What an awesome little place!! It's a little chaotic because the tables are a little cramped and all of the books can only be viewed by standing in the aisle which is also where people are walking past. But they have a pretty good selection! I went specifically for English books which I think is all they have. There was a German section though if that's what you're looking for. I didn't order any food or coffee so I can't speak on it but we went later in the evening and they still had a few cakes and stuff to choose from. They don't allow laptops on Saturday's (to save space and stop people from staying too long I assume) which is fine in my opinion. I'd definitely go back with a book or a notebook and sip on a coffee for a few hours. read more

Shakespeare & Sons - Cafes Near Me - Berlin, BE

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Bookstores are the new hangouts. If they just had books, many people would not visit them. Now, if you add a cafe to the bookstore, it becomes a communal hangout to eat with books. Berlin has many bookstores, but only one, Shakespeare and Sons, is located on a busy wide Strasse in the former East Berlin. You can see tables on the sidewalk with many uber-cool young people talking away, eating fresh New York bagels and coffee. The interior is dark, brooding, and narrow but comforting. We ordered breakfast bagels with coffee and sat outside with many narratives walking back and forth. The bagels are very well crafted and the shmeers and fresh tomatoes and onions are tasty. The coffees were well made. It was fun to travel there. If you are still hungry, there is a bespoke donut place next door. Highly recommend this place. read more

Books. I get enlightened by the knowledge and words of wisdom that it brings. It's a rarity these days to walk into a bookstore and just peruse the many topics of books, provided. I was in awe when I walked into this bookstore, randomly, that provides coffee, other refreshments and bagels with seating on the side. It's everything one can ask for in a bookstore and cafe shop, combined. One can delve into a book, relate and become more mindful. "When you can't control what's happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what's happening. That's where your power is." ~ Mindset of Greatness read more

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Not allowed to use laptops even if you're just there on your lunch break, WITH purchased food. Like what, am I supposed to converse with the other empty chair? Gaze downward in ashamed silence while I chew my overpriced bagel? (God, they're overpriced.) How is being on your laptop different from hanging out on your phone or reading a whole novel, as some people were doing? Those activities don't exactly necessarily have endpoints, either. Theoretically, I could sit and text there for hours, just not on a device any larger than my palm. I obviously understand the impulse for the restriction--sure you don't want the same 5 people camping out the whole day--but it's currently not enforced in a sensible way that actually keeps that purpose in mind. I'd rather order from my Kiezbuchhandlung anyway; I just stop in sometimes because it's convenient for a quick meal. The literary fiction/poetry selections aren't super great. Seems to be more a broad sweep of bestsellers from the past decade than new releases--which is fine if that's what you're looking for. This isn't the forum to discuss Rupi Kaur™ in full per se, but just for illustrative purposes, a representative sample of the poetry section'll have like, multiple copies of her books, a couple August Kleinzahler books, and one Terrance Hayes collection. I'd recommend spending your money at Lesen & Lesen Lassen instead, about 5 minutes away (tiny English selection but you can order per email, and a fantastic German selection--and then pop into mu or Milch & Zucker if you wanna hang out in a café). Or, if you don't need to be in Tiny Hat Hipster Central Friedrichshain (does anyone ever really want to be in Friedrichshain), here are other bookstores I love: - Marga Schoeller in Wilmersdorf is my absolute favorite - Uslar & Rai in Prenzlauerberg is like 25 minutes away by tram - St. Georges, also in Prenzlauerberg, is a brilliant used book store - BuchHafen in Neukölln is lovely Also, some of their management's responses to other reviews (mine* and others, on Google Maps--there's one where a guy says the waits are long and they respond "Oh no, poor thing!") are like, wildly unprofessional and reflects both poor- and truly on its absolute contempt for customers. * The "laptop-friendly zones" (not ZONED, mind you, just marked with a little square of paper that I genuinely didn't see because there was a dirty coffee cup on it) were full but there were plenty of other tables free. Even if we were just playing Cooking Mama, the distribution economics couldn't be any clearer lmao read more

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Delicious bagels and sandwiches! Just a bagel is ~$1.50 and then with cream cheese is about $4! They have a ton of bagel options and also pastries. Highly recommend! They take credit for orders over 5 euro read more

Shakespeare & Sons - Cafes Near Me - Berlin, BE

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Awful Wi-Fi. Don't go here if you actually expect to get some work done. You're better off tethering a 2G connection. It's really bad. Tried moving closer to the router near the counter, and that was fine for 30 minutes. After that, the connection ranked and never recovered. I asked if the chai latte had sugar in it, they said no. It must be pre-added to the mix that they use because it was sweet as hell. I don't recommend this place for laptop work if you need the internet, unless you just want to sit and read the cool selection of English books that they have. read more

I just want to sit there on a chair next to their huge french windows and just read all day! Beautiful beautiful place, friendly atmosphere! read more

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This cafe is so beautiful! It is very big so there's a lot of room for people to read or do some work. They have a pretty great selection of food -- including bagels!!! Finding bagels in Berlin isn't the easiest thing but this place is pretty good. The bagels aren't as dense as NYC bagels so they're not as filling. However, the price reflects that. You can get a cream cheese with lox bagel for 4,70! That is quite cheap! My friends got a rye bagel with goat cheese, cream cheese and honey. I didn't try it but it looked amazing. I haven't tried anything else but supposedly the desserts are awesome, as well. read more

Shakespeare & Sons - 4,70 - cream cheese and lox - Cafes Near Me - Berlin, BE

The service is rude and slower than molasses, but the bagels are the best I've had in my life.

Great place to grab a bite to eat and relax... only thing is you might want to bring something to carry books in because you will probably be tempted to buy a few of them. Juices are great and so are the bagels, personally I recommend "The Onion" cream cheese with red onion chutney. For my visit the staff was friendly and Australian so their English is impeccable however for locals this might be off putting but for tourists it might be a positive thing. read more

Shakespeare & Sons - Cafes Near Me - Berlin, BE

Pleasant atmosphere: a bagel coffee in. Book store. You can get meaty, vegetarian and vegan bagels, sandwiches and sweet pastries. On the drinks front there are teas, coffees, bottled drinks and detox juice (heavy ginger). We got 3 drinks, 3 pastries and 2 bagels and it was 29€ You can get one of the ready bagels, or make variations to existing ones. Tasty food, nice music, good books and great look on the street for people watching read more

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As a bookstore it has limited book choices; as a cafe it provides terribly weak wifi, does not allow laptop use in store, and has cold service attitude. Worst of all, my wallet was stolen inside the store when a seemingly vagabond approached my table to ask for money to buy her food. Of course I do not blame the store for the theft as I should have been on alert myself, but when I later turned to the bookstore for help both physically and over email, it either told me the manager is not in or never replies. Not a safe place to visit, nor a responsive/responsible store that cares about its customers. read more

Stumbled across this place today and loved it. The chocolate chip cookie is a meal in itself and absolutely brilliant, soft and melty. The fresh mint tea is lovely. It was quite busy being a Sunday and I shared my table with many other couples and small groups who could not find other seating, so perhaps be prepared to order take away on weekends! If coming here to work on Saturday's and Sunday's, they also turn their wifi off between 11am and 4pm which was a little inconvenient. Otherwise a great experience and I will definitely be back for the bagels. read more

It was love at first sight. And a love that just gets deeper. Yes, it's pricey; yes, it's always packed... Eh, I mean. Those bagels, that coffee and the most insane chocolate cookie I've ever tried make it completely worth it. Plus it's a reading paradise. Really, what else? read more

Best bagels in town and the coffee is great aswell. I like the book selection as it's not too big. The roastbeef sandwich is a bit dry, but the bagels have this perfect consistence that it's not a big deal. Sometimes i take plain bagels to go for a super fair price. And smear them at home. But the staff seems quite confused about their own system at times and also not all of the staff is particularly friendly. The first time for ex. i walked at the counter the menu confused me plus the staff was not really helpfull. Now they have a new menu so i guess that is improving. read more

We saw a documentary about this place on TV and decided to try it out for a family Sunday brunch. Since we lived in NJ for many years we were looking forward to some real good bagels again. I loved the bagel and the many toppings they offer. My husband insists that the Jersey Bagels are better since they are softer. Since I always toast my bagels I loved the fact that they were a little crusty from the start. The staff was friendly. The seating is limited. The stream of people coming in never ended. The book selection is good and most of all it is English . The atmosphere could be a bit more cosy for my taste. But overall a great place to try out and keep in mind when you are in the area. read more

Shakespeare & Sons - Sunday brunch at Shakespears & Son ... deliciously fresh bagels and good coffee - Cafes Near Me - Berlin, BE

Extremely rude service, low quality of products. I ordered a bagel and two cappuccinos for take away. One of the serving girls rolled up her eyes when taking my order, the other literally thrown the packed bagel at me without even looking in my direction ... The bagel turned out to be half empty, coffees half cold ... In case you wonder - my behaviour was far from annoying, I just simply placed the order. read more

Delicious bagels and a fantastic selection of English books: what's not to love? I've picked up a few interesting non-fiction books about Berlin here, such as Stasiland (which was very interesting as I used to live on Normannenstraße and could see the old HQ from my front door) as well as a few fiction novels by the likes of Hans Fallada, now one of my favourite authors. I even picked up a cookery book by Ottolenghi, which has been a great help while navigating Neukolln's Turkish supermarkets. All in all its a great wee bookshop, and the bagels are SERIOUSLY good. read more

The cake was good, the tea was good, the wifi worked perfect, the place is cozy.. But please. This music. Even the employees are skipping the songs! (I completely understand them: all your 'indie' 'favs' from the 2000s..) read more

Really slow service. Everything is in English which is weird if you're a business in Berlin. It's so "cool" it's just cold. Way over priced.

We're sad to have to write a bad review, as we had heard good things about this cafe. Firstly, the bagels were wayy overpriced, quite a mess to look at and served with no napkins etc. The table we found was dirty and covered in spillages etc. After spending 15 euros on two drinks and two bagels, we were expecting to be allowed to sit in the cafe for at least half an hour to chat and read. However, we were quickly, and rudely, told to leave because there were people waiting to sit. Word of advice - look after the customers you have instead of trying to turn us over like a profitable production line read more

This is a really nice cafe cum bookstore where you get a free cup of coffee if you buy a book that's worth more than a certain amount (20€, I believe). But I have to give them 2 Stars only because if you are gluten intolerant or celiac, then you have to starve -- there's nothing here that you can eat. They have vegan and dairy options too, just not gluten free options. I've asked them if they have anything gluten-free, twice, but their staff simply shrug and say "no." So, as nice as the cafe is, if you are looking for something gluten free, go to Goodies or Silo Coffee. At least you won't starve. read more

The bagels are wonderful. I come here sometimes to write. You've got free wifi and the vibe is not too quiet and not too loud. The light is wonderful. read more

Just wanted to write an update, because the bathroom is no longer vomit inducing! They've cleaned it up - Yay!

Best bagels in Berlin. Like going into a New York deli. Get there early to avoid long lines on the weekend.

Wonderful, warm and friendly bookstore with a great selection and the chewy, authentic bagels on the cafe side of the shop to nibble or take home. It was a pleasure discovering this shop. read more

Cozy atmosphere, lots of light and tons of books to peruse. The chocolate chip cookies are amazing.

Staff extremely rude. I go there everyday. Just bought 35 euros worth of books and multiple coffees in a day. Still, all staff look you in the eyes to see when you are going to leave the damn place so they can get more customers. Also despite all the purchase I made, when I got half a sandwich out of my back while working on my laptop, one of the employees warned me in a very rude and condescending manner, in a high pitch voice so that other customers can also go, and did not let the whole thing go. I will never go there again. read more