Five Berlin Restaurants Not to Miss

A study in contrast, the Berlin dining scene mirrors the city itself. East meets West, traditional crosses with the contemporary, like a melting pot of hearty German goulash where you never know what tasty bite will land in your spoonful.

The scene’s narrative currently centers around innovation, provocation, and fun fare nods to classic “deutsches Essen.”

Here are five places you’ll want to tell everyone you dined at while at the 75th edition of the Berlin Film Festival and the European Film Market.

Lovis 

Kantstraße 79
 +49 30 201805160

Everything was something else in Berlin, and Lovis and its adjacent chic hotel, Wilmina, used to be a prison. Traditional dishes are reinterpreted into new art forms in this clandestine space, hidden within a lush garden. Vaulted ceilings, huge glass windows, red brick walls and sparkling lights create a real vibe. While the space is a stunner, the food upstages her with contemporary vegetable-forward German dishes such as creamed leeks with potato espuma and pumpkin raviolo with pickled pearl onions, baked capers and green apple. You can order á la carte or the four- or six-course tasting menu.

Borchardt

Französische Str. 47
+49 30 81886262

Think of this as the German Nobu that never left Tribeca. Instead of black cod miso, you might see Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney or Barack Obama digging into plate-size Wiener Schnitzel. Oysters, red velvet booths, goose and espresso martinis — all fit together here. This place is so iconic that they recently unveiled a line of hoodies printed with their famous schnitzel and express martinis for the German streetwear brand WRSTBHVR. That’s a souvenir no one will have on the flight home.

Coccodrillo 

Veteranenstraße 9

Visually, Coccodrillo isn’t for the faint of heart; it’s a rocket ship ride into the realm of maximalist mangia. A 1960 Northern Italian trattoria in the middle of Weinbergspark, you will eat with your eyes first while gawking at the space-age white bubble lamps, red velvet booths, Saarinen tulip chairs and neon cocktail signs. The food mimics the wild personality of the interiors with a “Stanley Kurbis” pizza adorned with pumpkin cream, mozzarella Fior di latte, spicy Gorgonzola, Pecorino cheese and hazelnuts and the Naughty Rigatoni with spicy pork fennel salsiccia.

Tim Raue

Rudi-Dutschke-Straße 26
+49 30 25937930

Tim Raue is the epitome of artful dining, serving Asian-inspired cuisine that combines the perfection of Japanese products, the dynamism of Thai flavors and the freneticism of Chinese cooking techniques. Chef Raue grew up in the neighborhood, and the restaurant, open since 2019, has become known for its Peking Duck; wasabi langoustine; Gochujang wagyu beef with red peppers; and hake with miso and mandarin. Choose from the Hummingbird menu, an homage to Berlin with regional ingredients, food and tastes of Raue’s childhood; the Koi menu, featuring style-defining Asian-inspired dishes that Raue gathered on his travels; a Vegan menu with flavors of sweet, spicy and sour, without animal products.

Kink

Schönhauser Allee 176
+49 30 41207344

Kink tears down the walls between the kitchen and bar, bringing both on equal footing with innovative food and drink pairings meant to provoke limitless curiosity. Set in a former brewery, think of Kink as a culinary laboratory. The results of the experiments are delivered through a bar menu offering eight cocktails in short and long versions and a food menu with dishes such as Wild Broccoli with aji amarillo, Glazed Aubergine with Straciatella and Lamb with Chimichurri.