Eating out in Berlin: tips!

Created09/09/2024

updated on12/09/2024 16:23:42

Hello and welcome to this new video: this is how I often start my posts in which I regularly introduce you to the latest food spots in Berlin and beyond. For the sake of completeness, I'd like to introduce myself: whether you know me or not, I'm Bettina Grabl and under my alias berlinfoodfeast I share everything about food, travel, the latest trends and whether they're worth it or not on social media.

Street food markets in Berlin: new food trends & hip locations

As a culinary capital and never-ending surprise egg, Berlin is the perfect starting point for discovering new culinary delights, because you can find almost anything here at almost any time of day or night. And even culinary and literary at Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus with the theme ‘From belly full to head full!’ Whether it's the currywurst on the corner (but with gold dust, right?) or a two-star menu: no matter what you're looking for, you'll find it and this article will give you a closer look at the dishes that are currently ‘trending’ and the places where you can get home-cooked variety. It is also a kind of small travel guide to help and accompany you on your next empty stomach, plus it gives you an insight into the prevailing Berlin food trends and whether they are worth trying. To try out and cook for yourself, you can take inspiration from the latest cookery books.
Have fun reading!

The top street food markets in Berlin

It feels like you can find street food on every corner in Berlin. Vegetable kebab or currywurst, but where are the really good street food stalls in the capital? Let's take a closer look at a few of them.
Let's start with a place that I visited for the first time a few weeks ago: the Pistachio Street Food Festival. Wow, the term alone makes my pistachio-addicted heart beat faster. The venue was the Park am Gleisdreieck, or more precisely the grounds of the Jules B-Part Café in the park. Various street food markets take place here directly under the railway tracks, for example the weekly midweek munchies on Wednesdays or themed markets such as a pizza festival or the aforementioned pistachio festival. Apart from the fact that I love pistachios, these festivals are almost always worth a visit.

Street food market at Gleisdreieck Park

Why should you go? There is a huge selection of classic street food from different countries at a relatively low price. There's plenty to try and even more to share, so ideally you'll have tried everything by the end and go home full and satisfied and fall into bed tired.
At the Pistachio Festival, for example, there were filled brioches with ricotta and pistachio cream, truffle and pistachio gnocchi, pistachio lasagne and pistachio meatballs.
Simply brilliant and the next street food festival is just around the corner: the Pasta Street Food Festival will take place on 14 and 15 September, where you can get small portions of pasta from all over Italy for around 6 euros.

Humble Pie at Reuterstraße 57 in Neukölln

Humble Pie is a snack bar that I discovered a few weeks ago. Here, owner Chris and his team offer Nashville hot chicken. Specifically, that means it could be spicy. You can choose between a plant-based or deep-fried chicken thigh, which is then served with hot sauce on a waffle, as a burger or in a biscuit (similar to a scone). A menu with a side dish starts at around 15 euros.
There are five levels of spiciness to choose from - I got to level three and definitely can't justify anything above that. If you try it: let me know how it was and whether you survived.

Zagros Vegetable Kebab at Skalitzer Straße 100

From America to Berlin: the street food of the city is the kebab and the kebab of the moment is the vegetable kebab with lots of sauce and the option of adding falafel or seitan meat to the bun. Where can you find the best kebab in Berlin? A difficult question, but one that is very, very good and hard to beat in terms of warmth is Zagros Gemüsedöner. A family from Iran has set up their own kebab business and I can only say one thing: if you haven't tried it yet, you need to go there as soon as possible. You're missing out and you can get it for around 5 euros.

Indoor market in Markthalle IX

To get back to ‘real’ street food markets: autumn is just around the corner and let's not kid ourselves: the days of short T-shirts and sticky hands full of ice cream will soon be numbered, but that's okay from the point of view of a ‘street food addict’ like me. Because there's a really great alternative to the outdoor street food markets that defy the senses: the indoor market every Thursday in Markthalle IX at Pücklerstraße 34. It's called Streetfood Thursday and even though it's been underwhelming for locals at times because it can be so crowded, it's a fabulous Berlin street food venue. Mainly because of its indomitable variety. Every week there are new stalls, dishes from all over the world, many never seen, never tried and hot and greasy straight to your hand.
For example, there is a wonderful Turkish stall where you can eat a baklava cheesecake. Need I say more? Perhaps cheese spaetzle, tacos or manti. If that doesn't tempt you, I'm afraid I can't help you. The price of a dish is around 5-15 euros.

What are the new food trends in Berlin?

When I'm asked about food trends, I always remember how many new Neapolitan pizza places we've seen open in Berlin in recent years. There's been a new Neapolitan pizzeria on every corner and I don't mind: I love thick dough and really runny fillings and love going to Futura at Bänschstraße 91, where the pizza is around 15 euros. Nevertheless, I think (and hope) that we will be able to experience a more diverse pizza landscape in Berlin in the future and I think we are right in the middle of it. For example NY Slices: a large pizza from which you eat a slice, which is usually very crispy and often relatively plain. In Berlin, you can already get this at Magic Johns at Oranienburg Str. 48 for around 5 euros per slice. But I need more of these please!
I'd also like a really good Roman pizza in Berlin, which is characterised by its thin base and crispiness, or a deep dish pizza like the Chicago style pizza, which is almost a quiche because it has such a high crust and is then filled with cheese and tomato sauce. Unfortunately, it's not yet available in Berlin. What is available is the Detroit style pizza: this is baked in a pan and is characterised by its high-baked and fluffy dough. Everything is completely covered with cheese and then topped. You can try it in Berlin at Fergys Deep Dish at Ritterstraße 26 from around 15 euros for four slices. They also offer a delivery service.

Bettina's (@berlinfoodfeast) favourite restaurant in Berlin

The question of my favourite restaurant always chases me a bit, simply because there are too many wonderful places in Berlin. If you are looking for a nice place for special occasions, you should go to Bonvivant at Goltzstraße 32. It's not only one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Berlin, but also a great place for drinks (self-titled cocktail bistro) and recently also for brunch - on top, try the pancakes or the spaetzle with truffles.

What do you associate with the KulturKaufhaus?

To be honest: Dussmann has always been my go-to place when I just want to escape the hectic world of Berlin and get inspired. There is simply everything here, in a pleasantly relaxed atmosphere and I (unfortunately) never leave without having bought something lol.
A current musical favourite of mine now that BRAT Summer is officially over: the 2018 album ‘Chris’ by Christine and the Queens. It lets you glide smoothly from late summer into early autumn without your mood getting any worse.
A short and sweet book recommendation: Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (just read it ;)).