Customers at Augustenstrasse 106 once got wanderlust – today they can temper their longing a little: Where previously only travel was sold, Café Tillu now offers a short vacation in Ethiopia, at least in terms of cuisine. Even through the large shop windows of the small café in Maxvorstadt, guests can see walls on which works of art from Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana and West Africa hang.
In the middle of it all, owner Meseret Moges stands behind a display case full of homemade carrot cake, blueberry muffins and pomegranate and spinach dumplings called “Sambusa”.
Meseret Moges offers Ethiopian and German breakfast classics.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
Moges also serves homemade breakfast at affordable prices. It ranges from Ethiopian “Spicy Kaiserschmarrn” to German and international classics.
There is a sign in front of the door that says “Travel Agency and Café”. Until the beginning of the year, there was actually a travel agency behind the large windows near Josephsplatz. But the pandemic and online bookings have made owner Moges rethink. She still arranges trips upon request, but since May Moges has been in the kitchen every day, cooking and selling coffee. She now transports her guests to other countries mostly on a gastronomic basis.
Meseret Moges herself comes from Ethiopia, “from the coffee country,” as she says. That’s why the coffee she prepares here naturally comes from there. She commissions the roasting herself and sells her own label “Tillu” in the café. Anyone interested can experience how coffee is celebrated in Ethiopia at a coffee ceremony.
Celebrate coffee: The ceremony is an experience for all the senses.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
This includes the scent of incense.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
The freshly prepared drink is tasted in three courses, accompanied by salty popcorn and incense is lit at the table. Guests can book the ceremony at the café a few days in advance.
What is there and how much does it cost?
As an Ethiopian breakfast, which is offered on a table at the counter, Moges serves “Checebsa”, a kind of “Spicy Kaiserschmarrn” (6.90 euros). The dish is made with teff flour, a millet flour that is considered a superfood in Europe. Because it is gluten-free, it has become increasingly popular in Europe in recent years. However, it has been used since ancient times in Ethiopia. “Checebsa” is seasoned with “Berbere”, which is popular in African cuisine. It gives the dish its hearty, spicy character and leaves a pleasant spiciness in the finish. Moges serves the “Kaiserschmarrn” with yogurt and honey, the mild sweetness rounds off the breakfast perfectly.
The Kaiserschmarrn in Tillu is dark and spicy instead of light and sweet.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
Also dark but sweet: the chocolate balls with coconut
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
In addition to Ethiopian, German and international classics are on the breakfast menu at Tillu-Coffee. For example, there are pancakes with maple syrup, fruit or Nutella (8.50 euros), overnight oats with seasonal fruits (4.90 euros), filled baguette (5.90 euros) or pain au chocolat (3.20 euros). . With the “Maxvorstadt” breakfast menu (9.50 euros), guests are served fresh brown bread with butter, cream cheese, ham and salami as well as a boiled egg. The “Abyssinia” menu (10.50 euros), on the other hand, is vegan and offers brown bread with homemade hummus, guacamole, pepper and eggplant spread. The name “Abyssinia” is also emblazoned on the relief of a world map on the wall. It stands for the Empire of Abyssinia, which existed until 1974 in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The drinks menu offers a selection of classic coffee drinks with regular or vegan milk as well as various types of tea. For example, there is cappuccino (3.40 euros), latte macchiato (3.90 euros), rooibos-thyme-ginger tea (3.90 euros) or fresh mint tea (4.00 euros). Moges also offers freshly squeezed carrot or orange juice (4.80 euros) and various spritzers (3.50 euros).
Who do you meet there?
The café’s guests seem to be as diverse as the food. A young man sits in a corner reading a book, an older couple comes over for soup and a piece of cake at lunchtime. Two tourists drink an espresso at the bar and talk shop with Meseret Moges about the roasting of the coffee. Every time Moges comes to the table, leans down to her guests and asks if everything is okay.
Time for conversation: guests in Tillu-Coffee
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
Many passers-by wave through the large windows and Moges greets them back. A neighbor pokes his head in the door: “You didn’t see me before, so I wanted to say hello again.” He’ll come back for coffee another time.
Tillu CoffeeAugustenstraße 106, 80798 Munich, opening hours: daily 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., breakfast is served until 11 a.m. during the week and until 2 p.m. on weekends.