Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
Berliner Pfannkuchen are the city's defining doughnut: deep-fried yeasted-dough rounds, filled with plum or rosehip jam, dusted with powdered sugar, sold at every bakery before Silvester.
The Berliner Pfannkuchen took its modern form in Prussia in the 18th century, reportedly invented by a Berlin sugar baker conscripted by Friedrich the Great who, unable to bake field bread, fried small round balls of dough in fat over a campfire. The Silvester (New Year's Eve) tradition of eating Berliner dates to the 1900s; one in a tray may be filled with mustard as a prank. The dish is called Berliner only outside Berlin (within the city it is Pfannkuchen). After 1990, the East-German Pfannkuchen-with-rosehip-jam variant returned to Berlin alongside the Western plum-jam standard. Berlin's bakeries (Brotgarten, Zeit fuer Brot) fry batches daily from October through Silvester.
2 editor picks for Berliner in Berlin, ranked by editorial score. All Berlin signature dishes · Berliner across every city.
Zeit fuer Brot on Berlin's Alte Schoenhauser Strasse has baked organic sourdough loaves and the city's most cited Zimtschnecke since 2009; the queue.
TipSaturday queue is 30 minutes deep from 09:00; weekday mornings have walk-up service from 07:00.
Brotgarten on Berlin's Seelingstrasse in Charlottenburg has baked organic German breads, rolls and Pfannkuchen since 1986; the New Year's Eve Pfannkuchen.
TipClosed Sunday. The Pfannkuchen from October through Silvester is the seasonal headline; bake out by 12:00.
Berliner makes more sense with someone from Berlin explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
Private tour · 1h 45m
Explore Berlin's iconic landmarks with a licensed guide, sipping specialty coffee at a top third-wave café while kids enjoy their own drinks on this relaxed family wal...
Day trip · 4 hours
Special Excursion from Berlin Transportation in a comfortable T7 Multivan, exclusive guided tour of the GDR's largest protective structure, GDR-era food, soft drinks, ...
4 hours
Experience Michelin-starred vegetarian cuisine up close and personal and prepare an exclusive 4-course meal with Michelin chef Nikodemus Berger. Learn the techniques, ...
