Eating & Drinking in Berlin 2018
Vegans have loads of dining options in Berlin. Here's the Sunday buffet at Kopps.
If you’re in Berlin, or anywhere in Germany, from mid-April to late-June, try the spargel — white asparagus. The soup is especially delicious and you can find it all over the place. Here, British expat and Berlin tour guide Chloe Dalrymple shares some of her favorite places to eat and drink around the capital city. I also chime in with a few of my own.
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Where to eat in Berlin
Hallesches Haus. A good place for coffee. “You can go and and read a book or go with friends. They do nice cake.”
Curry 36. “Currywurst is typical for Berlin. You kind of love it or you hate it. It's sausage that's chopped up in tomato sauce and curry powder.”
Maroush. “They do really nice falafel. If you're vegetarian, falafel/halloumi is always a really good mix. It’s quite cheap, as well.”
Umami. There’s one in Prenzlauer Berg and one on Bergmannstraße, a little street with cute shops and other restaurants. “They do amazing Asian food, and the decoration inside is really beautiful.”
Kopps. They do a nice vegan brunch buffet. On the pricer side for Berlin and I nearly fell off my chair when I realized my herb water was 5 euro. I should have ordered wine.
Californiapops. Two locations serving up delightful sorbet pops that can also be dipped into chocolate. I had a mix of mango and coconut. More than once.
Chao. If you’re closer to Charlottenburg and want some tasty Thai, head here. Very tasty udon soup and other good veggie options. Like everywhere else in this city, don’t expect wifi.
Turkish tea. In 1961, West Germany invited Turkish workers to come work temporarily because they needed labor. They stayed and now hipster Kreuzberg is also known as 'Little Istanbul.'
Where to drink in Berlin
Nathanja and Heinrich. “That is definitely my favorite because it feels like you walk into a bar from the 1950s. It’s got really nice wine and they do cocktails. When it’s sunny, they open up the windows — they’ve got these big wide windows — so you can kind of sit half in and out of on the street.”
Klunkerkranich. “It’s a rooftop bar and it costs 3 euros after 4 p.m. You probably will find it difficult to get a table, but it's really beautiful and it’s a nice atmosphere. On Sundays they have music from 4.”
Zosch. “Every Wednesday evening, you go down into the basement and from 8:30 p.m., they have free jazz. They were from East Germany and they originally went down there because they wanted to practice where it was quiet and people who heard them started to come and watch them, and they became so popular they decided to make it an event.”
How much do you tip in Berlin?
“If you think the service was good, you tip. If you didn’t, if you thought they were rude, you don’t tip. You would normally round it up, so if you want to tip them, you think, ‘Well, what’s 10% of that, and then you just kind of round it up to the nearest. So if it’s 8.70 euro, you would say, ‘OK, we’ll call it 10 [euro].’ That’s how they do it. They don’t go exactly 10%. You just round it up to the nearest and make it fair.”
If you found this article useful, please share it, and subscribe to the Postcard Academy podcast. Each week, expats and adventurers share their insider travel tips on the best food, nightlife, and cultural experiences in the most interesting places around the globe. I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel, an American who's spent the last 7 years living in, and traveling around, Europe.