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Khao Taan
Photograph: Khao Taan

The 24 best restaurants in Berlin right now

From classic German grub to Turkish spreads and Michelin-starred dining, Berlin has something to suit every taste.

Nathan Ma
Written by
Nathan Ma
&
Anna Geary-Meyer
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If you’re ready to take on Berlin, you’re ready to take on its restaurants. And we don’t just mean eating your bodyweight in currywurst, schnitzel and salty pretzels (though they’re mighty delicious, trust us). Berlin’s diverse population lends itself to a global food scene, and it’s become as well known for its Italian, Turkish and Japanese joints as it is for those side-of-the-road sausages.

And if you’re vegan, you’re in luck - Berlin is one of the cities leading the movement, with more plant-based options then you can shake a stick at. So whether you’re in Berlin to hit the clubs, indulge in its culture or browse one of its magical christmas markets, make sure you hit the best foodie spots in the capital along the way. Late night snacking n’ all.

RECOMMENDED:
🥑 The best places to get brunch in Berlin
🍷 The best bars in Berlin
📍 The best things to do in Berlin
🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Berlin

This piece was recently updated by Berlin-based writer and critic Nathan Ma. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines

Best places to eat in Berlin

Eins44
Photograph: Courtesy Yelp/Michael A.

1. Eins44

Not only is the food great here, the interiors are exquisite too. Huge windows let in streams of light, white-tiled walls glow, and modernist lamps hang from incredibly high ceilings. This is a splash meal, but one that’s worth it for the experience. The food? Fine dining and seasonal, contemporary cuisine headed by Daniel Achilles. Highlights of the small, ever-changing menu have included stuffed calamaretti in lobster stock and suckling pig with artichoke and synonym. Trust us, it’s worth it. 

Price: Pricey

  • Restaurants
  • price 4 of 4

You only live once, right? Well in your one short life, you should really make it your mission to go to Tim Raue, a high-end, blowout, once-in-a-lifetime meal in Berlin. This tiny restaurant looks like it keeps things pretty low-key, but your tasting menu will take Japanese cuisine to a fine dining extreme (it’s been awarded two Michelin stars). The set menu might feature imperial caviar and wagyu beef, and bursts of sichuan and kimchi, but it will all be delicious. 

Price: Blowout

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In Berlin, Middle Eastern meals are in no short supply, but Café Pilz dishes them up a little differently: The casual vegan Levantine eatery is full of the fresh flavours that define the region’s cuisines without any fish or meat products. Located on a quieter street in the trendy Schillerkiez neighbourhood, the relatively small establishment might keep you waiting for a table, but rest assured that it’s well worth it in the end. The small plates and dips are divine, but it’s the homemade bread that steals the show.

Price: Average

Duc Ngo, also behind the city’s popular Cocolo Ramen, clearly knows what he’s doing: 893’s hybrid Japanese-Peruvian cuisine results in dishes that, while certainly boundary-pushing, are also just, well, tasty. Highlights include the veal heart skewers, the grilled octopus and the sashimi moriawase plate. Obviously, a bottle of saké for the table is a must.

Price: Pricey

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  • Restaurants
  • German
  • Mitte
  • price 3 of 4

Das Lokal comes from fine heritage: formerly Kantine, a cult pop-up of sorts that had occupied a space earmarked for demolition in David Chipperfield’s architectural office. The seasonal menu changes weekly and might feature starters of pigeon with chestnuts, mussels in broth or asparagus croquette – all have bold, local flavours in abundance. We recommend anything with offal or game in it. 

Price: Pricey

This restaurant’s tagline is ‘vocally local’ – meaning they refuse to import food from beyond the capital and its immediate surroundings. Sadly, that also means no chocolate. However, chef and sommelier Billy Wagner will win you over to the cause: he uses neglected traditional methods to create a seasonally shifting menu packed with bold, contemporary flavours. The frontage is nondescript, visible only to those in the know, and you have to ring a bell before being ushered around a long wooden table with just 28 seats. Booking is, unsurprisingly, essential.

