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BERLINA Culinary
Renaissance
Immigrant influences
and local fare are
refueling the food scene
Neue WaveTraditional staples get a
locavore twist in many
top restaurants, some
featuring quirky historical
settings. Inside the gym of
a 1920s girls school, chef
Dirk Gieselmann creates
five-course dinners (with
a vegetarian version) from
regional ingredients for
Michelin-starred hot spot
Pauly Saal. Area farmers
supply the lamb and rabbit
at Restaurant Oderberger,
an industrial-chic new-
comer in an old boiler
room. At Burgermeister,
sample a juicy burger in a
former subway bathroom.Turkish DelightsThere are more Turks in
Berlin than anywhere else
outside of Turkey, and
they’ve created a rich
culinary tradition all their
own—most famously, the
döner kebab. Some 4,000
döner shops dot the city,
but the best is Tadim, in
the heart of Kreuzberg’s
Turkish community. At
Fes Turkish BBQ, diners
grill their own marinated
black Angus beef and
lamb. For spit-roasted
meats and stuffed eggplant
with a view, claim a table
at Defne on Berlin’s most
beautiful street, Planufer.Beer GardensBerlin may not be Bavaria,
but you can find dozens
of outdoor beer gardens
sprinkled around the city
and open year-round.
The most enchanting may
be Café am Neuen See,
flanking a lake in leafy Tier-
garten park and twinkling
with strings of outdoor
lights. Prater Garten, a
Prenzlauer Berg institution,
has been serving pints and
schnitzels since the 1850s.
Drinks and dancing form a
heady mix at Birgit&Bier,
an adult playground on
the bank of the Spree River
in Kreuzberg.Not Just BratsRivaling the döner in
popularity, currywurst—
slices of steamed pork
sausages doused in sweet
curry ketchup and topped
with curry spice—once
merited its own museum.
The exhibits are gone, but
you can try the real deal
at Konnopke’s Imbiss, a
famed sausage stall under
the U-Bahn tracks. Another
local favorite? Eisbein
(literally: “ice leg”), boiled
and cured pork knuckle. It’s
been a menu star, with a
side of pea puree and mus-
tard, at Zur Letzen Instanz
since 1621.At Café am Neuen
See, brews and
pretzels come
with a festive
lakeside vibe.