Last week I had a pleasure of trying a brand new restaurant in Berlin, one of a kind: Frea, the first vegan and zero waste restaurant of the country and maybe even the world.
I went there without any idea of what to expect with my friend Pauline who’s behind the blog Lovely Veggie. We were more than happy to find ourselves in a warm and welcoming decor, minimalist and with a Scandinavian flavour. Lots of wood, plants and large windows.
The perfect place for bloggers, instagrammers, vloggers and other -ers that we are. But a beautiful decor isn’t everything, isn’t it. The food also has to be good, which with all due respect isn’t always the case in Germany. And btw please note that this post isn’t sponsored! We paid for our food.
The answer is a resounding yes. While we were expecting superfood bowls or something similar, we were instead presented with a minimalist menu featuring seasonal ingredients. A delicious fresh market cuisine reminiscent of French bistros.
The concept
David the young owner proudly explained that absolutely everything is made in their open kitchen with ingredients as local as possible, for instance fresh pasta and sourdough bread made with flour from Bavaria. They also make their own kefir and kombucha, to the pleasure of our tastebuds and microbiomes.
And everything is delivered to them without plastic, in compostable cardboard or paper packaging. They even have a fascinating machine that turns all leftovers, the packaging and other things into compost in only 24 hours!
They even make their own hazelnut milk that they serve in GORGEOUS ceramics. If I were dishonest I totally would have stashed the whole coffee set in my bag haha >.< To learn how to make your own hazelnut milk, it’s over here: homemade hazelnut milk.
The food
And now to business, the food! We shared a salad with wild herbs accompanied by delicious sourdough and sauerkraut (which btw literally means sour cabbage :)
For the main, Pauline straight away chose the potato terrine served with mushrooms. I had a harder time choosing between the pumpkin pasta and the lentil stew. I finally settled on the latter and was more than happy with my dish; everything was perfectly seasoned and cooked.
The portions are pretty generous for a small appetite like mine and, after the salad and lentils, I was quite full. But David came and offered us dessert on the house. And who can resist dessert? I know I can’t. After a photoshoot of our pretty table, which was great for stirring up our appetite, we enjoyed a carrot cake and an apple turnover, which surprisingly was made with a yeasted ciabatta-style dough instead of a puff pastry.
The verdict
Frea, a restaurant to try in 2019? Absolutely! When we know how polluting and wasteful the restaurant industry is, a vegan and zero waste concept is very meaningful. Especially when the food is on point and the prices are reasonable.
Do you know any similar concepts in your corner of the world? I’m curious!
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I love zero-waste restaurants! I think they are incredibly clever and definitely needed since our environment is suffering tremendously from humans. Everything that you ate looks fabulous! Definitely looking up this restaurant the next time I’m in Germany.
Yes! I’m so happy this post resonated with you Martha :) Definitely give Frea a try the next time you’re in Berlin!
Wow, a zaero-waste restaurant- sounds so visionary. I would visit for that reason alone- it’s a cause I would definitely support. The food looks pretty good as well :)
Thank you Daniel! I’m happy to see that more and more people are interested in sustainable living :)
The whole concept and idea behind Frea is amazing, and the food looks delicious! We have a similar zero waste type restaurant in bristol, UK, but I don’t think it’s completely vegan. It definitely offers vegan options, but I’m pretty sure there’s still dairy and egg on the menu. I also would have chosen the lentil stew!
I read about that restaurant! Exactly they are not fully vegan unfortunately, but I love that they are still offering more sustainable options. And the lentil stew is a great pick! :)
Your review has convinced me to definitely try out Frea when in Berlin. Food looks so wholesome, healthy and yum!! Checked out Pauline’s channel and it is a total testament to what you have written here. So glad they have enabled a delivery system to turn all the waste to compost!! :D We need more restaurants like this!
That’s such a lovely review. Nice pictures and that really made me hungry. I like your freestyle kinda writing.
I am definitely trying Great whenever I am in Germany. Kudos!
aaaw thank you so much! I’m happy it resonated with you :)
This is such a great concept. I am so happy that restaurants are now banning plastic and have a zero waste policy. The food looks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comment! I’ve noticed that some restaurants have been using paper straws as well, which isn’t a big step but is encouraging!
What a cool way to run a restaurant. I’d be super excited to try some of those dishes. They looked great!
You should definitely try it if you’re ever in Berlin!
I love this whole concept! And, everything looks so delicious. It might even convince me to take a break from meat. I’d totally steal that pottery too.
The food is very nice, you wouldn’t even notice that there’s no meat :)
And I’m happy to know that I’m not the only one with thief instincts! haha
Love how the good the crockery we’ve made for FREA Berlin is looking especially with the food by the amazing Culinary genius Halfdan
Check out our Instagram – Potters Thumb where we work closely with zerowaste establishments such as FREA and with Silo here in Brighton UK with whom we are partnered making amazing things out of the crushed wine bottles that are consumed within the restaurant ????
Thank you Mark! We were absolutely raving over the beautiful coffee set!
And reusing wine bottles is such a good idea!