Cafe Bäckerei — Restaurant in Berlin

First place we stopped at in Berlin for a meal. We walked in and asked for a table for 2. Were told to just go anywhere. So we did, helped ourselves to menus. After nobody seemed to come take our order, we went up and were faced with a full buffet style spread and only 4 prices shown with German writing. We asked "how does this work?" She replied with " you pick something and I get it". I then needed to break down for her that I wanted to know the prices of everything and how much of everything you get etc so as to not over/under order or pay exorbitant amounts for something I could get cheaper elsewhere. We settled for lasagne with salad... went to pay and were then told no card. So after a bored attitude from staff and a confusing ordeal with absolutely no help, we pretended we were going to an ATM and we'd be right back. We went up the road and got better service elsewhere. To the establishment: you have an unorthodox way for ordering food etc. So make that a bit more obvious or at least try to help people understand it if they ask. You're near the zoo, you must get more...

Avoid this place! Not only is the food and coffee mediocre, but they don’t accept card payments, and if they get a chance, they’ll try to overcharge you. The woman serving us, who gave us a disdainful look and spoke neither English nor even German well, charged me €8.30. I handed her a €10 bill, and she asked if I had 30 cents. I took out some coins—two 50-cent pieces along with other change. She took it all and gave me back just €2, effectively pocketing a €1 tip without my consent. I didn’t say anything at the time, it actually took me few minutes to fully understand what happened, but on leaving, I let her know that she’d managed to scam us and was welcome to keep her 'tip.' She then tried to make it up and wanted to give us the euro back... I just refused because it’s not about the amount taken—it’s only a euro—but rather the act itself, the contempt, disdain, and sheer indifference with which some people treat you in this city. Based on my experience, this sort of thing happens frequently in Berlin and across Germany, especially to tourists. Truly...

Mediocre at best. We went based on reviews, I can only presume it's changed hands recently. The menu was in German and English, ideal for us speaking limited German. We chose what we wanted and I went to order... then the problems started, 2 out of 3 breakfast choices were met with "nein" and then lots of words i didn't understand, absolutely my problem for not being fluent but I was pointed towards pre- made rolls when I wanted cheese and salad plate, after some back and fourth and a queue building in the meantime, I was forced into making a snap decision of egg on bread, it tasted as it had stood for a few hours, in addition coffee was bitter, floor was unswept and windows were grubby. Needless to say we will find somewhere else for the...