Food guide: 24 hours in Berlin

For all things hip, hot and happening, you have to go to Berlin. For food too. What could be better than eating nothing but food in Berlin for 24 hours? We’ve collected the best addresses for you, so you can spend the whole day chewing your way around the city.

Breakfast

For a traditional German breakfast, head to Engelberg. Think: perfectly thinly sliced German charcuterie and cheeses, pretzels, Bavarian weißwurst, strammer Max (sourdough topped with German ham and a fried egg) or another hot dish from the 100-percent-delicious menu. If you decide to have lunch here, that’s great too—be sure to have a weißbier with it. You can of course have one with breakfast too.

Go here soon: Yalla Yalla Foodbar in Den Bosch

Bread is love, and they understand that at Zeit für Brot. A small chain with three locations, best known for its sweet buns. The great thing about Zeit für Brot is that you can see, smell and taste that the bread is baked with love. German sourdough bread is the specialty, with no fewer than 24 different varieties to choose from. How about a crunchy körnerkruste? Or a real bergsteiger? Thanks to the stamp in the crust, you know for sure that you have an original in your hands.

Nice: you can order from the menu and have breakfast in the shop, or tuck your bread under your arm (a little Paris in Berlin) and find a sunny park. Be sure to try the classic sweet cinnamon buns. Or the upgraded versions of those buns with white chocolate and rhubarb.

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Lunch

Perhaps not the location you’d expect for one of Berlin’s most popular burger joints: an old public toilet building. A very beautiful one, though. The green, clearly historic building is tucked away beneath a tram line in Kreuzberg. Burgermeister is compared by many Berliners to Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap, which we’ll get to later. One of the few places where you have to queue for your food, but it’s all worth it. The ‘Meisterburger’ with fried onion, bacon and barbecue sauce is to die for and also the most popular burger. What we especially loved was the brioche bun it’s served on. If you end up making it a late night, Burgermeister is also suitable for a midnight snack. They’re open until late, after all.

Had enough meat? Then head to 1990 Vegan Living . Berlin is known as a vega(n)-friendly city—we wrote this ‘Favorite Food Cities’ article about it earlier—and you can really tell here. 1990 Vegan Living has a Vietnamese menu full of lovely dishes such as thit bung (crispy soy with sesame and tamarind-chili sauce), various spring rolls and dumplings, and coconut curry. The dishes are perfect for sharing; each bite costs around €4.

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Snacking

In every part of Berlin, you’ll run into a market at some point. Whether it’s a flea, vintage or food market, they’re all worth a visit. In the city on a Sunday? Start your market crawl at the Mauerpark Food Market. At this market you’ll find Korean, Venezuelan, Polish and German snacks, good Riesling wines for less than €10 per bottle, greasy fresh mackerel… you’ll be occupied here for a while. If you want to take a break, you can let loose during a karaoke session without any shame. Totally normal—they all do it here.

Drinks and bites

Yes, time for drinks. This is the best thing about Berlin: there’s a beach in the middle of the city. Charlies Beach, to be precise. If you want to visit Checkpoint Charlie, as the tourist you are, you can stop by here at the same time. We ate the famous Berliner currywurst here, served on a cardboard plate with thick fries on the side. Delicious. The only real Currywurst Museum is located across from the beach, incidentally. You’re here for drinks, of course, so don’t forget to order a cocktail, beer or wine. And apply plenty of sunscreen.

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If you don’t feel like getting sand in your sandwich but do want to enjoy drinks outdoors, head to Prater Garten. Berlin’s oldest beer garden survived both the First and Second World Wars and is therefore full of stories. If you read up on Prater Garten’s history beforehand, your beer will immediately taste much better. Try the unique ‘Praterbier’. It’s brewed and served only here. The many wooden benches and tables beneath the trees create a lovely summer picnic feeling. Bonus: you can also get prater schnitzels here.

Dinner

For those who want to keep these 24 hours completely German, there’s Fleischerei. This is where you’ll find the perfect schnitzel. You’re dining in a former butcher’s shop, so all the other meat is just as good. The long tables are laid with snow-white table linen, and the mix of industrial and cozy makes Fleischerei Berlin a perfect place for a leisurely meal. You might even make friends with your table neighbors.

If you want a slightly fancier dinner, you really have to go to Tim Raue**. You may remember him from the Chef’s Table episode that centered on his eponymous restaurant. The Asian-inspired dishes (‘A combination of Japanese perfection, Thai aromas and Chinese culinary principles’) are as good as you’d expect from a two-Michelin-starred restaurant: refined and creative.

Last but not least: we want to go back to Knofi just for the name alone. You may have guessed it—in this restaurant, they know their garlic. When you walk in, the first thing you see is a large refrigerator packed with Mediterranean delicacies. If you want to take something home, you can. Definitely stay for the various knofetti: small dishes filled with treats such as beetroot mousse, falafel, couscous and stuffed vegetables… plenty of choice. The outdoor terrace is slightly reminiscent of Paris, which isn’t bad either.

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Late night drinks & snack

In the same episode where we got to know Tim Raue, we also discovered Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap. According to Tim, you absolutely have to get your kebab here at least once. Easier said than done, because the queue is (for that reason?) seriously long. But as tends to happen after a few alcoholic drinks, nothing can stop us on our way to the perfect kebab sandwich. We’ll take the queue in stride. Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap is open until 05:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

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You can get those alcoholic drinks anywhere, but at Suicide Circus you also get an entire experience thrown in. This club, half outdoors and half indoors, is located behind a brightly colored wall covered in artistic graffiti. It’s a true hidden gem; you won’t know where to look first. The club mainly hosts techno parties, which are well worth attending, but you may suddenly run into an old train carriage that turns out to house a trendy bar. You can actually stay there until 09:00 in the morning. Cocktails, anyone?