A Mini Food Tour of Berlin

We went to Berlin back in April (2018) and it's pretty much my favourite place on the planet now. The architecture, the greenery, the food. Never did I think I would go to Berlin and experience such a fantastic range of food from all over the world. It was absolutely spectacular, so here's a mini lowdown of the best food we found in Berlin during our time there:

Pastel - Kreuzberg

This is the tiniest of tiny coffee shops tucked away in a side street in Kreuzberg (cue Bloc Party), potentially my favourite district. They serve the best decaf coffee I've ever experienced, but they also serve your regular caffeinated brown bean juice too, as well as vegan pastel de nata Portuguese tarts, their namesake. Vegan!!! This place was an absolute delight, with cool music, a friendly barista, and sweet little window seats where you could watch the day-to-day world of Berlin pass you by. The woman across the street dropped a basket out of her second-floor window on a pulley so a man street-level could pass up her groceries. This stuff actually happens in real life.

Royals and Rice - Mitte

Asian cuisine and Vietnamese coffee. I've never heard of a coffee and rice bar before, but what could go wrong? We experienced a lot of fantastic Asian food in Berlin, with Royals and Rice being a standout find. We only went in the evening so didn't get to try any of their coffee, but the food was bloody marvellous. Alongside sushi, they serve a wide-variety of tofu-based dishes, including the ever-enjoyable steamed bao bun and sweet potato curries. There's a huge amount of seating room and the staff are very friendly. We even considered going here twice because the food was so delicious. Try the bao buns if you're feeling indecisive!

Talking Beans - Charlottenberg

If you're into waffles, this is the place for you. Located in BIKINI BERLIN (it's a sort of of shopping centre, but with a pop-up food market, and lots of slightly-alternative clothing stores), it's run by a South African duo who have a knack for making the best crepes and waffles you'll ever taste. Each dish is topped with more delicious items than you can imagine, but with flavours that compliment one another and don't overwhelm. The man who served us was ridiculously friendly, so it's also a lovely place to visit if you also want a good chat about the world, as he was very well-travelled and had some fantastic advice about the many countries he'd lived in.

Sons of Mana - Charlottenberg
Also located in BIKINI BERLIN, this is where I fell in love with the Hawaiian poke bowl. A poke bowl is a delicious combination of rice, fish (if you're a fish-eater), edamame, avocado, seeds, sweet potato...anything you could imagine, with a very strong Japanese influence, as with a lot of Hawaiian cuisine. These are such fresh and healthy dishes, but also incredibly filling - I wish I could have had more than one! There's options for veggies and vegans, all perfectly-seasoned and beautifully presented. We've already attempted to recreate one of these at home, but the way they cook their sweet potato will forever remain a mystery. Find yourself a poke bowl ASAP!

Salut Backwaren - Alt-Treptow 

You will never understand how long it took me to find the name of this bakery we stumbled upon one day on our way to the East Side Gallery for breakfast. I had to retrace our steps on Google Maps despite not knowing the route we walked to the Gallery at all, trying to find a tiny bakery located under one of Berlin's numerous U-Bahn stations. Nevertheless, I'm now happy to report that Salut Backwaren is the name of the bakery that served the most beautiful and delicious pastries I've ever experienced. I still don't know what I had for breakfast that day; all I remember was that I want more. There are pastries for every diet and palate, so dive in and discover something totally new on your way to some top-notch Berlin culture. 

dean&david- Everywhere 

When we first got into the centre of Berlin, we were starving and needed somewhere to pass the time before checking into the hotel. This is when we stumbled upon dean&david, a chain of cafes in Germany (as well as Austria and Switzerland) that serve brilliant toasted sandwiches, salads, and, my new true love, matcha lattes. Their food is affordable, fresh, and there's something suited for all diets, plus they are located all over the city centre, so it's easy to find one on your route to somewhere exciting. I've tried matcha lattes since and none of them live up to the dean&david standard, made with soya milk and maple syrup to sweeten. My best advice would be to stay away from the ones right in the centre, like Potsdamer Platz, around lunchtime as they seem to be everyone's number one choice! Our personal favourite was on Nürnberger Straße, right near our hotel.

 - Megan