Berlin restaurant tips – culinary delights for foodies

For the first, second, third […] ninth time. Berlin and I obviously get along well. This year I wanted to skip the visit to the ITB travel fair. Then, in January, all the e-mails came in with “Anita, are you at the ITB this year?”, which changed my mind. After all, that’s a good excuse for a weekend in Berlin, isn’t it?

There were only a few ITB appointments and a lot of free time. We wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. Don’t check out sights and museums, but approach the weekend with pleasure. Sleep in, drink coffee, eat well, photograph street art and visit second-hand shops. The weather was nasty this weekend. Grey clouds and the Bise had the city in its grip. Not a big deal, there are plenty of nice cafés and restaurants in Berlin.

Happy breakfast in Berlin

Hallesches Haus | Tempelhofer Ufer 1

The Hallesche Haus combines event rooms, café and shop on one level. In the shop there are lots of pretty things to buy for the household or the next craft evening and in the café divine French toast is prepared for 7 euros.

Two and Two | Pannierstraße 6

Two and Two is a small French café in Neukölln. Instead of lattes, there is café au lait and Japanese stationery is sold. We actually wanted to have brunch at Milchmann’s Kaffeehaus in Pankow and had to realize that this is a hopeless undertaking on Sunday morning without a reservation. With the Two and Two, we found a worthy alternative for Sunday brunch.

My other breakfast favorites are in Prenzlauer Berg: Café Napoljonska (Kastanienallee 43) and Café Kauf Dich Glücklich (Oderberger Str. 44).

Coffee drunk – Coffee in Berlin

The weather this weekend was perfect for hours of “Kaffeeklatsch”. Accordingly, we often stopped by and crumbled into a corner with a freshly brewed flat white or watched the baristas brew their coffee meticulously. At Bonanza, the coffee-brewing table resembles a chemistry laboratory and the barista corresponds to the hipster cliché par excellence. Funnily enough, English was spoken with us almost everywhere. Whether it was due to my poorly articulated High German or to the language skills of the baristas, I could not conclusively determine.

The Barn | Auguststraße 58

Coffee Profilers | Karl-Marx-Allee 136

Bonanza | Oderberger Str. 35

No Fire No Glory | Rykestraße 45

Fine food – Restaurants in Berlin

Hummus & Friends | Oranienburger Str. 27

Hummus & Friends is located near the Hackesche Höfe and is the perfect spot for a refreshment. In contrast to the totally hip “House of Small Wonders”, which is located about 100 m away from Hummus & Friends, not so crowded. We found a free table without any problems and ordered three kinds of homemade hummus with pita bread.

Studio Tim Raue | Rheinsberger Str. 76/77 (unfortunately closed)

This lunch tip was sent to us on Facebook. At Factory Berlin, creative menus are prepared at attractive prices in the studio of Michelin-starred chef Tim Raue. The two-course lunch menu cost 18 euros. The individual dishes can be freely chosen from the menu. We were completely convinced by this concept.

Dóttir Mittelstraße 41

At Dóttir in Berlin Mitte, a fixed 4-course menu is served for 58 euros. We got a table for two people on Thursday evening around 6:00 p.m. without reservation. As the name suggests, the cuisine has an Icelandic touch. This was followed by trout with horseradish, cod with savoy cabbage and black pudding. Interesting culinary combinations and a casual ambience. As a vegetarian alternative in Mitte, I can recommend Cookies Cream.

Omoni | Kopenhagener Str. 14

The digital city magazine with pleasure is a real treasure trove of culinary tips for Berlin. While browsing, I discovered the Japanese-Korean restaurant Omoni. Even though it says everywhere that reservations are advisable, we ventured there on Saturday evening without a reservation and were lucky again. Whereby I would underline the “reservation is advisable”. Unfortunately, very few Berlin restaurants have an online reservation tool. Similarly rare are the restaurants where you can pay by card. A bit strange for a city that is home to so many digital startups. Jänu. Here’s the real deal. The “Sushi Mix Omoni” is definitely worth the detour to this corner of Prenzlauer Berg.

Zsa Zsa Burger | Motzstraße 28

We tested burgers twice. The highly praised Bürgeramt could not completely convince us. This time we award the points to Zsa Zsa Burger. There we were charmingly greeted with “aha, zwöi Schwizer”. Both the Bangkok Bang and the Kentucky Burger lived up to expectations. The ambience falls by the wayside. After almost an hour of snacking, we were gone again.

Slept well

One of my Berlin rituals is that I look for a different place to stay every time. This time, the choice fell on the Cosmo Hotel Berlin Mitte, which is located directly opposite the U2 stop Spittelmarkt. We were pleasantly surprised twice. On the one hand, my booked standard room was converted into a junior suite. We are still puzzling over why, since I booked through booking.com and should not be one of the hotel’s favorite guests. On the other hand, at the end of our stay, the cost of the internet (3.50 euros per 24 hours in the room, free of charge in the lobby) was cancelled without comment. In terms of value for money and location, a recommended place to stay.