Coffee & tea – All our local tips

“For me Berliner backyards are like surprises. You never know what’s waiting for you behind the gate.”

On one hand the way apartment buildings were built during the so called “Gründerzeit” (time around 1870-1914) produced the typical apartment blocks in Berlin, now known as “Altbauten” (old buildings) or “Mietskasernen” (tenements). On the other hand it gave Berlin those backyards everywhere.

In a particular area called “Scheunenviertel” (Barn Quarter) you can find a couple of very interesting “Hinterhöfe” where life seems to be hidden. Enjoy theatres, cinemas, galleries, museums, shops, cafes, bars, restaurants and other surprises there!

Except for “Hackesche Höfe“, now a tourist magnet and the most prominent complex of backyards, tourists and even Berliners don’t visit them. That is very unfortunate. And you will understand that if you go out to discover the following backyards:
– Backyard of Haus Schwarzenberg (see the Haus Schwarzenberg article)
- Heckmannhöfe (see the Heckmanhoefe article)
- Hackesche Höfe: a complex of 8 backyards
Rosenthaler Straße 40/41 & Sophienstraße 6
- Kunsthof, contains very nice hospitality and quality galleries
Oranienburger Strasse 27
- Sophie-Gips-Höfe, contains the Hoffmann Collection (see the Hoffmann collection article) Sophienstraße 21
- Rosenhöfe, Rosenthaler Strasse 36
- Panasia/Gallerie Cicero, Rosenthaler Strasse 38

Also, I’d like to encourage you to keep your eyes open for many other backyards in this area and not to be shy to enter them. With a bit of luck you can find real jewels of cultural & night life in them!

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Berliner backyards | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Theaters, Restaurants
Different locations | Mitte
Various opening times

Once in Buchkantine, a café just a street away from the river, you will wonder yourself: how come not all cafes have books, or how come not all bookstores serve coffee? The books are new, and in case something is missing, one can order new titles from one day to the next. The bulk is in German but there are also a few English titles.

There is Wireless internet available for free, on request, and the music covers jazz and relaxed tones. They also show detective films every Sunday between 20:00 and 22:00. The people from Buchkantine are friendly and have a great sense of humor, too, some of their passwords for the Wireless used to be: I want to stay alone with my sandwich or the horse eats cucumbers.

The mixture of books, music and drinks is a good choice for a relaxed afternoon or simply for a search for new books or new inspiration. While writing this text, I am sitting at one of their tables and I observe with curiosity my neighbour – a middle aged man, alone with his laptop, longer hair, looking at the people sitting around as if they would suddenly become characters in his novel. One thing is sure, now he certainly has become a character on Spotted by Locals.

Tip: A books’ connoisseur is in the café from Monday to Friday, between 09:30 and 18:30, and on Saturday between 09:30 and 17:00 o’clock.

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Buchkantine | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping, Snacks | Tee € 2.20
Essenerstr 11 | Tiergarten | +493094883728
09:30 – 20:00 daily

This café & créperie has a pleasant underlying 19th century romantic atmosphere.  On entering you are greeted by a beautiful art nouveau mural of a young girl covered in garlands of flowers in her windswept hair by Mucha. Further back is a cosy corner decorated with a chic chandelier, warm red velvet seating and drapes.  You can imagine a modern day Rainer Maria Rilke penning his poems whilst enjoying a fragrant coffee.

Not only does this café offer delicious homemade cakes, tarts, and fresh breakfasts; but there is also an adjoining Florist that sells a beautiful array of flowers and plants. Fresh flowers are also used in some of the café’s specialities, like the fragrant fresh rose tea, which is a must!

If you head there with a friend for breakfast, I recommend one of their breakfasts for two menu trays, where various breakfast standards and fresh fruit are presented attractively on quaint tiered silver trays.

In summer take advantage of their large outdoor terrace to enjoy the sunshine. If you enjoy a good read, then you can borrow a book from their mini library, with books donated by customers and staff. The books are sweetly housed in the hollow of a tree trunk nest to Anna Blume’s terrace area for your reading pleasure.

