Pic Nic 34 (CLOSED)

Overlooking Kreuzberg’s alternative hangout park of choice Görlitzer Park, this micro Italian café boasts some of the best salumi (cured meats) in town. The affable owner Gianni opened it in response to pleas from the city’s sizable population of Italian creatives for the sandwiches of home. The aesthetic is in keeping with the area’s love of urban art and come summer it’s just the place to perch and watch parklife at play. Focaccia are made to order with interesting cold cuts like coppa (cured pork shoulder) and soppressata (a salami) as well as homemade pesto, aubergine paste and a Sardinian specialty of cream cheese and bottarga (dried mullet roe). Hot lunch classics such as melanzane ala parmigiana (baked aubergine in tomato sauce) and crisp polpette (meatballs) with fresh pasta come into their own in the winter months. The main attraction though are their piadina, an Emilia-Romagna street food favourite, something akin to a folded pizza but grilled on a hotplate. The dough is rolled out thin, stuffed with cheese, hams and a cured vegetable paste like olive or red pepper, then folded in half and grilled until crisp coated and molten inside. Perfect fuel for a stroll around the park.