This rowdy beer garden has been doing Berliners a brisk service since 1852, and lies across the courtyard from an old ballroom of the same name, attracting a noisy crowd. The enthusiastic beer-swilling, big wooden tables and platefuls of Bratwurst and Bretzeln (pretzels) can almost make you feel like you’ve been teleported down south to Munich. There’s an indoor bar with a traditional German restaurant but in summer you want to join the all-day buzz outdoors with a house-brewed Pils in the shade. Brunch is served from 10am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
The döner kebab, the currywurst – invented by a Charlottenburg street vendor in 1949 – and the Berliner doughnut made famous by President Kennedy are all synonymous with the city, and can be bought from restaurants and street food vendors around town. Here is our critics’ selection of where to find the finest specimens – as well as the best in traditional German dishes such as schnitzel and sauerkraut.