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Cafe Anna Blume | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (European)
Kollwitzstr. 83 | Prenzlauer Berg | +493044048749
08:00 – 02:00 daily

Normally a “Datscha” is a seasonal second home often located in the exurbs of Russian cities. But this Datscha is situated in the middle of Friedrichshain Kiez (neighbourhood) and concipated as a temporal second home for people who want to experience another culture.

Café Datscha represents the house of an old, rich Babushka, with high ceilings, wooden furniture, wide doors of colourful glass and many tiny framed pictures on the wall. On her menu she has everything the Russian/Ukraine/… grandchild can imagine: Borscht, Blintz, Pelmeni, Vareniki and much more.

If you want to try the wide range of snacks, sweets and warm food you have to visit the café on Sunday. Then they offer a big brunch (10:00-16:00) for 9 Euro (children 6 Euro).

So, Приятного аппетита (prijatnogo appetita!)

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Café Datscha | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Russian/Ukraine) | Blini € 5.50
Gabriel-Max-Straße 1 | Friedrichshain | +493070086735
From 10:00 daily

Most mornings as I merrily make my way down from Prenzlauerberg to bustling Mitte, I’m lucky enough to pass by the Café Fleury.

On entering the cosy interior with its eclectic blue/white furnishings and wicker chairs, you are immediately accosted with a mouth-watering rustic bouquet of fresh coffee, bread and melted cheese.  Scattered on the walls are little B&W portraits of ‘Nouvelle Vague’ legends Catherine DeNeuve, Jean Paul Belmondo and Romy Schneider to name a few.

This little gem luckily manages to avoid succumbing to the cliché ‘Allo Allo‘ style café.  Saying that, it seems to play with as well as pay homage to this very notion of ‘French-ness’

If you fancy kicking back with a sizeable bowl of Café au Lait (yes a bowl), then you can choose from a selection of French and German lifestyle magazines on offer to accompany you on a leisurely afternoon of lounging.

The menu has a reasonable choice of baguettes, quiches to breakfasts on offer throughout the day.  The ‘Croque Monsieur’ is to die for, it’s the best I’ve eaten outside of Paris. Being a sucker for tiny details, the accompanying edible condiment cups holding marmalade, cream, honey etc. (which are effectively the cut off bottoms of ice cream cones) are delightful.

If you’re more of a sweet tooth, Fleury offers a small selection of delicious homemade cakes and biscuits, naturellement.  Be warned, I’m not the only one who is enchanted by this bijou hotspot, it is regularly busy, but the short wait for a table is, in my humble opinion, is always worth it.

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Café Fleury | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (French) | Lunch € 6.00
Weinbergsweg 20 | Mitte | +493044034144
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 22:00

Morgenrot is one of the many cafes in Kastanienallee. It has a few tables outside, self service and mostly punk music. The atmosphere is relaxed and intimate around the small wooden tables.

What makes Morgenrot a special stop?
- One can borrow here a one chess-set-lacking-a-pawn.
- One can have here wonderful vegetarian brunches (until 15:00) for customer-decided-prices between 4 and 8 Euro.

Additionally, the cafe hosts cultural and political discussions – it is an open space which welcomes and supports such initiatives. This openness, the affordable prices, the great breakfasts and the vicinity to the Volksbuehne im Prater theatre (see the Volksbuehne article) make it worth while to me.

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Café Morgenrot | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Brunch from € 4.00
Kastanienallee 85 | Prenzlauer Berg | +493044317844
Tue – Thu 10:00 – 01:00, Fri – 10:00 – 03:00, Sat 11:00 – 03:00, Sun 11:00 – 01:00

The first thing that comes to your mind when you enter Sankt Oberholz is: Is this an office or a cafe? People staring at and typing on their computers can be seen everywhere. From time to time, they take a sip of their Latte Macchiato, watching who enters the room while chatting with their neighbor. The secret ingredient at Sankt Oberholz is simple: Wireless Internet. This is no new concept for cafes in Berlin but somehow this one has become the preferred hotspot for laptop owners and wireless nomads.

