Berlin is Germany's most exciting food city — the street food tradition (currywurst, döner, falafel) combines with a restaurant scene that has produced more Michelin stars per capita than any German city except Munich. And the craft beer and café scene is world-class.
The Berlin café scene is excellent — Five Elephant (Kreuzberg, the best coffee and cheesecake in Berlin), Bonanza Coffee Roasters (Prenzlauer Berg) or The Barn (Mitte, single origin filter). Start the day correctly.
The two currywurst legends: Curry 36 (Mehringdamm 36, Kreuzberg — best sauce) and Konnopke's (Schönhauser Allee 44a, Prenzlauer Berg, under the U-Bahn — since 1930, the oldest currywurst stand in East Berlin). Different sauces, different traditions.
Mustafa's Gemüse Kebab (Mehringdamm 32, next to Curry 36) has a 45-minute queue on weekends because the vegetable döner (with fried vegetables, feta, fresh herbs and sauces in the pide bread) is genuinely the best in Berlin.
BRLO (Berlin in backwards slang) is the best craft brewery in Berlin — 16 taps of Berlin-brewed beer in a container park near Gleisdreieck. The Craft Lager and the Sour are both excellent.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideStreet Food Thursday at Markthalle Neun (Thursday, 17–22h) is the best food event in Berlin. Or: a restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg on non-Thursdays — there are excellent Vietnamese, Thai, and German options.
Berliner Weisse is the traditional Berlin wheat beer (sour, low-alcohol, served with a shot of raspberry or woodruff syrup). At Zum Schusterjungen (Danziger Straße 9) or any traditional Berlin pub.
Saturday and Sunday morning market on Boxhagener Platz in Friedrichshain — organic produce, artisan bread, Berlin honey, and excellent prepared food. The most relaxed market in Berlin.
The Kreuzberg area around Görlitzer Park has Berlin's most diverse street food — Ethiopian injera, Turkish börek, Vietnamese bánh mì and the best falafel in the city (Azzam, Sonnenallee).
Afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen — Café Anna Blume (Kollwitzstraße 83) has the best cake selection and the most beautiful flower arrangement in any Berlin café.
The most interesting restaurant in Berlin — "brutally local" cooking using only Berlin and Brandenburg ingredients. No imported olive oil, no lemons. 10-course menu with only Brandenburg wines and beers. 1 Michelin star.
Solar (Stresemannstraße 76) is a rooftop bar 17 floors above Potsdamer Platz — panoramic Berlin at night, reasonable prices, excellent DJs at weekends.
Berlin's techno scene runs until breakfast. Watergate on the Spree has an amazing water view and excellent programming. Tresor is the underground legend. Both run until Sunday morning.