Discover Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung's favorite places in Berlin

Curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung introduces us to his favorite Berlin hangouts

RISKY LOUNGE: This is another Nigerian restaurant, one which only opened last year. It has an exciting set-up: the lounge is not just for eating, there are also concerts, poetry readings, etc. The owner is a good cook himself, but he’s also a hairdresser and runs a barbershop in Flughafenstraße—which I also recommend highly.

Boddinstraße 10, Neukölln

MIMOSA: This small restaurant is run by a French woman who is highly passionate and offers delicious food. The wine is also terrific! Mimosa has the best Côtes du Rhône I know.

Richardstraße 103, Neukölln

SAVVY CONTEMPORARY: As the co-founder, I’m not entirely unbiased, but SAVVY is simply a fantastic cultural space. People from around the world come to SAVVY for our exhibitions, films, music, and wonderful decolonizing program, which is currently featuring an exhibition by Jean-Ulrick Désert. Renan Laru-an started as artistic director this January and organizes very exciting projects.

Reinickendorfer Straße 17, Wedding, savvy-contemporary.com

DIE GUTE SEITE: This is a fantastic bookshop with many feminist books, works by African and Asian authors, and queer literature, as well as an excellent children’s
book section. I buy most of my poetry volumes here.

Richardplatz 16, Neukölln, dieguteseiteberlin.de

EBE ANO: I love Nigerian soul food! The restaurant’s name, Ebe Ano, is Igbo and means “the place to meet” or “where it’s happening.” Indeed this place feels like Nigeria’s hidden, true embassy. People come together and feel at home, eating and drinking. It’s a safe space. My favorite foods include egusi, a soup with ground melon seeds, with mashed yam. Or an ogbono beef stew. Or, or, or…

Bamberger Straße 49, Schöneberg, ebe-ano.de

SINEMA TRANSTOPIA: More than just a cinema, this is also a space for highly innovative discussions on film practices. They have a fantastic program of filmmakers from around the world with a connection to Germany, as well as discussions and readings.

Lindower Straße 20/22, Wedding, sinematranstopia.com/de

HÖHN MUSIC: A shout-out to this little record shop! The sign outside just reads “music,” and the owner is a very calm, knowledgeable person. I’m often the only customer and he’s always glad to see me. I buy mostly Polish and Czech jazz here.

Wiener Straße 32, Kreuzberg

COMENIUS-GARTEN: This garden is in a unique part of the city called Böhmisches Dorf. This neighborhood was created in 1737 as a belated result of the Thirty Years’ War, when King Friedrich Wilhelm invited Bohemian refugees to settle here. My children were born here, and they spent a lot of time in Comenius-Garten in their early years. Even today, it’s managed by Henning Vierck with a great deal of expertise and love. The garden is a scientifically accurate reconstruction of the work of Johann Amos Comenius. The many plants, perennials, trees, and the small pond make it a wonderful oasis.

Richardstraße 35, Neukölln