But don’t worry, pixel lovers aren’t the only ones welcome here. There are some more things that make St. Oberholz such a special place to visit. For example, lots of interesting, creative and international people frequent the cafe, located in Berlin’s trendy Mitte District.

So it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if the fashionable Asian girl in the corner is a successful media artist, the nerdy boy at the next chair the leader of an electro band, and if you look closer, the gonzo guy buying a fresh-made peppermint tea could be the author of a popular controversial coming-of-age novel. Or maybe they are just normal students like me.

In any case, it’s not just the people that usually frequent St. Oberholz that are unique, it’s also the cafe itself. Don’t just limit yourself to the ground floor where the self-service bar is situated. Be sure to go upstairs to the first floor and try to find a seat next to the huge windows. There you’ll have a great view over bustling Rosenthaler Platz – that means more people to watch plus the beautiful light of the sunset in the evening.

By the way, the self-service bar in the cafe offers a huge plate of delicious Spaghetti Bolognese for € 5.00! For smaller appetites you can chose from cakes, sandwiches, bagels and soups.

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Cafe Sankt Oberholz | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks, Restaurants (intern.)
Rosenthaler Straße 72a | Mitte | +493024085586
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 00:00

Cafe Solvey is an exception in Berlin’s cafe scenery. This place is designed and furnished with a special love of details. A lot of people are taking a look in the showcase while I am sitting inside with a cup of coffee and a piece of self made apple pie.

Somehow Solvey doesn’t fit in this demure neighborhood; maybe because of all the flowers, the pillows with pink roses on it, the pale green walls, and the lovely selected furniture. It reminds you of the perfectly composed gardens pictured in perfect garden magazines, but more individually.

In another room you’ll find a whole children’s paradise which is also interesting for bigger children like us: furniture for doll houses, wooden toys, and a lot more bibelot for children and grownups. A bookshelf with books and magazines is accessible for everyone. The cafe integrates also a small delicatessen and gift shop where you can buy chocolate truffle, self made marmalade, make-up like lip gloss in the form of tiny cakes, jewelry, books and more gadgets. So this spot is a lovely created garden which makes you feel like in summer while it rains outside.

The café offers Wireless Internet too and it is possible to rent the location for events. From time to time Solvey also presents readings.

Solvey also has a daily lunch special which is made of ecological and/or own cultivation.

Every Friday they offer an English Teatime from 17:00 with Kusmi Tea, Muffins and English live music.

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Cafe Solvey | Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | white coffee € 2.30
Invalidenstraße 150 | Mitte | +493099271751
Tue – Fri 11:00 – 18:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

Chocolate, Ice cream, cakes and coffee – in this cafe you are spoilt for choice!

In a small oriel of a grand building which is situated near Savignyplatz, people with a passion for sweets will feel at home. In summer you can sit outside and watch the passers-by while enjoying your ice cream, in winter the small cozy interior invites you to a hot chocolate. In the tubular room you will find two big vitrines for ice cream and cakes in the front and comfortable armchairs in the back.

The ambiance is perfect for enjoying special coffee drinks like Chocolate café to the full. Also breakfast, yogurt with fruits, baguette, antipasti and wine is offered.

If you want to go there more often you should get a Bleibtreu-Karte (loyalty card) which gives you a loyalty bonus (a free coffee or ice cream) after 9 visits/stamps.

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Chokocafé | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Hot dark Chocolate € 2.80
Bleibtreustraße 15/16 | Charlottenburg
11:00 – 19:00 daily

Calling all sweet-tooths ahoy! The eagle has landed just off Simon Dach Strasse in Friedrichshain; Cupcake offers an impressive spread of rainbow coloured, e-number packed, sugary treats.

