Image by Ciarán Fahey

The heavenly smells wafting from Schwarze Pumpe will draw you in from the cold even before you’ve realised whether you’re hungry or not. In fact, you may wander in for just one Hefeweißbier (€2.90) and find yourself ordering a delicious Chili Con Carne (€4.50) too, as I did.

This cosy little pub/café/Kneipe has long been a favourite with locals, offering heart-warming (limbs too) German fare at its most tempting since it opened in 1993. Daily specials like Fenchel-Tomaten-Suppe (€3.50), broccoli and potato bake (€6), cheese Spätzle (schwäbische noodles) with salad (€6), or Grünkohl in Kräuter (cabbage in herbs, €3.50) are written on a board and taste much better than they sound. (Thankfully this rule applies to most German cuisine.)

A menu also offers set dishes at very reasonable prices – breakfast, including the typical Rühreier (scrambled egg) with bread for €3.20, is served from 10:00 -14:00, the kitchen remains open to 23:00, and a very popular Sunday brunch is available for just €5 every… well, Sunday.

This old-fashioned joint looks like it hasn’t been done up in years, exactly as I like it, and the homely feeling is extenuated by the friendly staff who seem to know everyone who walks in the door.

With the day’s newspapers available for perusal, good music, a cosy atmosphere, simple wooden decor and delicious food and drink, you might find yourself staying longer than originally planned. And with the nights getting ominously colder, where’s the harm in that?

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Schwarze Pumpe | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (German) | Apfelschorle € 1.50
Choriner Straße 76 | Mitte | +49304496939
10:00 – 01:00 daily (Kitchen ’til 23:00)

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

A short tram ride east will bring you all the way to Asia. Well, not quite – Berlin’s public transport isn’t that good – but the M8 will bring you as far as the Dong Xuan Center where a thriving Vietnamese community is blossoming on what used to be decrepit industrial wasteland.

‘Little Vietnam’ consists of an untidy collection of huge hangers stuffed to the brim with shops upon shops selling all manner of stuff you never knew you needed. Tacky and flashy are the order of the day – this is the place to come for neon shop signs, plastic flowers, cheap wedding dresses, rubber reindeer or plastic figurines. Those friendly one-armed waving cats can of course be found here, as can porcelain pigs engaging in activities no decent porcelain pig would normally be found in.

Weird wares are scattered all around, sandwiched between karaoke bars, shoe shops, barbers, hair salons and nail salons. It’s another world. Old men play cards at a furious pace around tables under clouds of smoke, money changing hands quicker than the eye can see. Live carp patiently await purchase in huge tanks at the back of supermarkets crammed with tins of things I’d never heard of and crazy fruit I’d never seen before.

Browsing through the hustle and bustle is hungry work and a number of restaurants of questionable hygiene offer authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Again, you might have no idea what you’re eating but hey, it’s cheap, cheerful, and certainly an adventure!

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Dong Xuan Center | Bars, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Vietnamese)
Herzbergstr. 128 | Outer – North&East | +493055152038
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

Berlin is nowhere near the Schwarzwald, which is actually in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany, but they’ve been happily serving up Swabian home cooking in the Hauptstadt for ten years now. For some reason German food gets a bad rap abroad. I suppose national chauvinism might be to blame, but the first time I had Käsespätzle (cheesy noodles) I knew I was hooked.

The menu is seasonal, so there are always new things to try, but the classics like Flammkuchen, a kind of thin German pizza, or Maultaschen, a type of large ravioli filled with meat or vegetables, are also highly recommended. The portions are large and always good value. Wild game often features on the menu as well, so you might find Wildschwein (boar) or maybe even venison in season. And you can’t come to a German restaurant and not expect great beer: two favorites are Rothaus (on tap) or Augustiner (in bottles).

The walls might be decorated with the taxidermied trophies of bygone hunting parties, but vegetarians are well catered to. In winter, the place fills up quickly creating an atmosphere that might be the very definition of Gemütlichkeit. In summer, they open up the large windows, set up tables on the pavement and the restaurant spills outside.

Getting a table in the evening can sometimes prove to be a challenge as the place has become popular in recent years. Go early or better yet, call and book a table. The staff is friendly and helpful (and speak excellent English!).

