Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Berlin for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Berlin for grown-ups.
Buck and Breck on Berlin's Brunnenstrasse has run an unmarked speakeasy cocktail bar since 2010; 14 seats around a single bar, classic and pre-Prohibition cocktails.
Signature drink: Buck and Breck (Cognac and champagne)
Food: None (drinks only)
Tip: Unmarked door, ring the bell. Reservations only via email; the bar opens at 19:00 with two seatings.
Bar Tausend on Berlin's Schiffbauerdamm runs an unmarked door under the train tracks at Friedrichstrasse station; the bar runs late, the cantina kitchen runs Asian-fusion plates.
Signature drink: Tausend No. 1 cocktail
Food: Tausend Cantina restaurant attached
Tip: Unmarked door under the train tracks, the entrance is a side gate. The bar from 20:30 runs cocktails until 04:00.
Lebensstern on Berlin's Kurfuerstenstrasse in Schoeneberg runs the city's most stocked rum bar with 1,500 bottles and 800 absinthes; the room sits above the cafe Einstein Stammhaus.
Signature drink: Hemingway Daiquiri
Food: Cheese boards
Tip: Walk-ups welcome but the room books fast on weekends; the rum tasting tray is the order.
Bar Bonvivant on Berlin's Goltzstrasse in Schoeneberg runs the city's reference vermouth bar with 50 bottles on the back wall; the cocktail list runs aperitif-led and Italian-classic.
Signature drink: House vermouth on the rocks
Food: Tapas and charcuterie
Tip: The walk-up bar takes early-evening crowds; the back booth seats four and books online a week ahead.
Schwarze Traube on Berlin's Wildenbruchstrasse in Neukoelln runs the city's most-cited bespoke-cocktail bar; the menu is one question (what do you fancy) answered by the bartender.
Signature drink: Bartender's choice cocktail
Food: None
Tip: No menu. Tell the bartender a spirit and a taste profile. Reservations by email; small room, 18 covers.
Lemon Leaf at Berlin's NH Collection hotel runs an Asian-spirit cocktail program with shochu, baiju and Japanese whisky; the room runs late and walks up easily.
Signature drink: Asian-spirit cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Hotel bar, walk-ups welcome. The Japanese whisky flight is the order for a quiet weekday.
Fragrances at the Ritz-Carlton on Berlin's Luetzowufer runs a perfume-themed cocktail bar; each drink pairs with a specific fragrance shown on the bar's display wall.
Signature drink: Cocktails inspired by perfumes
Food: Snacks
Tip: Hotel bar with a strict dress code (smart-casual minimum). The perfume tasting flight is the order.
Windhorst on Berlin's Dorotheenstrasse near the Bundestag has run since 1991 with the same bartenders; the martini and the journalist regulars define the room.
Signature drink: Vodka martini
Food: None
Tip: Smoke-friendly room (rare in Berlin). The Vodka Martini is the canonical order; cash and card accepted.
Beckett's Kopf on Berlin's Pappelallee in Prenzlauer Berg has run a no-menu classic cocktail bar since 2004; the room is named after Samuel Beckett's head on the door window.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails (no menu)
Food: None
Tip: No menu. Tell the bartender what you like; the Old Fashioned and the Negroni are the room's defaults.
Le Croco Bleu on Berlin's Prenzlauer Allee runs a cocktail bar inside the former Bötzow brewery's machine hall; the room is filled with taxidermy and the crocodile sets the tone.
Signature drink: Crocodile cocktail
Food: None
Tip: Open Wed-Sat only. The room is loud and theatrical; bookings online for a quiet booth.
Bar am Steinplatz at the Hotel am Steinplatz in Berlin Charlottenburg runs a German-gin-focused cocktail program; the room sits on the corner of Hardenbergstrasse and Steinplatz.
Signature drink: Berlin Gin cocktails
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: Hotel bar with terrace seating in summer. The Berlin-Gin flight from local distilleries is the order.
Stagger Lee on Berlin's Nollendorfstrasse in Schoeneberg runs a 1920s American whiskey bar with 200 bourbons; the music is bluegrass and country, the room is wood-panelled.
Signature drink: Bourbon Old Fashioned
Food: Snacks
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The bourbon tasting flight of three is the order to start.
Thelonious on Berlin's Weserstrasse in Neukoelln runs a jazz-themed cocktail bar with live music three nights a week and an Old Fashioned program that rotates seven variants.
Signature drink: Jazz Manhattan
Food: None
Tip: Live jazz Thursday to Saturday from 21:00. The Manhattan is the room's signature order.
Drinks & Co on Berlin's Sophienstrasse in Mitte runs a seasonal cocktail program rotating with the market; the back garden seats 30 in summer with a quieter wave from 18:00.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktails
Food: Tapas plates
Tip: Garden in summer is the seating to ask for. Walk-ups for the bar from 18:00; tables book a week ahead.
Peak food season in Berlin is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Berlin rewards trust.