Black Isle in Berlin: A Bakery with the Soul of a Gallery

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Recently spotted: a Scottish bakery in an unlikely place—Berlin’s central Mitte district (and just around the corner from Dottír, another Remodelista favorite). Expat founder Ruth Barry was working in the world of contemporary art—at the Guggenheim in New York City and with a prints publisher in London—when she switched gears and took on an apprenticeship at Du Pain et des Idées, the famous Paris institution, to learn the art of baking. She opened the original Black Isle Bakery, named for the peninsula in the Scottish Highlands where she grew up, as a catering business in London, baking for high-end galleries and clients, before another change of gear brought her to Germany. Barry packed up the bakery and brought it with her, opening the Berlin iteration of Black Isle Bakery to the public in September 2017.

The space—by Berlin-based architecture studio Atheorem and London based OK-RM for the art direction—feels, fittingly, like a gallery: “I live in the street behind the bakery and would often walk my dog past the space,” Barry says. “At the time it was the showroom for an independent fashion designer, but I so often thought it would make a lovely cafe. It’s on the sunny side of the street so the natural light is absolutely beautiful.” Post-renovation, it is a bright and clean-lined space for a morning pastry. Here’s a look inside.

Photography by Robbie Lawrence, courtesy of Black Isle Bakery, except where noted.

the bright main room of the cafe. photograph by christoph rokitta. 17 — Above: The bright main room of the cafe. Photograph by Christoph Rokitta.

when the team began work, &#8\2\20;the general condition of the space was v 18 — Above: When the team began work, “the general condition of the space was very good, the building had been recently renovated, but we wanted to create a simpler, more gallery-like atmosphere in there,” Barry says. “I wanted to create a cafe that felt completely new, like nothing else in the city, somewhere where every detail had been considered and created.”

In keeping with the idea of a gallery space, the team removed the existing faux-wood paneling and dark wood floor and opted instead for a muted gray polyurethane floor and walls in washable white paint. A wall of windows at the front brings in plenty of light.

a statement making copper bench runs along one wall. the tables and display cou 19 — Above: A statement-making copper bench runs along one wall. The tables and display counters are also made of clean-lined metal, from zinc to brass, all custom-designed by Atheorem and made by metalworker Bernd Euler—Barry’s biggest expense, she says.

“Much of Bernd’s production is for contemporary artists, so his attention to detail is next-level,” Barry says. “We are not polishing the surfaces of these metals, instead we are allowing them to patina naturally, rather like constantly evolving drawings.”