A Guide to the Lovely Bergmannkiez in Kreuzberg

A Guide to the Lovely Bergmannkiez in Kreuzberg

There’s something lively about wandering down Bergmannstraße in the evening. The lights hanging from the awnings of restaurants cast an orange glow on the sidewalks to match the colorful facades of the surrounding buildings. As you stroll west from artsy Zossenerstraße to peaceful Viktoriapark, you’ll encounter something for everyone. From cozy coffee shops and hip restaurants to edgy record stores, Bergmannkiez is buzzing early in the morning to late at night.

As a newcomer in Berlin, Bergmannkiez was the first place I got the chance to explore. In fact, it’s the place I get to call my home (for the next two months, anyway). I’ve taken note of some of my favorite spots that make this neighborhood the ultimate destination for a fun and relaxed day out in Berlin.

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Kinky Fine Dining Deluxe: Culinary Climaxing at The Noname

Kinky Fine Dining Deluxe: Culinary Climaxing at The Noname

With its mysterious name, the Berghain-esque “no” at the door, and the fully curtain-covered windows the new fine dining restaurant “The Noname” in Mitte certainly sets out to provoke some curiosity. When entering through its ceiling-high white curtains it feels a lot like unveiling a well-kept secret – one that is sitting right in front of your eyes on the busy Oranienburger Straße at the front of the Heckmannhöfe.

The plissee-covered walls, luxurious crown molding, antique bar, and chandeliers set the stage for a highlight that juxtaposes the aforementioned interior: A mural of a woman tied up in bondage ropes that extend into the room in an installation of actual ropes. It’s a daring image for a fine dining restaurant with an expected upscale audience – but one that is quite fitting both for the neighborhood and Berlin’s general tendency for kinkiness.

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A Guide to Berlin’s Best Affordable Restaurants

A Guide to Berlin’s Best Affordable Restaurants

In the last couple of years, Berlin’s gastronomic scene has certainly gained a lot in terms of diversity, originality, and also quality. Understandably, this comes at a certain price. When I look at our listings of new restaurants of recent years the price tag for the most hyped new places has continuously risen. While it is probably a blessing for gastronomy entrepreneurs that people are finally spending more money on elaborate restaurant experiences – it also means that especially younger people or those who simply can’t afford to spend 50 EUR up for a dinner are left out of the fun.

Luckily, Berlin still has a lot of places that combine excellent cooking, a cool ambiance, and an “affordable” price level. We decided to dig through our previous restaurant guides and also add some places that we never featured here before even though they belong to our personal favorites to compile a list of the best affordable restaurants in Berlin.

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12 New Berlin Restaurants to Try Out

12 New Berlin Restaurants to Try Out

photo: Layla. 

Not even a year has passed since our last new Berlin restaurants round-up of 2018. But my list of interesting new openings has already surpassed 10 so it’s about time for another one for 2019!

The last couple of months have brought us quite an interesting wave of new gastronomic projects. Some hail from already established entrepreneurs while others are complete newbies in the food scene of the city. While recent years showed a slight tendency towards more exquisite places I feel this year it’s quite balanced including something for everyone.

In our selection, you’ll find some creative fine dining, Asian delights from China, Korea, and Japan, a new Syrian place, of course, another cool new pizza joint, and also some hearty down-to-earth kitchen.

EDIT Dec 2021: We deleted some restaurants from the listicle that have already closed down since the writing of this guide.

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10 Fun Activities to Get Rid of Your Winter Blues in Berlin

10 Fun Activities to Get Rid of Your Winter Blues in Berlin

The beloved cozy Christmas atmosphere with all its lights, markets and holiday feels are gone, even the excitement and glitter of New Year’s Eve has faded. The new year leaves us longing for more happy celebrations, but instead, gloomy January has taken their place to spread his dreaded winter blues. I can’t tell you how bad it gets to me, every time. Since I was very quickly over Netflix and couch after the fourth night in the row, I thought about what other activities in Berlin could brighten up this dark January. So this list goes out to everyone suffering from the January blues – let’s get off the couch and have some fun!

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A Themed Dinner Full of Love & Pink Harmony with Gordon’s Pink Gin

A Themed Dinner Full of Love & Pink Harmony with Gordon’s Pink Gin

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Last week we had the pleasure to be part of a very unique and very pink dinner event that was hosted by the lovely ladies of This Is Jane Wayne in collaboration with Gordon’s Pink Gin at the charming Rose Garden in Mitte. What was a wonderland of pink delicacies and elixirs for us can be the same for you on the 12th of September when The Pink Dinner will happen for the second time – and this time open to the public. Seats are limited so you better get your tickets quickly here.

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A Guide to the Portuguese Community in Berlin

A Guide to the Portuguese Community in Berlin

Berlin wouldn’t be the melting pot brimming with inspiration that we love if it wasn’t for the international influences from expats that never cease to shape the city with their artistic vision. The time has come to highlight the creative masterminds in the Portuguese community in Berlin. Get ready to meet a diverse crew of uninhibited artists – photographers, writers, digital illustrators, musicians – who aren’t afraid to experiment and venture beyond the conventions. By the way, we’ve asked around and got the top recommendations on where to get Portuguese wine and their famous Pastel de Nata – make sure you scroll to the bottom!

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10 Amazing Restaurants in Berlin

10 Amazing Restaurants in Berlin

Every year Berlin gives us so many awesome new places to feast our eyes on and fill our bellies with wonderful food. And every year the places are so different and so diverse from the previous one that it really never gets boring. This year we will serve you real East-German food, Isreali dishes with a French twist, lots of exquisite meat and possibly the most amazing pizza in town. Make some room in your evening schedule for the next couple of weeks and activate your social contacts for some dinner dates to try out all of these great new restaurants in Berlin that opened within the last 12 months. Guten Appetit!

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Exploring Kreuzberg: A Guide to Graefekiez

Exploring Kreuzberg: A Guide to Graefekiez

photos: Amanda Artiaga

When you make your way from Kottbusser Tor down to Hermannplatz, you’ll get Kreuzberg as you imagine it to be: Loud, busy, weird and colorful. You pass Doenershops, Spaetis, and stores that sell so many cheap and unnecessary things you start questioning what they actually make their money with. If you walk straight down Kottbusser Damm, you wouldn’t necessarily guess that one of Kreuzberg’s most beautiful “Kieze” is just to your right. But as usual in Berlin, you can just turn around one corner and the whole scenery turns upside down.

The Graefekiez won’t be your new go-to hotspot for activities after nightfall, due to strict noise regulations after 22h in this neighborhood. However, all its lovely cafes, delicious restaurants, cute little shops and streets where one beautiful old building stands next to the other, make Graefekiez the perfect destination for a relaxed ‘lil Saturday or Sunday afternoon excursion. We picked a few spots that you should definitely check out.

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The Best Spanish Restaurants in Berlin

The Best Spanish Restaurants in Berlin

Oh, Spain…How to describe you? Besides everything, Spain is a country that keeps charming and surprising both its new visitors and its inhabitants. Envied because of the weather, admired for its historical, cultural and artistic legacy and desired for it’s rich, healthy and extremely varied gastronomy, Spain never leaves you indifferent. That’s why if you are a Spaniard like me, you’ll find yourself missing the smells, the flavors and the warmth of the country that you have left behind. So if you are feeling the weight of the nostalgia bringing you down or just asking yourself how did you end up in this cold and rainy (but always amazing)  city, here we have put together some great places that will, hopefully, make you feel a little bit like home. And of course, don’t forget to make a toast ¡salud!

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