Berlin's historic Mokka Milch ice cream bar reopens after two-week technical pause
The successor to the East Berlin cult café Mokka-Milch-Eisbar reopens its doors on Friday, just weeks after a short-lived launch that drew hundreds of visitors.
Brief closure follows grand reopening
After a nearly two-week shutdown, the "Mokka Milch" bar on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin-Mitte will welcome guests again this Friday. The venue, a successor to the iconic Mokka-Milch-Eisbar, had originally reopened in late May and attracted hundreds of people, including singer Thomas Natschinski, whose 1969 hit "In der Mokka-Milch-Eisbar" immortalised the spot. But only days later it closed again, with the operators citing technical glitches and the need to refine internal workflows.
We are very happy.
Historic East German landmark
The original café opened in the early 1960s as part of the second construction phase of Karl-Marx-Allee, known for its large glass windows and yellow tiled façade. It became a popular meeting point for East Berlin youth in the 1980s, especially with its attached discotheque. After the Wall fell, the business shut down and later housed a restaurant and nightclub until 2019. Before the relaunch, the heritage-listed pavilion was renovated under monument protection rules, with work on the façade, gallery railings and ventilation.
One can see that a lot has been achieved here.
Future plans and collaborations
Beyond coffee, ice cream and meals, Natacha and Alexander Neumann plan to host Pilates classes and painting evenings. An upstairs co-working space with meeting rooms is also in the works. The operators say they are in talks with the neighbouring Kino International, which reopened earlier this year after an 18-month renovation, about possible joint events.
