Bon Appetit

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• Datscha read more ›
  (1 Gabriel-Max-Strasse. Tel. 030 7008 6735)
  Inspired by the Russian word for 'holiday home', this cosy café-bar exudes a retro Soviet atmosphere. Perfect for consuming great borscht (beetroot soup), wareniki (dumplings) and blini (pancakes), washed down with vodka or Moskva beer.
• Fat Ass Pizza read more ›
  (23 Oderberger Strasse, Prenzlauer Berg. )
  Take a break from browsing the hip shops on Oderberger Strasse and sink into American-style extra-large slices at the pizza parlour with the in-your-face name. If you're lucky, you'll catch their all-you-can eat pizza offer for less than €5.
• Glücklich am Park read more ›
  (54 Kastanienallee. Tel. 030 4172 5651)
  This cute corner café with pavement tables serves delicious waffles, ice cream and coffee. The outside seating is perfect for people-gawking on a spring day. Upstairs there's a great little fashion store that carries local and Scandinavian labels.
• Fischladen read more ›
  (128 Schönhauser Allee. Tel. 030 4431 9574)
  This busy fishmongers serves the best fish 'n' chips in Berlin. The salmon burgers are delicious, or wolf down a traditional German herring fillet with baked potato.
• Dolores Gourmet Burritos read more ›
  (7 Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse, Mitte . Tel. 030 2809 9597 )
  California-style burritos in Berlin? Dolores makes the best right before your eyes with all-fresh ingredients.
• Blaues Band read more ›
  (7-8 Alte Schönhauser Strasse, Mitte. Tel. 030 2838 5099 )
  A spacious, friendly café serving breakfast (Canadian pancakes) and meals all day. Right in Mitte's fashion/gallery district.

• Themroc read more ›
  (183 Torstrasse. Tel. 0162 425 1121)
  Tiny Themroc, with its open kitchen and one-dish menu, is all about improvised charm. You'll have to wait to eat, but the French-style food is cheap and interesting, the wine drinkable and the staff friendly.
• La Muse Gueule read more ›
  (14 Sredzkistrasse. )
  The perfect hybrid of Paris and Berlin: this small, casual French café with a Berlin atmosphere serves great quiches with salad, as well as other simple, well-executed meals.
• Pasternak read more ›
  (24 Knaackstrasse, Prenzlauer Berg. Tel. 030 441 3399)
  Pelmeni (dumplings), borscht (beetroot soup), beef stroganoff… enjoy all the Russian classics in old-fashioned dining rooms adorned with the portraits of Russian literati. The Sunday all-you-can-eat brunch buffet is phenomenal.
• La Cocotte read more ›
  (10 Vorbergstrasse, Schöneberg. Tel. 030 7895 7658)
  Nestled down a sidestreet in oh-so-gay Schöneberg, this unpretentious French restaurant caters to local foodies and French food lovers. Expect French classics, cheap but good wine and generous portions.
• Bar-Celona read more ›
  (2 Hannoversche Strasse, Mitte. Tel. 030 282 9153 )
  The first tapas bar to open in the eastern half of the city following the fall of the Berlin Wall serves delicious Spanish delicacies and wines.
• Foodorama read more ›
  (94 Bergmannstrasse, Kreuzberg. Tel. 030 6900 1100)
  Claiming to be Germany's first climate-neutral restaurant, Foodorama does everything it can to reduce and offset energy use while serving quality, all-organic fusion cooking.

• Vis à Vis read more ›
  (15 Raumer Strasse, Helmholzplatz. Tel. 030 8310 0173)
  This casual, yet classy, all-day restaurant run by a father-and-son team evokes equals measures of Paris and New York. Burgers, leg of lamb, seafood, everything is well-crafted and satisfying. Also open for breakfast.
• Fleischerei read more ›
  (8 Schönhauser Allee. )
  Enjoy proper German meat dishes cooked the right way in this converted former butcher's shop catering to the hip crowd.
• Cassambalis read more ›
  (35b Grolmanstrasse. Tel. 030 885 4747)
  High-class Greek restaurant with perfect service, white tablecloths and a wonderful selection of art on the walls. Begin by helping yourself from the superb selection of mezedes, followed by a freshly prepared fish.
• Borchardt read more ›
  (47 Französische Strasse. Tel. 030 8188 6262)
  It's impossible to dine in this spacious, classy brasserie without bumping into one German celeb or another. Impeccable service, great Continental cuisine and an always animated social scene.
• Belmondo read more ›
  (93 Knesebeckstrasse, Charlottenburg. Tel. 030 3628 7261)
  Inspired by the French Nouvelle Vague actor Jean-Paul Belmondo-who's picture is all over the walls-this intimate restaurant near Savignyplatz offers French classics and fine wines.
• Ottenthal read more ›
  (153 Kanstrasse, Charlottenburg. Tel. 030 3133 162)
  Austrian delicacies and wines are served in a intimate environment. Try the organic wiener schnitzel, surely one of the world's best.

