Image by Ciarán Fahey

Underground out of sight, in a place open until at least 6am – exactly where you want to do your drinking. Silberfisch has long been one of those bars which gives you the feeling Berlin wants you to become a vampire, sleeping all day, out all night. It’s an easy transformation. There’s something comforting in walking down the steps from Oranienburger Straße into this den to be greeted by the friendly bar staff like a long-lost Chilean miner.

DJs with remarkably good taste churn out the sounds seven days a week. Regulars sit at the bar exchanging ill-formed commentaries with whoever listens, consoling indignations with choices from the extensive drinks menu. Visitors are delighted to listen to commentary from knowledgeable locals, toasting their own diplomacy with choices from the extensive drinks menu.

It can be smoky, it can be loud, but there’s an extensive drinks menu. Specialties include Absinthe Sour (€8), Pina Colada (€7.50) and my favourite, Long Island Iced Tea (€9.50), all interspersed with Jägermeisters of course. Beer starts at €3. Exclusive to the Silberfisch however is its infamous Weltfrieden (World Peace) which is served in what can only be described a massive goblet for €15.

“After three double vodkas, bitter lemon and tonic, everyone is for world peace,” explained the barman. There are safer drinks of course, for those who want to make use of the dance floor.

The Silberfisch is best enjoyed after midnight when all the other vampires also come out to play.

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Silberfisch | Bars, Music, Relaxing | Beer from € 3.00
Oranienburger Str. 37 | Mitte | +493028387388
Sun – Thu 20:00 – 06:00, Fri – Sat 20:00 – 08:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

Long one of my favourite haunts, the only disadvantage bohemian Café Cinema has for me is that it seems to be one of everybody else’s favourite haunts too. It can be hard to find a table!

I first stumbled in here in 2004 and I’ve been stumbling out of it pretty often since.

Old movie posters and film snaps decorate the walls, overseen by film-set lighting above, but it’s the classic lines of its simple and tasteful furniture, with candles adorning the tables, which give this cosy Berlin institution (in operation since 1990) its cosmopolitan air.

But for the music which is always great, (I’ve never heard a bad song here), you would imagine you were back in the 1920s, a wonderful time to be in Berlin by all accounts. (I’m not that old.)

Friendly prices ensure regulars return, with coffee just €1.50, beer (.5l) for €2.90, and proper Cuba Libres being set free for €4. Snacks range from cake for €1, stew with bread for €2.50, a mixed salad with sheeps’ cheese and tuna for €3.70, or (from 18:00) two fried eggs with salad and your choice of tomato, ham or mushroom, or a combination, for no more that €3.50.

Café Cinema is a favourite meeting place for Berliners and it stays open late too. That’s probably not a coincidence.

Don’t forget to check out Haus Schwarzenberg (check the Haus Schwarzenberg article) just behind it while you’re here.

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Café Cinéma | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | Cake € 1.00
Rosenthaler Straße 39 | Mitte | +49302806415
12:00 – late daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Natalia Irina Roman

I dropped by Bflat, for the first time, by coincidence on a lazy Wednesday evening. I set down in a corner and leaned on one of the big windows. While I was happily entertained by a Hefeweizen (in case you don’t know, make sure you will get to know this type of German beer), I started wondering whether the piano and saxophone players were improvising or not. It was pretty good jazz. The answer came two minutes later when somebody from the audience asked the piano player for his seat and got it.

I go back to Bflat every now and then, on Wednesdays, when they have their free entrance jam sessions, starting with 9pm. Bflat is close to Hackescher Markt, has a mixed public and great acoustics.

Tip: They charge around 10 Euro for concerts during other evenings.

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Bflat Jazzclub | Bars, Music | Beck’s € 2.60
Rosenthaler Strasse 13 | Mitte | +493028386835
Almost daily from 21:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Natalia Irina Roman

Subway platform. Crowded. Around seven pm, Tuesday. It seems that everybody is trying to squeeze in here. It might even be true, when one of those rainy Berlin days. We’re at the U2 station Stadtmitte. It’s a busy one, with two arteries – the U2 platform and the U6, bound together by a seemingly never ending tunnel.

Between the U2 platform and the tunnel there is an in situ stage, created by musicians who stop there from time to time. Accordion. Saxophone. Electric Piano. Violin. Or three guitars. The great acoustic embraces the distracted passer byes and sometimes, awakens them from their daily routine. Not sure what makes the acoustic so great – the walls or the need for this embrace.

This article is not meant to bring you to Stadtmitte. It’s meant to be remembered when one happens to be there spontaneously. And when you do remember it, smile and stop for six minutes. To listen.

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Stadtmitte Subway | Art & culture, Music, Relaxing | Free
Friedrichstr. 193A | Mitte
Irregular

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Natalia Irina Roman

I discovered Doors by chance. Walking on Knaackstraße, I noticed ivy growing over a small bar. Almost could not read its name, but somehow the open dark room drew me in. We left it only after 3 o’clock in the night. Doors stays a classic.

The ivy crowds the facade of the bar – I wonder whether it’s a sign of age, if it grew together with the place. Maybe the ivy is meant to hide the place, keep it for the right people. Doors is a small bar packed with posters. Expect AC / DC kind of music, candle light and customers with mixed ages, starting at 20:00 every day.

Tip: Doors is a smoking bar.