Yummy baked goods range from moist butterylicious (yes I made the last word up…) frosting crowned cupcakes to scrumptious traditional brownies and blondies.  All of which are guaranteed to trigger the proverbial diabetic coma or at the very least lead to a bad case of early tooth decay; which may I add is totally worth it.

The balance of kitsch/stylish is just right; not going overboard with pink/white décor and enough cute quirky touches nonetheless.  Being the English lass I am, I like to accompany my choice of cupcake (Pretty in Pink – in case you’re wondering) with a refreshing cup of tea, served in what looks very much like my grandmothers 1960’s crockery.

Don’t be fooled, this is not solely a girly affair, my mates and I are often outnumbered by generously tattooed men with furrowed brows indulging in a cupcake or two. Fear not vegans, you too can feast Bacchus style, as Cupcake offers equally tasty vegan options as well.

Friends and foes, be warned, my advice is ‘come prepared’.  I personally would avoid eating a couple of hours in advance; these sinful delights are calorific bombs waiting to explode! Come on now, how else do you think they taste so damn good huh? If on a diet avoid this place like the plague or if you are anything like me, come here when you’re feeling like being naughtily indulgent.

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Cupcake | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Cupcake € 2.00
Krossener Straße 12 | Friedrichshain | +493025768687
Wed – Sun 12:00 -19:00

Now, what a bar this is! Though, it’s a bit strange to purely call it a bar. From 2 pm it is open every day. Then, it’s called “Kaffe Kaschemme” – being a cafe. That includes nice coffees, cakes and more plus a seating area outside in the backyard (check the backyard article) of Haus Schwarzenberg (check the Haus Schwarzenberg article) where you are surrounded by a funny metal frog-sculpture and lots of cool street art on the walls.

From 20:00 onwards the cafe is “turned” into the bar “Eschschloraque Rümschrüp”. (If you wonder about the names: they don’t mean anything in German but sound funny, crazy and strange.) All that changes now is the name, the fact that you’ll get cocktails next to the usual menu and that there is some sort of musical act.

And it’s a bit of a surprising gambling, concerning the music (unless you check the website). Either DJs play rarely heard music or you’ll get any sort of live experience: Folk, Pop, electronic, singer-songwriter,… anything, really!

Oh, and did I mention the interior? Green, blue and red lights and alien-sculptures make this place deserve the synonym “The Alien-Bar”, as a friend of mine called it recently. And by the way, the waitresses are always nice and friendly.

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Eschschloraque Rümschrüp | Bars, Coffee & tea | Beer 0.33 l € 2.60
Rosenthaler Straße 39 | Mitte
14:00 – open end daily

For DVDs I highly recommend the video rental store “Filmkunst” (”Movie Art”).
Here you quickly understand that you haven’t arrived in one of these super commercial mainstream stores of which there are numerous ones in Berlin. The decoration of the walls – retro wallpapers – is only a first proof for that.

Films are logically sorted by country and then by directors – the best way to get to know (so far) unknown film maker legends. Of course, you can find underground stuff as well.

If you haven’t got an idea of what to watch: They’ve got charts. Wanna find all time favorites? The best horror, action, thriller or romantic movie? No problem.

You might think about bringing some time with you because the “Filmkunst” simultaneously is a little coffee shop. Enjoy your cappuccino and study the list of best movies!

When you go there for the first time bring your passport for a quick registration. All members have access to their online data base.

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Filmkunst | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping | Movie/Day € 1.60
Revaler Strasse 8 | Friedrichshain | +493041997165
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 00:00, Sun 13:00 – 00:00

“Prego signore!” is what I first heard at Gianni’s Pasta Bar – and of course ever on. Today I’m convinced that to here is where Gianni brought his home – Italy.

This place is at half a source for any Italian food you wanna buy (wine, pasta (-sauces), cheese, meat, marinated veggies, sweets, etc.). On the other half – and here comes my recommendation – I love it for the weekly changing lunch menu and the best coffee I found in town (and it’s more than reasonably priced – cappuccino € 1.30). Oh, and I should not forget to mention their yummy ciabattas (€ 2.10 – 2.90) in four different varieties which I prefer to take away.

