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  • Newcomer Gemello defies everything you think you know about vegan pizza

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Newcomer Gemello defies everything you think you know about vegan pizza

With its innovative approach, Gemello is shaping up to be a must-try for plant-based pizza in Berlin.

Photo: Handan Kocanoglu

Despite all the wide-ranging vegan food options in Berlin, pizza isn’t usually a standout. More often than not, your only choice is smear of tomato sauce on top of dough, perhaps with a few sautéed veggies – if you’re lucky. But that’s about to change, thanks to ambitious newcomer Gemello, which opened on Prenzlauer Berg’s Helmholtzplatz just last month. With a special dough, a variety of base sauces beyond tomato, and homemade vegan cheese and meats, the joint is set to raise the bar for vegan slices.

Created by Stefan Kugler, known for his pop-ups, the menu spans from a classic Margherita to inventive offerings topped with peaches or fermented vegetables. Traditional pizza toppings like anchovies or pepperoni also make an appearance – but in plant-based form, most of which are handmade, just like the vegan cheese. Kugler’s painstaking creations are the culmination of years of experimentation and a real passion for the craft.

Anyone who assumes the flavours are compromised because Gemello is vegan would be mistaken.

“Way back when Stefan was an engineer and felt pushed into a job that was very square for years, he realised that he couldn’t do it anymore, and he decided to shift his life,” explains co-owner Idan Gilony, who manages the business side of the restaurant. Just before the pandemic, Kugler quit his job to follow his passion. He started by hosting small pizza parties at home with a modest oven, which led to catered dinners and eventually to pop-up events around the city. After years honing his craft and inspired by his travels to Italy as a young adult, Kugler has developed a unique pizza.

The first out-of-the-box element is the base. Kugler uses an ancient starter called biga, traditionally used in ciabatta, which adds a nutty flavour rather than the more acidic tang associated with sourdough. It was that dough that first drew Gilony to the project. “It doesn’t feel like trashy, guilty-pleasure dough. It feels more energetic somehow,” he says. Gemello also gets playful with sauces. In addition to the classic marinara made with sweet San Marzano tomatoes, there are colourful options like purple sweet potato, black olive or mushroom. Organic vegetables are a priority, sourced both locally and from a Sicilian supplier.

Idan Gilony and Stefan Kugler. Photo: Makar Artemev

When it comes to vegan meat and fish substitutes, Kugler opts for fruit and vegetable bases rather than seitan, the wheat protein that many industrial faux-meat products rely on. His vegan bacon, for example, is made with coconut. Perhaps most impressive, however, is the anchovy substitute, made with eggplant for the texture and seaweed to achieve the fishy flavour. “[Stefan] was like, ‘Hey, do you want to try?’ And I say, ‘I don’t like anchovies,’” recounts Gilony. “He says, ‘It’s vegetable, it’s fine.’ And then you eat it, and I’m shocked because the taste is exactly the same.”

And then there’s the all-important cheese. Kugler isn’t interested in slicing up industrial-made substitutes. Instead, he makes most of his substitutes in-house. His ‘mozzarella’ is crafted similarly to vegan béchamel, using tapioca starch cooked in coconut oil and thickened with a vegan milk. It sets into a soft, pliable texture, with lactic acid and nutritional yeast providing the cheesy flavour. Kugler also makes his own ‘ricotta’ from lacto-fermented almonds and ‘feta’ from miso-marinated tofu.

Photo: Handan Kocanoglu

In short, anyone who assumes the flavours are compromised because Gemello is vegan would be mistaken. While some of the pizzas lean classic, like the Margherita-adjacent Gina and the ‘pepperoni’ Hottie, there’s a host of funky new offerings, like a plant-based camembert option with marinated pear and cranberry. “The aim is to have a mix of three elements on these pizzas: something a bit more sour, something a bit more salty and something a bit more sweet, like a fruit,” explains Gilony. 

Beyond pizza, Gemello offers entrées like a herby salad or a caesar with umami-rich vegan ‘parmesan’, and, since the restaurant draws some influence from Levantine cuisine, a mezze plate. You don’t have to stop by for a full meal either. Gemello doubles as a wine bar, with a selection of natural vinos as well as non-alcoholic fermented fruit drinks.

Whether you’re there for the food, the drinks or the relaxed industrial-chic ambiance, it’s clear that Gemello isn’t just for those following a plant-based diet. “Most of my friends are actually not vegan,” says Gilony, “and they’re always leaving with their mouths open, shocked at how good the pizza is.” 

  • Gemello, Lettestr. 6A, Prenzlauer Berg, details.