Price: Pricey

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Offering a menu composed entirely of desserts and drinks, concept restaurant Coda earned its first (long-awaited) Michelin star in 2019. Masterminded by chef René Frank, its plates are artfully composed, use only the freshest ingredients, and place an emphasis on the experimental. Come by for the blowout six-course tasting menu that pairs desserts with drinks. Alternatively, head to the bar for a superlative cocktail.

Price: Pricey

  • Restaurants
  • Prenzlauer Berg
  • price 1 of 4

This venerable sausage stand has been under the same family management since 1930. After coming up with a secret recipe for ketchup (which wasn’t available after the Wall was built), it was the first place to offer currywurst in East Berlin and still serves the most famous – and quite possibly the best – version in the city. Expect queues. 

Price: Bargain

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Malakeh’s Syrian cuisine is as mouth-watering as its origin story is heartwarming. Owner Malakeh Jazmati has no formal kitchen training, but once found a following as Syrian TV personality Maliket al-Tabkh (‘the Queen of Cooking’). Driven out of her country by the war, she came to Berlin in 2015 and set up this restaurant with her husband Mohammed. As a poignant reminder of the home she left behind, Malakeh is decked out with pictures of Syrian artists and activists. Food-wise, expect excellent kibbeh in a yoghurt sauce, moreish fried aubergine and some of the city’s freshest tomatoes.

Price: Average

Part of the Grill Royal gourmet empire, Kin Dee has proven a worthy successor to Thai-Berliner institution Edd’s. Head chef and owner Dalad Kambhu strays into similar fusion territory, serving creative fine Thai cuisine with a focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients. With its set menu of small plates, excellent vegetarian options and a well-chosen wine list, Kin Dee has already won over the locals – and was awarded its first Michelin star in 2019. This makes Kambhu the youngest woman ever to receive the honour in Germany. How better to celebrate than with a meal you won’t be forgetting any time soon?

Price: Pricey

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Neukölln’s Barra is part of a wave of fancy-ish wine bars that have opened up in Berlin – swanky enough to feel celebratory but not prohibitively expensive. The quality of the small plates here – flavour highlights include sea bream, pumpkin, chicory and bergamot – match that of the low-intervention wines, largely from France and Germany. The chestnut soup with shiitake mushrooms is a hit, as is the chocolate mousse.

Price: Average

There are plenty of great burgers found in Berlin, but none are quite as iconic as Burgermeister’s. This joint first opened in a former public toilet outside the Schlesisches Tor U-Bahn station and, as a testament to its success, has now expanded to eight locations across the city. The menu is refreshingly simple, the cheesy fries as comforting as comfort food gets, and the mouth-watering vegan burger nothing like your token veggie option. 

Price: Bargain

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If Berlin had a Chinatown, it would be Charlottenburg’s Kantstrasse. This tiny hole-in-the-wall spot knocks out Taiwanese classics such as noodle soups and gua bao (rice buns filled with duck) as well as more esoteric plates of dressed beef tongue or pigs’ ears sliced finely over rice noodles. It’s almost always full in the evening, but the turnover is fast enough that you’ll find a seat pretty quickly.

Price: Bargain

14. Shaam Restaurant

The shawarma at Shaam, a popular Syrian spot on Karl-Marx-Straße, may well be the best in Berlin, and the toum is so garlicky that both parties on a date should be required, by law, to dig in. That’s not a criticism; the sauce adds the perfect zing to the shawarma’s heavenly blend of crispy (the bread) and fatty (the meat). There are plenty of lighter, herbivore-friendly options, and everything comes with crunchy fresh veg to dip. Order a few plates to share.

Price: Bargain

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  • Restaurants
  • Global
  • Mitte
  • price 4 of 4

One of the city’s best-known venues, the riverside Grill Royal is a stylish, friendly and exceptionally meaty experience. Not for vegetarians or anyone on a diet or budget, Grill is as brilliant for people-watching as its (stoutly priced) steaks and seafood. The meat is sourced from local suppliers as well as from Argentina, Ireland and Australia. The walls are adorned with rather striking soft-porn art from the owner’s collection. Reservations are essential.