But the actual star of the Pasta Bar are the lovely staff: Gianni Gillone – the always charming owner and workaholic and, of course, the very nice and friendly girls whom one quickly takes to one’s heart.

Being a regular here, I keep seeing new faces as well as many daily guests – and they can’t be wrong! It’s simply a great place to read newspaper or just to chat with friends.

I recently took a couple of friends from Italy here. And they proved this place as “Italian”; they loved the coffee (that’s means something!) and liked the variety of Gianni’s goods.

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Gianni’s Pasta Bar | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Italian) | Pasta € 4.30
Schönhauser Allee 186A | Mitte | +493044323830
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 21:00

Evidenced by the growing number of articles I’ve penned for this site on cafes & bars, you may get the idea that all I do in Berlin is booze and drink coffee – and you would be correct!

With that in mind, there is nothing like a shot of vodka and a good ole coffee,  preferably all in the same place.  As I’m too lazy to go bar hopping, Gorki Park is literally right up my alley.

It’s a great place to hang out with mates or sit down with your laptop and work, with the added bonus of delicious Russian dishes like  pelmini, blini and borsch.  There is nothing like a Soljanka soup to warm you up on one of those often dour and cold Berlin winter days. Lactose intolerant beware, sour cream is served with practically everything. Yum.

Enjoy the many flavoured vodkas on offer, with a backdrop of vintage Soviet propaganda posters and pictures of Yuri Gagarin decorating the walls. Smokers you’re in luck, as Gorki Park has a comfortable smokers room/section; so you do not have to be subjected to smoking outside in freezing temperatures or relegated to the back of the building like naughty school children, as is the case in many establishments.

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Gorki Park | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Russian) | Breakfast € 8.00
Weinbergsweg 25 | Mitte | +49304487286
09:30 – 02:00 daily

My favorite backyard (see the Backyards article): Haus Schwarzenberg.

One could say there are two cafes/bars, two shops, a gallery, a cinema, a museum…But that wouldn’t be enough to describe the importance of Haus Schwarzenberg. For getting a proper feeling of the cultural Berlin you have to go there.

Here is where Otto Weidt saved lives of deaf and blind Jewish workers from Holocaust in his broom and brush workshop. Find out more about this historical place in the “Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt“.

The memorial “Stille Helden” honors and commemorates those people who, like Otto Weidt, risked their own lives to rescue prosecuted Jewish people from assured death.

Go further through to the second backyard. Here’s the lovely cinema “Central” (see this article). Also, you have the café “Kaschemme” which is “turned” into a bar and renamed “Eschschloraque” at 20:00 (see this article), a place with an alien-like decoration and really friendly staff.

Above the “Eschschloraque” is the “Neurotitan” – an extremely unique shop and gallery that sells, supports and exhibits all kinds of works of local artists, be it paintings/drawings, CDs/records or t-shirts/tops, books or other stuff.

Other places in Haus Schwarzenberg that are also worth going to are the “Anne-Frank-Zentrum” – an exhibition about the life of the Jewish girl whose diary became so famous and the lovely “Café Cinema”.

Finally, take some time to look at the walls. Most of Berlin’s famous street artists, such as Alias, El Bocho, Karl Toon or Vectorian, are present here.

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Haus Schwarzenberg | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Music, Shopping
Rosenthaler Strasse 39 | Mitte
Daily

Russians know how to party. One of the most famous ones in Germany is the writer Wladimir Kaminer. He came to Berlin in 1990 and started a Russian Disco at the Kaffee Burger near Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz 8 years ago.

It didn’t take a long time until the Russendisko turned into a real Berliner institution. The two DJs, Kaminer and Yuriy present famous Russian Pop, Hip Hop, Rock, Ska and Reggae twice a month on Saturday.

Thanks to Kaffee Burger, which used to be frequented by actors, authors and singers in the 70’s, the atmosphere is authentic. Old velour wallpaper, dark wooden chairs, leather lounges and dim light make this place perfect for Russian parties where Vodka flows freely and the joint is always jumping. An old GDR-list of beverages on the wall and the huge soldier’s head next to the checkroom remind you of times when one part of Germany was run by a socialist regime.

But anyway, nostalgia fits the Russian mentality, so the Kaffee and the Russendisko go perfectly together. The place’s popularity proves it: people from all over the world dance together to the beat on the rather small dance floor. Hot air and lots of romping people create a frenetic party atmosphere that generally gets started around midnight and lasts until 4 or 5 in the morning.

Aside from Russendisko on Saturday nights, it’s also worth it to visit Kaffee Burger for other events. Almost every day they offer readings, live music, movies or parties. Kaffee Burger Bar itself is always open on Friday and Saturday evening.

The next Russendisko dates you will find here.

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Kaffee Burger | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music | Entry fee € 5.00
Torstraße 60 | Mitte | +493028046495
Fri – Sat 22:00 – open end, Sun – Thu open during events

If there is any place in Berlin that exemplifies the love and dedication of a group of fans for a band, it is in this the small museum dedicated solely to Queens finest – The Ramones. After a short closure and hiatus period, The Ramones Museum (which is the first and only museum of it’s kind in the world) has reopened after upping sticks from their original Kreuzberg location to Mitte.

This ‘Klein aber fein’ homage to the punk’s godfathers, offers fans the chance to see original and rare band memorabilia. Everything from Johnny Ramones iconic white/black Mosrite guitar, to his ripped jeans or rare childhood photos and school reports. You can also watch footage from their earlier gigs in the 70’s, read the original scribbled texts to songs like ‘I wanna be your boyfriend’ or “Judy is a Punk’. Even Marky Ramones signed drumsticks and Chucks are lovingly displayed in a glass case.

What I like about this place is that most everything that is exhibited are donations from die hard fans, whether it be old set lists ripped of the stage after a gig, signed tickets by the band or an old water bottle Joey Ramone threw into the audience during a show.

Afterwards you can chill out have a coffee and a slice of cake whilst chatting to other fellow Ramones fans in the café or buy some branded merchandise like the iconic Ramones logo T-shirt, buttons and a host of other paraphernalia.

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Ramones Museum Berlin | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | Entry € 3.50
Krausnickstr.23 | Mitte
Mon – Thu 08:00 – 18:00, Fri 08:00 – 22:00, Sat 10:00 – 22:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

Simon-Dach-Strasse became very famous over the last couple of years. It is not at all a secret, hidden road but still more than worth to choose for going out.

Restaurants, cafes, bars, snack bars (such as the “Pizza Dach” (see the Pizza Dach article) or “Tigris” (see the Tigris article) and even barber shops, ice cream parlours, shops and bakeries – the whole road is lined with them. There is always a bar that offers Happy Hour for cocktails (then € 3.50 – € 4.50). Beers cost between € 2.70 – € 3.00 in most places.

Find all styles of bars: rock, retro, old school or modern ones. One bar, the “DK – Dachkammer” even has a very atmospheric lounge on the floor upstairs.
On Saturdays and Sundays people gather for “Brunch” when all cafes and restaurants offer quality buffet (all you can eat) for between € 5.00 and € 10.00.

When walking through Simon-Dach-Strasse pay attention to the recently renovated old buildings that are now probably more beautiful than they were in the times when they were built – an extraordinary example is on corner Simon-Dach-Str./Krossener Str. – check it out!

Important to know: Many more restaurants, cafes and bars are located at close by roads “Gabriel-Max-Strasse”, “Grünberger Strasse”, “Wühlischstrasse”, “Boxhagener Strasse” and “Gärtnerstrasse”. Although the most important road of all, “Simon-Dach-Strasse” can be used as a synonym for the whole area (in German called “Kiez”), including famous Boxhagener Platz (see the Boxhagener Platz article).

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Simon-Dach-Strasse | Bars, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants
Simon-Dach-Strasse | Friedrichshain
Daily

My secret tip : Sonntagstrasse.

For going out, most Berliners know and use trendy areas like around Simon-Dach-Strasse (see the Simon-Dach-Strasse article) or Kastanienalle (see the Kastanienalle article). But if you go to Sonntagstrasse (regularly or not) you are either a real local or have read this article. Even those tourists who stay in nearby hostels are rarely seen here.

Get yourself a cheap pizza, kebab or beer in one of the cheaper stores and have it on a bench in adjacent Lenbachplatz (a little green area including meadows, a playground, table tennis tables, swings and soccer/basketball courts).

Or go for cocktails, coffee, beer, breakfast or foosball (here better known as “Kicker”) in one of the hip bars and cafes, such as the “Geronimo”, “Uebereck”, “Coffe Karma”, “Sunday”, “Tonart”, “Sieben” or “Lykia”. Or enjoy fine dining in the Asian restaurant “Transit”.

Sonntagstrasse even satisfies lovers of culture, e.g. in the theater “Zebrano” (simultaneously a bar & cafe). Also, unique clothing stores invite for shopping.

Located in the very east of trendy district Friedrichshain, Sonntagstrasse is extremely easy to reach by public transport. It starts exactly at one of two exits of S-Bahn station “Ostkreuz” (the northern exit!). Also, bus no. 240 and tram no. 21 pass by (get off at “Neue Bahnhofstrasse”). The famous Simon-Dach-Strasse (see the Simon-Dach-Strasse article) is within a walking distance of about 10 minutes.

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Sonntagstrasse | Bars, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Several)
Sonntagstrasse | Friedrichshain
Daily

Close your eyes and imagine Sheherezade and her 1001 stories. Imagine her in an interior with tall walls, diffuse light, columns, cushions on the floor and exotic aromas.

The good part about this imagined place is that it has a physical address in the middle of Berlin, Im Palais, next to Unter den Linden. It is a hidden tea room with small tables and places to sit on the floor. Each tea has its own story.

Do not be afraid to enter the palace-looking-like house. You will find the tea room on the first floor, where the white-marble-building will open into a comfortable and warm space. You’ll get a feeling of crossing over.

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Tadshikische Teestube | Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Herb tea € 2.80
Am Festungsgraben 1 | Mitte | +49302041112
Mon – Fri 17:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 15:00 – 00:00

Fra Rosa is one of 3 branches of the Weinerei restaurant/café collective all located 100m apart from each other on Zionskirchplatz.  It has that typically cosy and inviting Berlin DIY style, as if you had just walked into someone’s living room.  Its’ eclectic mismatched furniture and random decorative accessories are all set against the backdrop of paint chipped walls with red toned fresco style murals depicting lascivious half dressed femme fatales – a knowing nod to Toulouse-Lautrec style illustrations.

I have to be honest when I was first introduced to the Weinerei I was a bit sceptical, especially the whole concept they present of renting your wine glass for the evening for 2 euros and drinking to your hearts content.  This made me ask the natural question ‘what’s the catch’?  Well after many visits I can safely say there isn’t any; you rent your glass and at the end of the evening it’s up to you to bestow upon the establishment and staff a fitting contribution at your own discretion. Needless to say failure to do so is a mortal sin and social faux pas!

It is not only wine that is on offer, there is a fixed lunch and an evening three-course menu available everyday, and I have to say it’s pretty decent.  Brazilian Head chef Hugo de Carvalho describes his style of food as ‘con-fusion’ cooking

Sit down, rent a glass and keep the vino flowing…Prost!

“Come, thou monarch of the vine, Plumpy Bacchus with pink eye.”  William Shakespeare

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Weinerei | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Fusion) | Glass rental € 2.00
Zionskirchstr. 40 | Prenzlauer Berg | +4917628209047
12:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – till late daily