East
Walking from east to west reveals not only layers of history and the rhythm of everyday life, but how different neighborhoods approach the food scene.
Located in the former East Berlin, Friedrichshain is famously known for its gritty, bohemian charm, industrial architecture, and popular nightlife.
The neighborhood’s culinary life doesn't revolve around a single main street, but rather distinct pockets, each offering a totally different vibe.
Here food goes from Vegan & Asian to traditional German revival and exceptional Middle Eastern & Levantine Bites.
At 41 Petersburger Str. neighborhood eatery Mervan Bistro serves from hamburgers and tasty doners to halloumi and falafel at very affordable prices.
Other neighborhood eateries include the classic street food currywurst, made of sliced pork sausage and topped with spiced ketchup and curry powder, usually served with fries.
The döner Kebab, introduced in Berlin by Turkish immigrants, comes with layered meat slowly cooked on a vertical spit and served on flatbread with salad and sauce.
Soft drinks, juices or German beer complete the meal.
Mitte
The central and historic heart of Berlin, combining the city's oldest neighborhoods with iconic modern landmarks, is called Mitte. Here food scene is a dynamic mix of fine dining, historic courtyard gems, and trendsetting global flavors.
Hidden inside the famous Hackesche Höfe courtyard labyrinth, Oxymoron is an elegant salon and lounge restaurant. It perfectly exemplifies the neighborhood's distinctive historic courtyard dining culture, blending a vintage 1920s aesthetic with modern European flavors including handmade pasta, seasonal risottos, and seafood.
However, walking alone the streets in Berlin might not be enough to discover hidden gems to try the good food.
Itay Novik is a prominent chef, food designer, culinary storyteller and educator. Rather than anchoring himself to a permanent storefront, he envisioned a different culinary path, founding the immersive food tour company Elements of Food and crafting tailors’ culinary experiences for events and private gatherings.
And, instead of just guiding visitors to popular eateries, Novik designs immersive food experiences that trace Berlin's cultural and political evolution through its culinary landscape.
We took a four-hour food tour with chef Itay for an introduction to Berlin's culinary diversity. The experience included East German-style Solyanka soup and a glass of Schultheiss beer at Zum Schusterjungen restaurant and bar, traditional German dishes at Trio, the celebrated Prater Garten, and a multicourse experience at KINK Bar & Restaurant. Along the way, we also sampled Mexican and Peruvian dishes at Markthalle Pfefferberg.
“German food is part of Berlin’s food scene, but far from dominant”, chef Itay explained. “Good, non-touristy German food can be surprisingly difficult to find, and traditional Berlin cuisine even more so. Berlin’s long history of immigration has created an incredibly diverse food culture”.
However, Trio restaurant’s menu brings together a tight, well-executed selection of humble regional German specialties. Rather than modifying these classics into unrecognizable fusion dishes, the kitchen focuses on high-quality ingredients and precise techniques to let traditional flavors shine.
“Unlike in the rest of Germany, the East-West divide is less obvious within Berlin. Vietnamese restaurants and Turkish döner are everywhere. But in traditional restaurants, traces remain in former East Berlin, for example, you’ll often find post-Soviet influences such as Soljanka, the Soviet-era soup”,
Soljanka is a thick, deeply savory, and uniquely sour-salty soup. Introduced to the German capital by Soviet troops, the soup became very popular during the East Berlin era due to the approach to put in everything available, from vegetables and beef to bacon and sausages.
Try the Schultheiss beer. It features a classic, pale golden color with a bright clarity and a thick layer of foam. It’s one of Berlin’s most historic and enduring brands.
For a good taste of Berlin’s past, look no further than Prater Garten in trendy Prenzlauer Berg. As the city’s oldest and most celebrated beer garden, this open-air institution has been bringing locals together under its chestnut trees since 1837.
Besides good beer, here you can order a full meal of Königsberger Klopse (veal meatballs in cream sauce), pickled herring, or seasonal roast goose, paired with a comprehensive list of regional German wines.
Nestled within the historic Pfefferberg complex in Prenzlauer Berg, KINK Bar & Restaurant is a chic culinary hotspot that effortlessly merges seasonal fine dining with avant-garde mixology and bold contemporary art.
“Berlin’s food scene is far from traditional, but a handful of century-old institutions still survive alongside modern German restaurants offering refined interpretations of that heritage”, chef Itay emphasized. “At the same time, immigrant restaurateurs confidently serve authentic, unapologetic versions of their own cuisines”.
West
While East Berlin gets the spotlight for trendy, hipster street food and nightlife, West Berlin boasts a highly sophisticated, upscale, and also diverse culinary tradition.
Often dubbed the Chinatown or Asia-Town of Berlin, Kantstraße in Charlottenburg is a massive hotspot for Asian cuisine. Running all the way from Savignyplatz to the West, this street is lined with outstanding restaurants.
In West Berlin cuisine often leans into luxury and classic European prestige. It is home to several highly acclaimed fine-dining staples, like Funky Fisch, a vibrant and modern seafood venue, and the vegetarian-forward Michelin-starred Bonvivant in Schöneberg.
When it comes to classic luxury, elite hotel restaurants like Hugos offer panoramic views and a refined contemporary French cuisine.
At the heart of the West Berlin food scene sits KaDeWe. The legendary Feinschmeckeretage (Gourmet Floor) on the 6th floor is renowned as a premier destination for luxury delicacies.
Eager for Spanish food? On Kurfürstendamm 203, Restaurant El Dorado is known for classic Spanish tapas, paella and an extensive wine list specially curated from both the Old World and New World.
Ultimately, what makes Berlin’s food scene so compelling is its refusal to be anchored by the weight of rigid culinary tradition. Instead, the city has transformed its complex history into a colorful canvas for gastronomic experimentation. It is a landscape defined by an unpretentious duality, where a Michelin-starred restaurant can comfortably coexist just blocks away from a decades-old, family-run Döner stand.
