Photography by Robbie Lawrence, courtesy of Black Isle Bakery, except where noted.
Recently spotted: a Scottish bakery in an unlikely place—Berlin’s central Mitte district (and just around the corner from Dottír, another Remodelista favorite).
She opened the original Black Isle Bakery, named for the peninsula in the Scottish Highlands where she grew up, as a catering business in London, baking for high-end galleries and clients, before another change of gear brought her to Germany.
Photograph by Christoph Rokitta.
The bright main room of the cafe.
When the team began work, “the general condition of the space was very good, the building had been recently renovated, but we wanted to create a simpler, more gallery-like atmosphere in there,” Barry says.
In keeping with the idea of a gallery space, the team removed the existing faux-wood paneling and dark wood floor and opted instead for a muted gray polyurethane floor and walls in washable white paint.
A statement-making copper bench runs along one wall. The tables and display counters are also made of clean-lined metal, from zinc to brass, all custom-designed by Atheorem and made by metalworker Bernd Euler—Barry’s biggest expense, she says.
Little phrases are written in unexpected places on the cafe walls, in lieu of an About section for the bakery’s website.
The phrases offer a whimsical insight into this mysterious place where I grew up,” Barry says.
The zinc-topped tables are paired with Jasper Morrison’s All Plastic Chairs in white, sourced from Vitra.
The bakery’s advice: “Take a bun or two with tea to refresh the mind. For a hootenanny: a savory and sweet selection from the bakery, one bite each.”
At the back of the dining area is the service area, with custom glass display cabinets for pastries.
A brass-topped counter artfully displays the day’s offerings.
The owner is so helpful, and she has a wonderful selection of glassware.”
A simple self-serve water and coffee station.
An arrangement of berries in a Ruutu vase by Iitala.
The front window of the bakery.
Barry offers whimsical directions, also borrowed from the Black Isle: “Follow the road to the top of the hill, pass the tree house and the gorse bushes bumbling with bees. Keep the honeysuckle to your left.”
Before
The space before renovations.