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Doors Bar | Bars, Music | Hefeweizen € 3.10
Knaackstr 94 | Prenzlauer Berg | +49304427847
From 20:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Paul Vachier – www.transmitmedia.com/photogallery/

If you miss classics, if you want a break from big cinemas, or if you’re just looking for some neighbourhood hidden location, have a look at the silent film evenings in Morus street 14. It’s a social project in Neükölln – films are accompanied by live piano, every first Wednesday a month.

Expect a charming electro piano, an original piano soundtrack performed by Francois Regis, films by directors such as Lubitsch and Charlie Chaplin, a small bar with affordable prices, authentic, cosy atmosphere and elderly public. The films are organized within a bigger social project and are donation based.

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Morusstreet 14 | Cinemas, Music, Snacks
Morusstr 14 | Neukölln
Every 1st Wednesday of the month from 19:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sharon Mertins

Throughout the past few years, Prenzlauerberg has gained a reputation for being more family oriented than an area with good vibrant nightlife. But there are still a few places up there that I frequent when I’m in the mood to have a late night out…

Every time I walk into Soupanova I feel the urge to giggle. It might be the clashing colors yellow, orange, green, red, pink, lilac…or the Indonesian light ornaments and all the mirrors around that reflect them, the flower stamped chairs, or maybe just the bartenders who always seem to welcome people with a big smile and a little giggle to go with it. I guess I like it because all the colors and flower ornaments around suddenly get me in a good mood….like being invited into someone’s living room somewhere in a warm part of the world.

The place consists of three rooms: Chill room, bar room, and live music / DJs / reading room with a nice flowery stage. Anything can happen in the third one. Sometimes, if the occasion calls for it, they have karaoke! They serve freestyle food, a mix between Indonesian, Thai and Indian, like dumplings and the famous ‘Intersoup’ with coconut milk. They have cocktails, spirits and fresh juice. The only down side is that they only have two kinds of beer. But the vibe there is always nice, and whenever the weather permits it, they have outside sofas.

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Soupanova | Bars, Music, Snacks, Restaurants | Snacks € 4.50
Stargarder str. 24 | Prenzlauer Berg
From 18:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sharon Mertins

….. the little Angy Chicken take-out becomes a night club. The ‘angry’ chickens are put away to make way for a kitchen-like cloakroom right before the entrance of the ‘Soju Bar’ in the back. Once you get in, you will be standing in the middle of what looks like an urban street corner. Everything is covered in black tiles and neon lights, and the mirrored upper part of the dance floor is decorated with neon Korean signs. The music is a healthy mix of dance and minimal techno.

But the best part is even further back through the concrete walls where you’ll find a door leading to a handicapped toilette where a Karaoke machine lives! Throughout the night, you can dance out on the dance floor or sing your little heart out in that crowded toilette with, for the most part, chipper party goers who buy everyone else drinks to celebrate their euphoria of singing along to Michael Jackson, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones or even Britney Spears.

The perfect place for people going out with friends with a completely different taste in music! If you don’t like the club, the toilette offers a wide selection of alternative music.

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Soju Bar | Bars, Music | Entrance € 5.00
Skalitzerstr. 36 | Kreuzberg
Wed -Sat from 23:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Sharon Mertins

Like I’ve said in other recommendations, in Kreuzberg, there is no priority given to any kind of rushing. Except for when days are sunny, the weather is friendly enough for outside activity and everyone rushes out to the canal to enjoy the sun, the swans, friends’ company, or a quiet moment alone with a book. One of the many charms of Kreuzberg is the abundance of green and its closeness to water.

The area’s laid back attitude means that no matter how broke you are, there is absolutely no reason for you to not be able to enjoy life. So if you don’t feel like sitting in a nice cafe or simply don’t feel like spending too much money, there’s always the option of buying drinks at any ‘spatkauf’ and joining the rest of the Berliners on the grass at the edge of the canal or on ‘Admiralbruecke’ where you can be serenaded by guitar players, singers, or a passing DJ with a boom box on his bicycle.

Despite new regulations which don’t allow people to stay on the bridge after 22:00, hanging around this area with a bottle of ‘Berliner pils’ or some good wine in hand is probably one of the most Berlinish things to do. And isn’t it lovely to be able to just relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life?

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Kreuzberg Canal | Music, Relaxing | Free
Planufer 10967 | Kreuzberg
From sunrise to 22:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Herrmann Koenigs

There is no sign anywhere saying that this ruin-like, run down little building that might have been an old workshop is the “Antje Øklesund”. I admit it’s hard to find but more than worth the search.

Inside you will get the special feeling, a special atmosphere that can only be created in these seemingly unfinished places; rooms of which you think they have hardly been overworked to make it a club for live music. Here you walk between old brick stone walls that are used as exhibition space for photography work. Or as the makers understand it, here everything and everyone is part of the art. Believe me in this: It’s an awesome place!

The music can be any type of live amusement – from Trash to Rock, from Singer/Songwriter to Electro-Pop. The website gives you funny descriptions of the band’s type of music. In my experience, it doesn’t really give you a clear picture; it’s always a bit of a surprise. But be sure the musicians are mostly unknown and give their best to convince the audience and to establish themselves.

Nowadays it seems there are no regular opening days and times. Make sure you check the website for dates.

Here a special tip to find it: When you are on Rigaer Strasse watch out for a super market called “Lidl”. Exactly opposite you will find a widely open gate, enter it into the backyard and go through, sticking to the right.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Antje Øklesund | Music | Admisssion € 4.00
Rigaer Straße 71 | Friedrichshain
Tue & Fri 22:00 – 02:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin