fair.  It’s not my usual brunch, but perfect for a comforting start to a cold wet morning. You’ll pay 4,50€ – 6,50€ for the base and roughly 50¢ for each topping.

Complementing Hamburg’s breakfast scene.

Hamburg was missing a place like Bräi. It is a great addition to the local breakfast scene: Simple porridge and no pretension despite their unique toppings. Down-to-earth and delightful. There is the usual crowd of chatting young dads or mums, but I have also spotted health coaches, random tourists, bloggers and business peeps on their way to work here.

Because who cannot love a well done porridge on a dank morning?

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* except for almond butter 😉

Where? Neuer Kamp 19, Karoviertel/St. Pauli

When? Mo-Fr: 9:30-15:00, Sa-So: 9:30-15:00

Other infos: vegan, lactose-intolerant, suited for kids, no wi-fi