Berlin’s beloved street food is settling down in the East Bay

Lederhosen, pretzels, beer, bratwurst — these are things typically associated with German culture here in the United States. In Germany, however, that list of cultural icons would also include döner kebab, the legendary Berlin street food (often consumed after raving to hard techno beats in a dark, sweaty bunker).

With thin slices of grilled meat smothered in garlicky yogurt sauce and topped with crunchy veg, the döner, which was developed in Berlin by a Turkish chef, is a crowd pleaser across Europe. And though döner shops are easy to find in almost every German city, somehow, the craze hasn’t quite caught on yet on American soil. Pierre Slack, owner and founder of Oakland’s Black Forest Kitchen, is trying to change that. 

The döner movement arrives in Oakland

When Slack first moved to Oakland seven years ago, his first line of business was asking where the nearest kebab shop was.

Born and raised near Frankfurt, a large, central city on the Main river in Germany, Slack was used to finding döner on every street corner. The city, much like Oakland, is a multicultural melting pot, and döner remains an integral thread that connects the city’s diverse communities.

“One of my German friends is a big Frankfurt rapper, and he actually has a line in there that talks about döner,” Slack said. In school, he and his friends would pool their small change together to buy a döner kebab to share.

So it surprised him when he was told there wasn’t a döner scene in the East Bay. 

“When I visited the German group in San Francisco for the first time, I asked where the next best kebab shop was, and everyone just said, oh, that’d be cool, but no, there’s no kebab shop here,” he said. “And then during the pandemic, I took it upon myself to open one.”

Slack returned to the Frankfurt metropolitan area to learn the trade at local kebab shop CaLe, then returned to Oakland, where he continued testing recipes in his own kitchen. Despite the logistics hurdles induced by the pandemic, he managed to ship a grill directly from Germany via DHL Express, eventually launching his first döner pop-up in September 2021 at the incubator Oakland Bloom.   

“No matter what belief system you have, what ethnic background you have, food combines and brings together. What I love to see is the local Bay Area community venturing out to try some new dishes. For the most part, everybody has always loved it,” he said.

Slack continued to hold pop-ups under the name Black Forest Kitchen at the Prescott Night Market in West Oakland, while also setting up at popular breweries like Almanac, Trumer and Two Pitchers Brewing. But when he was presented with an opportunity to open a brick and mortar at 478 25th St., which includes a large outdoor patio, a storefront and commercial kitchen space, he was ready to jump. 

“We told ourselves the time is now,” Slack said. “We want to carve the path together with Oakland and the Bay Area. We want to start the döner movement.”

German snack food gets its moment

Black Forest Kitchen celebrated its soft opening on April 4, drawing lines of First Friday goers waiting to sample döner offerings. Beer flowed from the taps, and a DJ spinning on the outside patio kept vibes high. It had the true essence of a classic German beer garden celebration marking the arrival of spring. 

Attendees sat on the long biergarten tables outside and chowed on the Don (chicken, red onions, cucumbers, feta cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red cabbage, garlic, jalapeños and a spicy sauce tucked in a roll) the Super Döner’ish (like the Don, but with oyster mushrooms instead of chicken), as well as signature items such as the Dönerrito, which is exactly what it sounds like: döner in burrito form. German döner typically is made from lamb, veal or beef, but Slack said he opted for chicken and vegetarian offerings to better mesh with American taste buds. 

On moving from pop-ups to a brick and mortar, Slack said, “There will definitely be a lot of learning curves, but we feel at home. We feel like we can really take the next step.” While Black Forest Kitchen is still in soft opening mode, Slack will work to train his team and get acquainted with the space. 

“In May,” he said, “we’re going to, as we’d say in Germany, vollgas geben.” (Translation: put the pedal to the metal.) “And then long-term vision, we’ll incorporate a couple other German-style street food: frikadellen (meatballs), leberkäs (meatloaf), schnitzelbrötchen (schnitzel sandwich) and other things that you would typically get at a German snack stand.” 

While serving a classic schnitzelbrötchen at a spot named Black Forest Kitchen makes sense, Slack said his restaurant’s name can stir confusion. Döner is from up north in Berlin, while most traditional German fare hails from the country’s southern regions, many of which are blanketed by the Black Forest. 

For Slack, the name has more than one meaning. On the one hand, it’s an homage to his grandmother, whose maiden name was Black. On the other, it’s a nod to his roots and acts as a cultural bridge between Germany and the U.S. 

“I grew up in the area where the Brothers Grimm are from, and they had a lot of stories that took place in the Black Forest. I needed a word that was universal for Americans and Germans to relate to it,” he said.  

For now, Black Forest Kitchen is open Fridays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Don’t forget to pair your döner with a crispy lager, and guten Appetit!