Michael Thomann
Apr 2026
★★★★☆
A lovely little café with a truly welcoming atmosphere – charmingly decorated, a very friendly welcome, and attentive and friendly service. Cinema, Kurbelkiste, and Café Garbo have been absolute Münster institutions for me for the past 26 years, ever since I've lived in Münster, and I can't imagine the city without them. I think they're absolutely fantastic and worth supporting.
The roll was delicious (although €6.50 for two toppings was a bit steep), and the Einspänner (a Viennese coffee specialty) was very good. It's great that such Viennese specialties are even available here. You can charge your laptop and sit in peace. Nice music.
I like the concept, and I generally accept that businesses need to charge higher prices these days. However, the water prices leave me with a bad feeling:
Table water (tap water, still or sparkling) costs €2.50 for 0.2 liters, €3.10 for 0.3 liters, and €4.10 for 0.5 liters. According to the city's water utility, Münster's tap water costs just under 0.2 cents per liter – so the markup, depending on the size of the establishment, is somewhere between 400,000 and 600,000 percent (!) on the raw material. In the restaurant industry, markups are generally more like 500 to 700 percent, and that would already be a lot. Yes, I know: infrastructure, staff, rent. But that applies to every business.
I suspect that by charging €3.50 for half a liter instead of €4.10, you'd ultimately sell more glasses, fewer customers would leave with the feeling that the water was more expensive than their coffee – and the likelihood of returning customers would increase. The perception still exists: a €7 bottle of water was considered top-notch dining or luxury hotel fare just 5-6 years ago. Especially for a café that communicates sustainability and ethical values, this would send a strong message.
I'll gladly come back – but probably without the water. 🙈😉