Food destinations within easy reach of Berlin, worth the early start.
Food destinations within easy reach of Berlin. worth the train, the rental car or the early start.
Famous for: Specialty coffee at Buena Vida in the 18th-century Dutch Quarter, Prussian palace gardens and canalside lunch
Potsdam combines Schloss Sanssouci's park gardens with the cobbled Dutch Quarter built by Frederick William I for Dutch craftsmen in the 1730s. Buena Vida Coffee Roasters on Brandenburger Strasse is the specialty coffee anchor; the canalside restaurants serve Brandenburg pike-perch and asparagus in season.
Famous for: Spreewald gherkins, Sorbian potato pancakes, canalside fishing restaurants and punt-boat lunches
The Spreewald biosphere reserve 100km south of Berlin is the origin of Germany's most famous gherkin. Luebbenau's market stalls sell pickled cucumbers and Sorbian potato pancakes (Kartoffelpuffer); Restaurant Zum Gruenen Strand der Spree serves traditional canalside lunches with fresh-caught pike-perch.
Famous for: White asparagus Spargelsilvester season late April to June, pick-your-own strawberries at Klaistow in July, Beelitzer Spargelfest in early June
Beelitz, 40km south of Berlin, grows the asparagus that fills Berlin's restaurant menus from late April to 24 June. The Spargel- und Erlebnishof Klaistow at Glindower Str. 28 offers pick-your-own strawberries in summer; the town's Spargelfest each June draws 50,000 visitors.
Famous for: Freshwater fish: eel, pike-perch and tench from the Mueritz lake, smoked at lakeside stands and served in Fischerstuben
Waren at the edge of Mecklenburg's Mueritz lake is the destination for freshwater fish that supplies Berlin's better restaurants. Lakeside Fischerstuben smoke eel and pike-perch on the premises; the smoked-eel sandwich from a market stall at the harbour is the canonical Mueritz meal.
Famous for: Cherry and apple orchards, Baumblutenfest blossom festival in April, farm-direct fruit wines and juice presses
Werder an der Havel, 35km west of Berlin, supplies the capital's markets with cherries, apples and redcurrants. The Baumblutenfest in late April celebrates the orchard blossom season; farm stands around the Wachtelberg sell estate-pressed apple and cherry juices and light fruit wines.
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.