This Mitte hotspot has been serving up traditional plates of pickles and pillowy boiled dumplings on modern red lino tables since it opened its doors in 2023. Reflecting the mixed backgrounds of its three founders, Trio offers down-to-earth dishes from corners of Central Europe: German meatballs, Hungarian goulash, and Austrian fried chicken. The food and bistro-slash-diner interior are humble and special, cozy and cool, with the power to comfort and wow in one caper gravy mouthful.

There are some easy ways to assimilate in this city: wear black, actually wait for the little green man to light up before crossing the street, and know what people are talking about when they mention Hamy Café. This popular spot serves the most delicious (and affordable) Vietnamese food in the city, where not ordering the curry chalked up on the specials board is more sinful than anything you’ll get up to in Berghain.

Ramen might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Berlin. But it’s everywhere, and the perfect antidote to a heavy night out. Sit at the counter and get your steaming bowl of house-made noodles delivered straight from the kitchen through a mahogany window. The shoyu broth with perfectly-sous-vide chicken chashu and the vegan tantan are our favorites. But whichever base you go for, expect the fudgiest egg and surprising additions like slivers of orange peel.

You might do a double-take when you get to 893 Ryōtei. Yes, that graffiti-splattered, seemingly abandoned storefront with tinted glass is the Japanese restaurant where you booked a table. This place has a gritty cool factor that’s characteristically Berlin, and while you can certainly focus on the sushi and sashimi, don’t skip the more fusion-y dishes like the sashimi taquitos and lomo. Wear the coolest thing you own and you’ll blend right in—this is a trendy, high-end spot.

Cram in at one of Otto’s 20 seats if you love a farm-to-table experience with no fuss. The focus here is on ingredients from the Berlin-Brandenburg region (including the restaurant’s own garden), and the menu changes often: sometimes a new dish a week, with bigger overhauls happening every three months or so. Raw concrete walls and simple wooden furnishings give the tiny interior a Nordic vibe, and you may get a glimpse of your food being prepared in the open kitchen.

The concept at PeterPaul is “German cuisine by the morsel.” So if you want to check a lot of classic German dishes off your to-try list all at once, this is the place to do it. Come with friends who won’t mind sharing their sauerbraten and königsberger klopse (meatballs in a creamy sauce), and plan on ordering three to four things per person. Just make sure to leave room for some black forest cherry cake at the end of your meal.

The white tablecloths, crisply folded napkins, and glittering chandeliers make this Italian spot seem kind of formal, but the friendly servers make the energy more lively than stuffy. Let your pinkies relax and join the many regulars for excellent three-course lunch specials that change daily. Expect things like a carrot soup to start, pasta with tomato sauce and eggplant for the main, and mango panna cotta to finish.

Berlin has a big Turkish population, so you’ll find Turkish grills all over the city, and one of the most famous is Adana Grillhaus. There are two locations right around the corner from each other in Kreuzberg, but the one on Skalitzer Strasse is brighter and better for big groups. Both are open until the early morning, and their adana kebab is one of the best ways to end a night of drinking your way down Oranienstraße at spots like Café Luzia and Biererei Bar.

One look at the crowds of bleary-eyed breakfast-seekers outside this place every weekend is enough to tell you that Annelies is a star of Berlin’s brunch scene. There are only eight dishes to choose from, and three clear winners. For savory breakfast lovers, it’s either the sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich made with a sesame pancake bun, or the scrambled eggs on sourdough toast with grated smoked egg yolk on top.

There’s perhaps no better introduction to Berlin than eating currywurst: sausage slathered in curried ketchup with a side of fries. If you’re hopping around Museum Island, you’re just around the corner from Curry 61, where there’ll probably be a small crowd of locals and out-of-towners gathered outside the order window. Service is fast—once you have your food in hand, squeeze in at one of the few tall tables, and eat while admiring the mural of the Berlin Wall’s famous Fraternal Kiss graffiti.

After spending enough time staring at statues on Museum Island to work up a big appetite, settle in for a meal at Jolly, a Chinese restaurant that’s way better than all the mediocre tourist traps nearby. The Peking duck, available as a whole bird or smaller appetizer, is a highlight, and you can never go wrong with some dumplings from their dim sim menu. There’s plenty of seating inside, but make a reservation if you want a table on a weekend evening.

This unpretentious, minimalist spot serves delicious Neapolitan pizzas made with ingredients from small Italian farms, like fior di latte from Agerola on the Amalfi Coast. The classic margherita always hits the spot, but check the chalkboard for daily specials like pies topped with zucchini, ricotta, and sun-dried tomatoes. If you’re meat- and dairy-free, go for the ortolana vegana pizza with roasted vegetables and vegan mozzarella.

Step into this vegan café/bar and you’ll immediately notice the eclectic and colorful decorations on the walls and a hodgepodge of vintage photographs. But you’re here for plant-based takes on classic Spanish tapas like croquetas and tortilla, and also to prove to any doubting friends just how good vegan food can be. Make a reservation if you’re coming for dinner since there’s not much space inside, and stick around after your meal for a rowdy bar scene.

Wen Cheng serves traditional Chinese hand-pulled noodles, and is so popular that there are two locations on the same street, about a 25-minute walk apart. We prefer Wen Cheng II at Schönhauser Allee 10, since it’s significantly bigger and offers a better view of the staff stretching out that noodle dough. It’s walk-in only, so the line can get long—your best bet is to visit right when they open for weekend lunch at noon. Our go-to order is the biang biang beef noodles.

Markthalle Pfefferberg, the 700-square-meter hall of shops and food stands, is a fun stop on any tour of the restaurant-packed Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood. If you only try one place inside, make it Taquería el Oso, which serves juicy al pastor tacos sliced straight from the trompo. Tables can be tough to come by on weekend afternoons and evenings, so plan on showing up around noon when the party people are still sleeping in. And if you want to try their birria, make sure you come on a Sunday.

You have plenty of great options on this stretch of Kantstraße, but look out for the spot with a big photo of a smiling woman in sunglasses (the beloved late owner) above the door: that’s Thai-Art. Folks regularly fill this place for classics like pad see ew, pad thai, and tom yum soup. And while there are only about 10 tables inside, getting one never seems to be a big issue, even on weekdays at lunchtime.

Take Thai food, make it vegan, and serve it in small bowls perfectly sized for people who like to try a bit of everything—that’s the approach at li.ke, which you’ll find right on the northwest corner of Boxhagener Platz. Pop in for a casual meal after slamming a few cheap Späti beers in the square, or to ward off any hunger that might distract you from getting lost in a book while you lay out in the sun.

If you love noisy, drawn-out dinners that turn into boozy parties and potentially go on long past midnight, come to El Borriquito. Bring a big group and book a late table (no earlier than 9pm), preferably on the weekend, so you can see some live music. Share tapas like pimientos de padrón and fried calamari before moving on to more substantial plates of grilled fish and meat.