• Gendarmerie read more ›
  (42 Behrenstrasse. Tel. 030 7677 5270)
  Berlin's newest up-market restaurant, the stunning Gendarmerie - housed in the former East German state bank - is grandiose by any measure, following a €10 million investment. And the food? French with a regional touch.
• Le Cochon Bourgeois read more ›
  (24 Fichtestrasse, Kreuzberg. Tel. 030 693 0101)
  The finest restaurant in alternative Kreuzberg, 'The Bourgeois Pig' caters to fans of refined French-inspired gourmet cooking, concocted daily according to market availability.
• Grill Royal read more ›
  (105B Friedrichstrasse, Mitte. Tel. 030 2887 9288)
  Stylish Grill Royal, on the banks of the Spree River, caters to Berlin's arty elite and is possibly the city's best steakhouse. Bookings are essential.
• Grill Royal read more ›
  (105B Friedrichstrasse, Mitte. Tel. 030 2887 9288)
  Founded by an art dealer, the up-market steakhouse Grill Royal is the place for Berlin's arty elite to be seen. The design is exquisite, the diners enviably attractive and the steaks divine. Bookings are essential.
• Traube read more ›
  (33 Reinhardtstrasse, Mitte. Tel. 030 2787 9393)
  Located in one of Berlin's oldest buildings, Traube chef Kevin Nathan conjures up high-class crossover cuisine combining traditional Alpine and Berlin-style cooking.
• Paris-Moskau read more ›
  (141 Alt-Moabit, Tiergarten. Tel. 030 394 2081)
  Sophisticated German cuisine in a half-timbered house in the park, a stone's throw from the central station. A discreet meeting place for politicians and high rollers.

After Dark

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• Fluido read more ›
  (6 Christburger Strasse. Tel. 030 4404 3902)
  Off the beaten track, on a pretty side street, Fluido serves top-notch cocktails and rare spirits to an older clientèle in a smoky, stylish lounge. Open from 8pm nightly, ring the doorbell to get in.
• Scotch & Sofa read more ›
  (18 Kollwitzstrasse, Prenzlauer Berg. Tel. 030 4404 2371)
  Cosy cocktail bar. In good weather you can sunbathe, gin 'n' tonic in hand, in one of the deckchairs in the small garden.
• Tajik Tearoom read more ›
  (1st floor, 1 Am Festungsgraben. Tel. 030 204 1112)
  Take off your shoes and recline on cushions as you sip on tea from a samovar in the charmingly ornate Tajik-style cafe just off Unter den Linden.
• Erdbeer read more ›
  (56 Max-Beer-Strasse, Mitte. )
  The name of this retro hipster hang-out means strawberry in English and the bar is famous for its strawberry daiquiris made with vodka or rum.
• Bond Bar read more ›
  (16 Knesebeckstrasse, Charlottenburg. )
  Sleek 007-inspired bar catering to a up-market crowd. The martinis are, of course, perfectly made.
• Erdbeer read more ›
  (56 Max-Beer-Strasse, Mitte. )
  The name of this retro hipster hang-out means strawberry in English and the bar is famous for its strawberry daiquiris made with vodka or rum.

• Cassiopeia read more ›
  (99 Revaler Strasse. Tel. 030 698 1280)
  A neighbourhood club with a cosmopolitan approach in alternative Friedrichshain. Here you'll encounter everything from punk rock and hardcore to reggae and hip hop. Open Wednesday-Saturday.
• Café Zapata read more ›
  (54 Oranienburgerstrasse. Tel. 030 281 6109)
  Grungey, alternative bar in the famous Tacheles art-squat. While a bit touristy, the space attracts decent international singer-songwriter and rock acts. It hosts concerts most nights of the week.
• Madame Claude read more ›
  (19 Lübbener Strasse. Tel. 030 8411 0861)
  Self-proclaimed 'bar for common people', the cosy Madame Claude is a popular recent addition to Kreuzberg's nightlife. The furniture's on the ceiling and the live acts are usually off the wall.
• NBI read more ›
  (Kulturbrauerei Centre, 36 Schönhauser Allee, Prenzlauer Berg. Tel. 030 4405 1681)
  From Danish indie to German country to some occasionally painful-to-listen-to compositions performed on a laptop, you never quite know what you're going to get.
• Live at Dot read more ›
  (47 Falckensteinstrasse, Kreuzberg. )
  This multi-stage, warehouse-style space once housed the famous 103 Club. Now Live at Dot hosts indie acts several nights a week.
• Kaffee Burger read more ›
  (60 Torstrasse, Mitte. )
  This famous venue-a pub that hasn't changed much since the communist era-hosts intimate concerts most nights of the week and turns into a pretty raucous dance club after midnight.

• Fritz Club read more ›
  (8 Strasse der Pariser Kommune. )
  Three-floor club in a former station with great parties on Friday and Saturday nights. Expect a studenty crowd rocking out to indie, hip hop, soul and reggae.
• Dr Pong read more ›
  (21 Eberswalder Strasse, Prenzlauer Berg. )
  A night at the gritty, alcohol-fuelled temple of table tennis inevitably ends in Rundlauf, in which tipsy ping-pong fanatics run around the table till the early hours.
• Trinkteufel read more ›
  (18 Adalbertstrasse. )
  The one-of-a-kind punk-metal bar Trinkteufel (Drink Devil) has served locals with cheap drinks for a decade. Parties tend to go on all night.
• Fritz Club read more ›
  (8 Strasse der Pariser Kommune. )
  Three-floor club in an former train station with great parties on Friday and Saturday nights. Expect a studenty crowd rocking out to indie, hip hop, soul and reggae.
• Bassy Club read more ›
  (176A Schönhauser Allee, Prenzlauer Berg. )
  Catering mostly to the over-30 crowd, the Bassy basement club veers in the direction of rockabilly, retro, country and old-school funk. So expect some colourful characters, especially in the separate smoker's bar.
• Bohannon Club read more ›
  (40 Dircksenstrasse. Tel. 030 6950 5287)
  One of Berlin's hottest basement clubs for funk, reggae, hip hop and soul. See www.bohannon.de for what's on.

This month...

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Tips

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