The Barn

The 2010 original that helped set the template for Berlin's third-wave scene, on a Scheunenviertel street that's since filled in with galleries and boutiques around it — the neighborhood was historically one of Berlin's Jewish quarters before the war, and today mixes that layered history with some of the city's highest-end retail. The Barn has grown to roughly ten locations across the city, with roasting now handled at a separate facility on Voltastraße rather than on-site here since 2020, but this is still the address people mean when they say 'The Barn' without qualification.

Raw oak and a restrained, Scandinavian-leaning palette do most of the talking, a visual language that's since been copied by enough other Berlin cafés that it's easy to forget The Barn got there first. Bagged beans and house equipment are sold both here and through the brand's online shop, which ships across Europe.