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Schwarzwaldstuben | Restaurants (German) | Main from € 6
Tucholskystraße 48 | Mitte | +493028098084
09:00 – 00:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

Don’t be turned off by the sparse menu. Afterall, if you do three things really, really well, why do anything else? This place is called Henne (Hen) and let’s be honest, it really is all about the milk broiled chicken here. Well, and the beer. And maybe the potato salad.

Actually this place could win a prize for nicest pub in Berlin. Berlin isn’t especially known for its local pub scene. Most pubs, or kneipe, here seem to be the last refuge of men you who have nothing better to do than to smoke and hold up the bar. But walk inside Henne and you might think you’ve left Berlin altogether. The rustic decor and heavy wood furnishings might be better at home in a country pub in Ireland than in modern Berlin.

The place is popular with both a local crowd and tourists, so reservations are a good idea. Especially if you want to go on a Friday evening. Again, though, it’s really all about the chicken. And the beer. And maybe the potato salad.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Henne | Bars, Restaurants (Chicken) | half a broiled chicken € 7.90
Leuschnerdamm 25 | Kreuzberg | +49306147730
Tue – Sat from 19:00, Sun from 17:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

In the western part of Berlin, near Bahnhof Zoo, is the famous Kaiser Wihelm Memorial Church, a partially restored bombed out ruin that today stands as a reminder of the horrors of war. In the eastern part of the city lies another ruin of a much older church that today remains largely forgotten. Just across a busy six lane thoroughfare from Alexanderplatz lies a leafy oasis, a quiet spot away from the crush of the city.

Construction on the original Fransican Abbey began in 1250 and it was a fine example of early gothic style until it was destroyed by Allied bombing on 3 April 1945. Today the ruin stands as another reminder of the war that left the city devastated. The space now stands as an open art exhibition space in a garden-like atmosphere. In summer theatre productions are also performed.

Nearby, you can also find two more reminders of Berlin’s history. The first, directly behind the church is the original Berlin Wall, which surrounded the old cities of Berlin and Cölln. Nearby, in a quiet stretch of residential housing, is Berlin’s oldest restaurant Zur Letzten Instanz. The restaurant dates to 1561, though the current building is a post-war reconstruction. The interior is also quaintly period, though I’d stick to the Biergarten outside. I can’t vouch for the menu personally, it tends towards typically Berlin cuisine. You’ll probably find delicacies like Eisbein, often translated as pig knuckle, and once eloquently described to me by a friend as a fatty, pink, meaty marshmallow.

Guten Appetit!

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Franziskaner Klosterkirche | Art & culture, Relaxing, Theaters, Restaurants
Klosterstraße 73A | Mitte
April – Nov, Tue – Sat 12:00 – 18:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

The menu at Yam Tam might not be very extensive, but you can still find lots of great traditional Korean dishes here. Order at the counter and they’ll deliver your food to you at the table. You can have the traditional favorite Bibimbab with meat or vegetables. The mandu (dumplings) taste like someone’s mom was up all night rolling out the dough. If you are new to Korean food and want to try several different things, go for the panchan menu, which comes with rice and 7 Korean side dishes – pickled radishes, kimchi, fish cake, and others according to what is available and fresh. Definitely enough for two.

The owner is a fashion designer and it shows in the choice of magazines you can read while you wait and in the minimalist decor. The interior, white tables and walls, is mostly modern though the original paint and molding on the ceiling remind you that this is, after all, Berlin.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Yam Yam | Restaurants (Korean) | Meal from € 7.00
Alte Schönhauser Straße 6 | Mitte | +491791319153
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 00:00, Sun 12:00 – 23:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

Berlin is nowhere near Mexico unfortunately, and the search for a good Mexican comedor in this city can be a hungry one. I’d just about given up all hope when I met a dog out for a cycle with his owner. It was dark and he had a light on his back as he jogged along beside her. They stopped at this cosy-looking place in Kreuzberg and she recommended I go in. “Es ist fantastisch!” The dog looked intelligent so I did.

