Winter Warmers (3): The Tajik Tea Room

Berlin is in the grip of a Siberian winter, and the sun has not broken through grey clouds in fourteen days. When winter doesn't quite feel like wonderland, it's time to head to the Tajik tea room for some Oriental warmth.


Just off Unter den Linden, behind the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum), is the Palais am Festungsgraben -- an eighteenth-century palace residence built by Frederick the Great for his wife's royal valet.

photo: Peter Groth, 2007

Damaged by the bombing during the Second World War, the building was restored by the Soviet military after 1945. The reproduction of a traditional Central Asian tea room, where men relaxed on cushions and played board games, was originally the contribution of the then-Soviet republics of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan to the 1974 Leipzig Exhibition. The pavilion was later moved to the palace which, at the time of the GDR regime, served as the House of Culture of the Soviet Union.

Head for the first floor up a splendid marble stairway. From the interior architecture of eighteenth-century royal Prussia you step into a room redolent of ancient Persia.

  photo: Johan Tingne

Sixteen carved sandalwood beams decorate the ceiling, and a row of hand-carved columns runs the length of the room. Miniature paintings on the walls depict scenes from traditional folk tales from the mountainous regions of the Silk Road. Cushions are covered in vibrant green, yellow and purple silk, and carpets feel warm under your feet (guests leave their shoes along with coats and bags in the hall outside the room). Seating is on divans, an arrangement of mattresses and cushions around low wooden tables, although you can opt for chairs if you prefer. Once comfortably seated, you can draw a deep breath. While it looks like this outside ...

photo: ddp

... you can snuggle deeper into the cushions and forget about icy S-Bahn stations for a blissful hour or two. No need to hurry -- the tea takes time to brew.

At the Teestube, tea (and there are at least 20 different varieties) is brewed with care. Ceylon tea is served in an earthenware pot and Japanese teas in purist porcelain. You can order scones and clotted cream with English varieties, and if you ask for the Russian tea ceremony, a silver samovar will arrive on a tray with a slew of accompaniments including rum raisins, marmalade, crystallized lemon and orange. Snacks with a Russian/Central Asian theme (pirogi, blini, pelmeni, etc.) round out the menu.

No longer an "insider tip" (alas!), the Tajik tea room is often full, so it is wise to call ahead and reserve seating. During the winter months there are storytelling evenings (from the Arabian Nights and other magical tales) on Tuesdays at 6 pm.

The Tadshikische Teestube is at Am Festungsgraben 1, off Unter den Linden. Public transportation: S1 or S2 to S-Friedrichstr., or U6 to U-Französischestr., or Bus 100 or 200 to the Staatsoper stop on Unter den Linden. 


Open Monday to Friday, 5pm to 12 midnight, and Saturday and Sunday, 3pm to 12 midnight. Call (030) 2041112 for reservations.