Loup-garou X Blue Lime Project

Review

Werewolf on advance reservation

The Bygos was inconspicuous. Squeezed into a narrow corner opposite the Berliner Döner, one window, four tables, rather retro-trendy in style, a few Polish snacks, a few Polish guests. When it closed last year, hardly anyone noticed.
Except for the people from Die Parfümerie bar. They have been running the Wolfgang Coffee in-shop café in the QWSTION boutique right next door since 2016, so they already had their eye on the Polish espresso.
Also because they had wanted to do something with natural wine for a long time and that somehow didn't work at all in the bar. What's more, the owner of Bygos also used to run Café Kandl, with which the perfumery team has excellent connections. And so Gilles Reuter, Reinhard Pacejka, Gianni Ciaccia and wine expert Sara Weissteiner took over the small bar.
And now the amazing thing: they haven't actually changed it, they have "cleaned it up a lot", says Reuter, installed a new bar and a new kitchen. But the woodchip wallpaper, dark wood and brass remained, were supplemented with pictures of fermenting grape mash and Campari bottles, and that was that.
And now for something even more amazing: The Loup-Garou (French for werewolf, the idea: first into the Wolfgang, then into the werewolf ... okay, never mind) is packed every day. This time, however, it's not the Poles, but the urban jeunesse. What attracts them, what draws them to a place that looks just like a Polish espresso called Bygos?
Instagram. The Loup Garou team had taken part in the slaughter of a Mangalitza pig in the run-up to the event and documented it in Insta stories. This apparently mobilized the audience, as did the catchphrases "Natty Wine" and "Aperitivo". With the effect that every stool is now reserved and casual aperitivo is a thing of the past.
So you have to come early or book well in advance, because you shouldn't miss out on the natural wines and bitter cocktails (two of which are pre-mixed and then come out of the tap, they're great!) served by chef Jakob Bergholtz:
Fennel frittata with goat's cheese foam, for example (€ 8.50) or polenta aligot (actually a processed cheese dish made with potatoes from central France) with sausages of homemade Mangalitza chorizo (€ 12.-). Or the weekly specials, last week, for example, "Pressgurka", a Swedish ham sandwich made with home-cured pig's leg ham and fermented gherkins, also great (€ 9.50).
Zieglerplatz already had it all anyway. But the loup garou was definitely missing.
Summary:
The secret to the success of a former Polish snack espresso bar: cloudy wines, great small dishes and Instagram.

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