Ta’ Cabrón is warm and comforting with simple furnishings, a couple of Mexican wrestling masks and the plastic cacti demanded by stereotype. Specials are written up on a board proclaiming various types of tacos (from €4), quesadillas (from €3.50), tostadas (€5.50), burritos (€5.50), enchiladas (€5.50), tamales (€6) and molletes (€6), all with various fillings, along with nachos (€1) and guacamole (€3.50). You help yourself to cutlery so if it’s delayed, you’ve no one to blame but yourself. I ordered a taco gobernador (€6) and a beer (€2.80) and was delighted to be served an authentic taco (with real tortilla!) stuffed with shrimp. I helped myself to the homemade hot sauce. Absolutely delicious. Maybe even too delicious - portions are unfortunately never big enough.

Joaquín Robredo from Culiacán, Sinaloa is two years in business. It really is “¡Ta’ Cabrón!” to have a genuine Mexican taquería in Berlin! It quickly filled up as I was eating – it seems I’m not the only one to be grateful.

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Ta’ Cabrón Taquería | Snacks, Restaurants (Mexican) | Quesadillas € 3.50
Skalitzer Str. 60 | Kreuzberg | +493032662439
Tue – Thu 13:00 – 23:00, Fri – Sat 13:00 – 00:00, Sun 13:00 – 23:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Ciarán Fahey

Ear-popping on the way up and eye-popping once you’re there, the Fernsehturm is quite literally Berlin’s most outstanding attraction! Towering majestically 368 meters above Alexanderplatz, it can be seen from almost anywhere in the city – a comforting beacon of hope for lost wandering souls trying to find their way home or to the next party.

The Fernsehturm (literally ‘TV Tower’ in German – it has been transmitting TV and radio signals since it opened in 1969) is the tallest free-standing structure in western Europe (positively dwarfing the “miserly” 324 metre Tour Eiffel).

Two lifts whisk visitors at a speed of six meters per second to the viewing platform 203.78 meters above the city in the time it took you to read that sentence. (Forty seconds in case you weren’t paying attention.) In any case, it sure is quicker than taking the 986 steps. The view all around Berlin is quite impressive, eye-popping as I mentioned before, and it can be enjoyed with a Cocktail 360˚ (vodka, gin, vanilla, lime and cranberry) for €7.50 at the Panorama Bar. Why not? It’s Germany’s highest bar! A modest bottle of beer is €3.60.

If you really want to go for a twirl however, reserve a table at the swish revolving restaurant a floor above. Diners complete a full rotation only once every half hour so you need not worry about returning your food after eating it.

Refurbishment is calling! The restaurant’s closed from February 13 to 26 and the observation deck from February 20 to 26.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Fernsehturm | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Restaurants (German) | Adult € 11
Panoramastraße 1A | Mitte
Mar – Oct 09:00 – 00:00 daily, Nov – Feb 10:00 – 00:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin

Image by Robby Block

When a place called Angry Chicken opened up in Kreuzberg, by the same lovely people who own Kimchi Princess, I was skeptical. Angry? In this town even the mildest of salsa is regarded suspiciously. Germans just don’t really do spicy. So I wondered, how angry could it really be? 

A couple of years ago Korean Fried Chicken, that other KFC, was all the rage in NYC. Food writers in the Times wrote with lyrical prose describing the crunchy, blistery fried skin, the tangy, garlicky sauces, the tender flesh. Although I lived in Korea for some time, I couldn’t recall fried chicken being such a big deal in there. It was what you ate on the stagger home, drunk most likely on soju; it was street food. Ah, but it was delicious and spicy and now some enterprising young kyopos, Korean Americans, had brought it across the Pacific.

Fast forward a couple years and Angry Fried Chicken has landed in Kreuzberg. Gluttony, I think, best describes my relationship to this place. The only problem here really is choice. Of course you can go for straight up Angry Chicken (spicy), but you might also like So So Angry Chicken (extra spicy), or even Sexy Chicken (soy garlic), or Furious (extra hot) perhaps?

And for those timid, spice-shy Germans, for whom even ketchup is too spicy, you could start them off with the Friendly Chicken (classic crunch).

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Angry Chicken | Restaurants (Chicken) | Spicy Chicken from € 3.50
Skalitzer Str. 36 | Kreuzberg
12:00 – 22:00 daily

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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Soupanova | Bars, Music, Snacks, Restaurants | Snacks € 4.50
Stargarder str. 24 | Prenzlauer Berg
From 18:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Berlin