Price: Blowout

  • Restaurants
  • Lebanese
  • Beyond the centre
  • price 1 of 4

People flock from all over the city to sample Azzam’s hummus, made fresh throughout the day. The grilled minced lamb is perfectly seasoned, and the falafel is a crunchy, sesame-speckled delight. You get a lot for your money, too: each dish comes with raw veg, bitter olives, garlicky mayo or tahini sauce, and a basket of stacked pita bread which doubles as cutlery.

Price: Bargain

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OK, there are several worthwhile Grillhähnchen (rotisserie chicken) joints scattered throughout Berlin, but there is something weirdly electrifying about a trip to Risa, which has expanded from its original location in Neukölln to an array of new outlets throughout the city, including one shop in Prenzlauer Berg and another on Charlottenburg’s ritzy Ku’damm. Maybe it’s the fluorescent lighting, or perhaps the decadent range of ways to consume their killer fried chicken (tenders! burgers! wings!). Whatever it is, don’t forget to order a side of moreish sour pickles.

Price: Bargain

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A trip to Rogacki, a German-Polish deli-cum-food market, is like stepping back in time. The draw here is the fish: specialities include bratherings (brined and fried herring) and rollmops (pickled herrings rolled around gherkin). Alongside the excellent, high-quality produce, you’ll find gourmet ‘islands’, at which you can pull up a stool and order fischbrötchen or oysters and wine for much less than at KaDaWe. It’s excellent for people-watching, too.

Price: Bargain

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Neapolitan-style pizza restaurants in Berlin aren't rare, but we’re not complaining. Berlin’s pizza renaissance has upped the quality of the pies by huge margins, and Standard in Prenzlauer Berg is a crowd-pleasing favourite. You can’t go wrong with the Margherita, with its fior di latte mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes, or the more out-there house white pizza featuring smoked cheese, semi-dried tomatoes, aubergine and olive pesto.

Price: Average

Operating outside the usual Berlin luxury hotel system, Austrian chef Sebastian Frank gained a Michelin star in 2011 at this canal-side restaurant. Enjoy a tasting menu of typical German ingredients transformed through novel techniques and combinations of flavours. The onion, pigeon and kohlrabi, and the sturgeon, rib and celery, are charred, elegant and perfectly plated. The Austrian wine list is also excellent. Booking advised.

Price: Blowout

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Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a quick Thai curry from your cheap and cheerful go-to just around the corner, but it’s worth a ride on the S-Bahn for something special. Everything at Khao Taan, a new venture opened by former lawyer Gaan, feels earnest and fresh, with an emphasis on family-style eating. Everyone at the table shares a fixed set of dishes, meant to guide guests through the flavours, textures and (communal) dining norms of Thai culture. The fish curry is particularly good.

Price: Average

There’s something familiar about Sfera, a breakout brunch star near Neukölln’s sleepy Böhmische Platz. Far from the vegan bites of yesterday, Sfera’s menu is rich and comforting, with creamy sauces and full flavours galore. The sourdough toasts are a standout in a crowded field of favourites: the young potato salad with grated smoked tofu is light as a feather but filling as a meal on its own. So pull up a chair and get a coffee — Sfera is a perfect perch for people watching as well.

Price: Average

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Cafe Einstein Stammhaus
Photograph: Café Einstein Stammhaus

23. Cafe Einstein Stammhaus

For a taste of old-world decadence that never goes out of style, visit this Nollendorfplatz institution. It’s set in a neo-Renaissance villa built in the 1870s by a wealthy industrialist; red leather banquettes, parquet flooring and the crack of wooden chairs all contribute to the historic Viennese café experience. You could come for a bracing breakfast of herb omelette with feta cheese and spinach or, in the afternoon, a classic apple strudel and a Wiener Melange (a creamy Austrian coffee), all served with a flourish by the charming uniformed waiters.

Price: Average

Berlin might not be known for its seafood, but Peruvian chef Omar Ben Hammou is trying to change that — and with Lila, he’s got a decent shot at it, too. Named after the chef’s mother and grandmother, Lila offers mouthwatering small plates drawing from a wide range of influences from around the world. Be sure to try the ceviche and truffle pasta, but rest assured that the menu is full of treasures and treats for every palette. 

Price: Pricey

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