Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [104]
La Cocotte (Map; 7895 7658; Vorbergstrasse 10; mains €8-17; dinner) French restaurant with pretty terrace and food that’s more country than haute.
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DRINKING
Berlin is a great place for boozers. From cosy pubs, riverside beach bars, chestnut-shaded beer gardens, underground dives, DJ bars, snazzy hotel lounges and designer cocktail temples, you’re rarely far from a good time. Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain are currently the edgiest bar-hopping grounds, with swanky Mitte and Charlottenburg being more suited for date night than dedicated drinking. The line between cafe and bar is often blurred, with many places changing stripes as the hands move around the clock.
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Mitte
Barcomi’s Deli (Map; 2859 8363; 2nd courtyard, Sophie-Gips-Höfe; Sophienstrasse 21; 9am-9pm Mon-Sat, 10am-9pm Sun) Train your java radar onto this buzzing New York–meets-Berlin deli where latte-rati, families and expats meet for coffee, bagels with lox and some of the best brownies and cheesecake this side of the Hudson River.
Bebel Bar (Map; 460 6090; Behrenstrasse 37; from 9am) Channel your inner Cary Grant and belly up to the bar at this mood-lit thirst parlour at the Hotel de Rome. Cocktails here have a progressive, sexy edge that goes over well with the global Armani crowd.
Tausend (Map; 460 6090; Schiffbauerdamm 11; from 9pm Tue-Sat) The living room of the see-and-be-seen scene. No sign, no light, no bell, just a heavy steel gate beneath a railway bridge with a small window through which you shall be assessed. Once inside the black and metal tunnel, though, there’s expert cocktails and eye-candy fellow sippers.
Other cool drinking dens:
Bar 3 (Map; 2804 6973; Weydinger Strasse 20; from 9pm Tue-Sat) Laid-back lair for local lovelies, artists and professionals, with delicious Kölsch beer on tap.
Windhorst (Map; 2045 0070; Dorotheenstrasse 65; from 6pm Mon-Fri, 9pm Sat) Postage-stamp sized bar with five-star ambience and killer cocktails.
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Prenzlauer Berg
Klub der Republik (Map; Pappelallee 81, from 10pm) No sign for this ballroom-turned-bar, so just look up until you see some steamy windows, then teeter up the wobbly staircase. Join hormone-happy hipsters amid pure GDR-trash-ostalgia and wall projections for electronic sounds and cheap drinks.
Marietta (Map; 4372 0646; Stargarder Strasse 13; from 10am) Retro is now at this self-service retreat where you can check out passing eye-candy through the big window or lug your beverage to the dimly lit back room for quiet bantering. On Wednesday nights it’s a launch pad for the gay party circuit Click here.
Deck 5 (Map; Schönhauser Allee 80; 10am-midnight, in good summer weather only) Soak up the city lights at this beach bar in the sky while sinking your toes into tonnes of sand lugged to the top parking deck of the Schönhauser Arkaden mall. Getting there via a seemingly never-ending flight of stairs on Greifenhagener Strasse will get your heart pumping.
Prater (Map; 448 5688; Kastanienallee 7-9; from noon Apr-Sep) Berlin’s oldest beer garden (since 1837) oozes traditional charm and is a fun spot for guzzling a cold one beneath the chestnut trees. Bring the kids! There’s a small play area just for them.
Anna Blume (Map; 4404 8749; Kollwitzstrasse 83; 10am-midnight) Named for a Kurt Schwitters poem, this corner cafe lures patrons all day long into its velvety art-nouveau interior perfumed by potent java, homemade cakes and flowers from the attached shop. Its breakfasts are a satisfying affair any time of day; the tiered trays feed two to four. Fantastic people-watching terrace, too.
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Potsdamer Platz & Tiergarten
Cafe am Neuen See (Map; 254 4930; Lichtenstein-allee 2; mains €4-12; from 10am daily Mar-Oct, Sat & Sun Nov-Feb) This lakeside Bavarian-style beer garden in Tiergarten park feels like a micro-vacation from the city bustle. Cold beers go well with the bratwurst, pizza and pretzels.