Old East and tourist Berlin: Rutz on Chausseestrasse, Cookies Cream behind a back-alley door, Nobelhart und Schmutzig at Checkpoint Charlie, and the cafes around Hackescher Markt.
Marco Mueller's Rutz in Berlin Mitte holds three Michelin stars on a Brandenburg-led tasting menu, with a wine-bar floor downstairs that serves walk-ups from 18:30.
Signature: Brandenburg lamb, Trout with horseradish
Order: The eight-course Inspiration tasting with wine pairing; the trout course is the room's signature.
Tip: The downstairs wine bar runs the same kitchen at a third of the price and takes walk-ins; arrive by 18:30.
Bandol sur Mer on Berlin's Torstrasse is the 20-cover French neo-bistro that helped invent Mitte's natural-wine grammar; one chalkboard tasting changes weekly.
Signature: Sea-bream crudo, Veal sweetbreads
Order: The four-course tasting; the sea-bream crudo and whichever offal main is on are the signatures.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Walk-ins for the counter seats from 19:00; tables need a booking two weeks ahead.
Katz Orange in Berlin Mitte's former 19th-century brewery cooks the slow-roast Candy on Bone pork shoulder that put the room on the map; the garden runs the summer.
Signature: Candy on Bone pork shoulder, Beetroot tartare
Order: The Candy on Bone pork shoulder, slow-roasted 12 hours; the beetroot tartare is the vegetarian counterpart.
Tip: The garden in summer is the room's best seating. Bookings open three weeks ahead via the website.
Cordobar in Berlin Mitte is the Austrian wine bar Willi Schloegl runs near Hackescher Markt, with 700 bottles, small plates of tartare and offal, and a counter that takes walk-ins.
Signature: Beef tartare with rye, Pork shoulder with kraut
Order: The beef tartare with rye, the pork shoulder, and whatever orange-wine pour is on the by-the-glass list.
Tip: The counter takes walk-ups from 18:30; tables book online a week ahead. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Cookies Cream behind a back-alley service door near Berlin's Hotel Adlon holds a Michelin star on a vegetarian tasting menu; the entrance is the dish-pit door.
Signature: Parmesan dumpling, Beetroot ravioli
Order: The six-course vegetarian tasting at EUR 105; the Parmesan dumpling is the room's defining course.
Tip: Entrance is a service door off the alley behind the Westin Grand. Bookings open four weeks ahead online.
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.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Kalbsleber
Order: The Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad; the calf's liver Berlin-style is the long-running second pick.
Tip: Lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating than dinner. Bookings open four weeks ahead by phone.
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.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten
Order: The Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber-potato salad; the Berlin sauerbraten in winter.
Tip: Sunday lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating than weekday dinner. Bookings two weeks ahead by phone.
Katz Orange in Berlin Mitte's former 19th-century brewery cooks the slow-roast Candy on Bone pork shoulder that put the room on the map; the garden runs summer.
Signature: Candy on Bone pork shoulder, Beetroot tartare
Order: The Candy on Bone pork shoulder, slow-roasted 12 hours, for two diners.
Tip: The garden in summer is the room's best seating. Book three weeks ahead via the website.
Willi Schloegl's Cordobar in Berlin Mitte near Hackescher Markt pours 700 wines, plates tartare and pork shoulder, and runs a counter that takes walk-ups.
Signature: Beef tartare with rye, Pork shoulder
Order: The beef tartare with rye, the pork shoulder with kraut, and the orange-wine pour of the week.
Tip: Counter takes walk-ups from 18:30; tables book online a week ahead. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Lutter und Wegner on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt has cooked traditional Wiener Schnitzel since 1811; the wood-panelled room runs Sunday classics and the long lunch.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten
Order: The Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber-potato salad; the Berlin sauerbraten in winter.
Tip: Sunday lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating than weekday dinner. Book two weeks ahead by phone.
Borchardt on Berlin's Franzoesische Strasse has cooked the city's reference Wiener Schnitzel since 1992; the 1850s dining room runs 200 covers and a political lunch.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Kalbsleber
Order: The Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad; the calf's liver Berlin-style is the long-running second pick.
Tip: Lunch from 12:00 is easier than dinner. Book four weeks ahead by phone.
Mogg in Berlin Mitte's former Jewish girls' school cooks the city's reference pastrami sandwich; the room runs the lunch crowd and the matzo ball soup on Sundays.
Signature: Pastrami sandwich, Matzo ball soup
Order: The pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard and pickles; the matzo ball soup in winter.
Tip: Closed Saturdays. Lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating; tables walk-in mid-afternoon.
Monsieur Vuong on Berlin's Alte Schoenhauser Strasse has cooked the city's reference Vietnamese pho since 1999; the menu is one chalkboard, the room runs 60 covers.
Signature: Pho bo, Summer rolls
Order: The pho bo with rare beef; the summer rolls with peanut sauce as a starter.
Tip: No reservations. Arrive before 12:30 or 19:00 to skip the queue; cash and card accepted.
Cocolo Ramen on Berlin's Gipsstrasse has cooked the city's reference tonkotsu ramen since 2008; the broth simmers 18 hours, the noodles are pulled fresh on the bar.
Signature: Tonkotsu ramen, Karaage chicken
Order: The tonkotsu ramen with chashu pork and the soft egg; the karaage chicken as a starter.
Tip: No reservations. Arrive before 19:00 weekdays or expect a 30-minute wait at the bar.
