Germany will always be one of my favourite places to visit, but as someone with quite a restricted diet (I don’t eat beef) I’ve always struggled to find foods that are fun, healthy, and varied. In recent years however, Berlin’s food scene has exploded and the results are phenomenal. Prenzlauer Berg in the Pankow district proved to have a huge variety of delicious eats, although we returned to Café Hilde three times.
The original currywurst is a source of much contention and you can absolutely buy this local delicacy of sliced sausages with a spiced ketchup on every street corner. Curry61 however seems to be a popular choice and was one of our friend’s favourites.
A highlight for me was the vegan wurst with chips which was exceptionally cheap and I was assured it tasted almost the same as the meat version.
Just down the road from Café Hilde is the basement bar and restaurant with seating outside in summer, Leibhaftig. Despite being 585kms from the capital of Bavaria, Leibhaftig serves Bavarian tapas and craft beers.
Try the obatzda, a bavarian cheese dip that is both smokey and creamy served with rye. We shared 2 plates of the pork in beer sauce, some potato salad, obatzda, and sausages between three and left full and satisfied. If you are looking for German food with a fun twist- then this is your place.
This cosy neighbourhood café proved to be a winner. For me, the shared breakfast plate for 2 was a triumph. Meats, cheeses, salad, boiled eggs, fruit, bread and jam all in plentiful quantities.
The omelettes, made with any combination of ingredients and fresh cakes and strudel are also worth a mention- as are their unusual combination of hot drinks including a mango chai, which was as good as it sounds!
I must admit we turned up to Umami exhausted, on a very hot, very busy Berlin August Saturday and were very lucky to get a seat. In summer the restaurant, specialising in IndoChinese cuisine, more than doubles in size with tables sprawling out to the square in front. The atmosphere was buzzing with street performers and what felt like most of Berlin begging for a table.
Exhausted, we opted to keep things simple with the set Bao Dai’s Dinner which was a mere 32,80€ for 3 people- even with drinks and a few extras thrown in you cannot deny this was an absolute steal.
After all that eating, the only natural thing to do is drink some beers and Prater Biergarten is one of the biggest in Berlin. To me this is how a German biergarten should be, long gregarious benches, simple foods (pretzels galore) and plenty of beers to try.
Now this absolutely is not a recommendation as such, but if you want to experience a biergarten like most German teenagers circa 2005 ask for a Diesel (a pepsi/coke with beer) or for a more ‘grown up’ version try a Berliner Weisse which is flavoured with syrup.
If you’re going to Berlin and for some reason can only eat one thing then this side of the road vendor is absolutely that one thing. The roasted vegetable kebab with halloumi cost under 5€ and offered more bang than I think I’ve ever seen for your buck.
These have popped up all over Berlin, including one a short walk from Museum Islan don Neue Promenade which even has seating but the pricing and the portion sizings do differ.
We did spend time searching for the perfect Berliner but August is not the best time to search for a Berliner. Although they are available throughout the year it is best to go Berliner hunting between late December and Easter as consumption of a Berliner is associated with New Year’s Eve and the carnival which falls on shrove Monday and Tuesday. Next time I’ll make sure I’m in Berlin for pancake day!
Copyright Dishing Up 2021.