Breakfast at Hej Papa

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....Breakfast at Hej Papa .. Gold im Mund bei Hej Papa....

Breakfast at Hej Papa

Fotos: Chiara Cigliutti, Antine Yzer
Text: Leonie Kantratowicz


What can I say, It just doesn’t feel like my ‘to do list’ is getting any shorter these days. Tidy up the closet, clean out the pigeon muck from the balcony, buy a plastic bird to not clean out the pigeon muck from the balcony anymore, repair my bike’s flat tire, replace the flashlight with a proper bike light and finally organize that trip to Canada. To Jack, the bearded-six-packed-man-bunned dream of a lumberjack man and then ride a moose to work instead of a bike. What can I say, I’m lagging behind.

But here is the thing I will certainly cross off the list with a big yellow check mark: breakfast at ‘Hej Papa’.

It’s supposed to be legendary and how often have I peeked through the window trying to get a glimpse of what’s on the plates. It must be fate that we (that is Antine, her boyfriend lja, Chiara and I) stand right in front of the cafè’s big glass wall in Poolstraße and joyfully jingle with our frozen toes.  

Because at ‘Hej Papa’ the rule is: the early bird catches the sandwich - you cannot make reservations, first come first serve. Maybe this is a ‘typically German’ cliché, or maybe people in Hamburg just know how to appreciate the good things in life, anyway,  at 10 o’clock sharp the doors swing wide open and the place is fully packed - immediately. Young and old, lone wolfs, happy families, students and working people, you’ll find almost everyone here, happily sipping their first but surely not last coffee of the day in a stylish scandinavian environment with heavy wooden tables and minimalistic but surprisingly atmospheric light bulbs.   

Choosing from the menu is, even on weekdays,  an easy decision, but when the additional breakfast options pop up on the weekend’s - everything is also available as a vegetarian option - it becomes even more difficult. Since we’re clever customers we simply ordered generously across the entire menu and now - three cappuccini and a chai latte later - sit in front of a breakfast which I’d much rather eat right away than write about.

It is Saturday, therefore we don’t want to miss the opportunity for a breakfast feast (Gedeck) and since Hej Papa’s famous vanilla orange curd with homemade muesli in a small preserving glass is included, we cannot resist the big breakfast option (Großes Gedeck). Whole grain bread and buns, a big plate with different types of cheese and sliced meat, neatly arranged salad, all of it would already be enough to  lift anyone’s breakfast spirits and the fluffy butter croissant with a lovely fruit jam is just more than a dream come true.

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But the icing on the cake have been the scrambled eggs with tomato and cheese which disappeared from the shared plate so quickly that I could barely get hold of a tiny portion for myself. Not to speak of the avocado bread with poached egg, a once and  again-and-again-and-again-and-again-and-again-and-again-in-a-lifetime experience. Soft, tender doesn’t even describe the two eggs which sit in between melted cherry tomatoes and on top of a lovely foundation of avocado and cream cheese. The thick slice of “Sylter Vollkorn” from ‘Gaues’  alone is already worth of an ecstatic dance of joy. My personal favorite sandwich this one. For certain. Everything else is merely plain bread.

The fact that Hej Papa’s team gives great importance to the ingredients’ quality cannot be missed. Fruits from Obsthof Quast, eggs produced by Demeter standard from Hof Wörme, milk from Reitbrook - even the Franzbrötchen are 100% organic and the black gold in your cup of coffee is produced by Hamburg’s Carroux roasters.

Regional, seasonal and probably one of the most charming places in between the Elbe river and the baltic sea. The dark, moody, grey days can come, I’ve found my place to be. :]

By the way: a varying daily lunch menu is also available and behind the glass showcase you’ll encounter some incredible homemade cakes which will not let you leave the place as early as planned. I definitely have to try them. Goes right on my ‘to do list’ ….  

Hej Papa

Poolstraße 32
20355 Hamburg

hej-papa.de

040 66872747


Wait, is there a bee on the roof…?Knusper Knusper Knäuschen, wir knuspern an ‘nem Häuschen

Wait, is there a bee on the roof…?Knusper Knusper Knäuschen, wir knuspern an ‘nem Häuschen

.... In season: savoy cabbage .. IN SEASON: Wirsing ....

In season: savoy cabbage

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