Spargel is Brandenburg's white asparagus, peeled thick, boiled in salted water with butter and lemon, served with hollandaise, boiled new potatoes and a slice of Schinken. May to June only.
White asparagus has been grown in Brandenburg's sandy Beelitz soil since the 17th century, when monks at Brandenburg's cloisters cultivated the spears as a Lenten food. Friedrich the Great in the 18th century made Spargel a court delicacy. Beelitz, 40km south of Berlin, became the asparagus capital of Germany in the late 19th century when railway lines connected its farms to Berlin's markets. Today, Beelitz produces 7,000 tonnes of Spargel per season. The Berlin Spargel ritual runs from late April to St John's Day on 24 June (Spargelsilvester), after which all harvesting stops by tradition. Restaurants from Lutter und Wegner to Lokal run a Spargelkarte for these eight weeks only.
3 editor picks for Spargel (White Asparagus) in Berlin, ranked by editorial score. All Berlin signature dishes · Spargel (White Asparagus) across every city.
Borchardt ★ 4.3
mitte · Franzoesische Strasse 47, 10117 Berlin
Borchardt on Berlin's Franzoesische Strasse has cooked the city's defining Wiener Schnitzel since 1992; the 1850s dining room runs 200 covers and the political-class lunch crowd.
Lokal ★ 4.3
mitte · Linienstrasse 160, 10115 Berlin
Lokal on Berlin's Linienstrasse in Mitte cooks a short daily menu of seasonal Brandenburg produce; the Spargel and Rote Gruetze are the calendar anchors each spring and summer.
Lutter und Wegner ★ 4.2
mitte · Charlottenstrasse 56, 10117 Berlin
Lutter und Wegner on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt has cooked the city's traditional Wiener Schnitzel since 1811; the wood-panelled room runs the long lunch and Sunday classics.