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.
Signature: Beelitzer Spargel, Rote Gruetze
Order: The Beelitzer Spargel with hollandaise in Spargel season (late April to June); the Rote Gruetze with vanilla cream in summer.
Tip: Short seasonal menu changes frequently. Spargel season runs late April to 24 June only; book a week ahead for that window.
The Barn on Berlin's Auguststrasse, founded 2010 by Ralf Rueller, runs the city's strict third-wave coffee dogma: no Wi-Fi, no laptops, no milk in espresso, single-origin filter only.
Signature drink: Pour-over filter
Tip: No Wi-Fi or laptops by policy. The filter pour-over with the bean of the week is the order.
Father Carpenter in Berlin Mitte's courtyard runs a small breakfast and brunch carte from 09:00; the flat white and the smashed-avocado toast are the room's signatures.
Signature drink: Flat white
Tip: The courtyard terrace is the seating to ask for in summer; the brunch carte from 09:00 runs until 16:00.
Distrikt Coffee in Berlin Mitte runs a brunch-and-coffee room with Bonanza beans; the eggs benedict and avocado toast plates anchor the brunch carte from 09:00 daily.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: Weekday mornings are the work-friendly window; weekend brunch from 10:00 is busy and walk-in only.
Kaffee Mitte on Berlin's Hannoversche Strasse runs a Charite-hospital-adjacent cafe with all-day brunch, Bonanza beans and the cinnamon-roll counter that anchors the room.
Signature drink: Cappuccino
Tip: The cinnamon roll out of the oven from 10:30 daily is the bake to ask for; the brunch runs until 16:00.
Florian Domberger's Domberger Brot-Werk in Berlin Mitte bakes naturally leavened sourdough and German rye breads; the Roggenmischbrot anchors the daily bake list.
Tip: Closed Sunday. Weekday afternoons are the room's quietest window; the rye is best sliced for the next morning.
Worth the queue: Rye sourdough (Roggenmischbrot)
Ralf Rueller's The Barn has roasted in Berlin since 2010 with a single-origin filter focus; the Auguststrasse flagship and the Schoenhauser shop are the consumer-facing windows.
Tip: The Barn's no-Wi-Fi, no-laptop policy is strict; come to drink, not work.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Costa Rica
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Father Carpenter in Berlin Mitte's hidden courtyard runs a coffee program by Bonanza and a small brunch carte; the flat white and the courtyard terrace are the room's signatures.
Tip: The courtyard is the seating to ask for in summer; the brunch carte from 09:00 runs until 16:00.
Sources from: Various Berlin and European roasters
How they serve: Espresso, Filter
Willi Schloegl's Cordobar in Berlin Mitte pours 700 mostly Austrian wines from a long bar; the orange-wine pours and the natural-Austrian by-the-glass list anchor the room.
Signature pour: Christian Tschida orange wine by the glass
Wine focus: Austrian and natural-orange wines
Food: Tartare, pork shoulder, small plates
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Counter takes walk-ups from 18:30; tables book online a week ahead.
Marco Mueller's Weinbar Rutz on the ground floor of the three-star Rutz in Berlin Mitte pours German Rieslings from the same 1,200-bottle cellar; bistro plates from the same kitchen.
Signature pour: Keller G-Max Riesling by the glass
Wine focus: German Rieslings and Pinots
Food: Bistro plates from the Rutz kitchen
Tip: Walk-ins from 18:30; bistro plates at a third the price of the upstairs tasting. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Freundschaft on Berlin's Markgrafenstrasse runs a natural-wine bar with a modern Israeli-Berlin kitchen; the small plates and the orange-wine pours anchor the room.
Signature pour: Strohmeier Schilcher by the glass
Wine focus: Natural and biodynamic European wines
Food: Modern Israeli-Berlin small plates
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The bar from 18:00 is the easier seating than the tables; book ahead for the kitchen.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dada Falafel on Linienstrasse in Mitte has pressed the city's lightest falafel since 2002. The pita is stuffed with fried balls, pickled cabbage, tomato and two chili sauces for under EUR 8.
Try: Falafel sandwich
Dada Falafel on Linienstrasse in Mitte has served the city's reference falafel pita since 2002. The balls are pressed fresh, the pita stuffed to overflowing, and the whole meal comes in under EUR 9.
Try: Falafel pita sandwich
Monsieur Vuong on Alte Schoenhauser Strasse has cooked Berlin's reference pho since 1999 at prices below EUR 14. The chalkboard menu changes daily; the pho bo with rare beef and the summer rolls are the constants.
Try: Pho bo and summer rolls
Cocolo Ramen on Gipsstrasse serves an 18-hour tonkotsu broth with fresh-pulled noodles and chashu pork from a counter with 30 seats. One of Berlin's best fills under EUR 17; no reservations.
Try: Tonkotsu ramen
Mogg in Mitte's former Jewish girls' school does a New York-deli brunch anchored by house-cured pastrami and matzo ball soup. The former school hall is the room; closed Saturday in observance.
Order: The pastrami sandwich on rye with house pickles; the matzo ball soup on Sunday.
Zur Letzten Instanz, Berlin's oldest restaurant since 1621, serves traditional Prussian tavern food in the Nikolaiviertel through the evening. Eisbein with sauerkraut and the historical room are the pull.
Try: Eisbein, Sauerbraten, Koenigsberger Klopse