Best bars in Berlin — cocktail bars, speakeasies, and neighbourhood favourites
What are the best cocktail bars in Berlin?
Buck and Breck (Brunnenstrasse, Mitte) is the most acclaimed speakeasy-style cocktail bar — 14 seats, no sign on the door, outstanding drinks. Prater Garten in Prenzlauer Berg is the oldest beer garden in Berlin (1837). Stagger Lee on Paul-Lincke-Ufer in Kreuzberg is a reliable neighbourhood cocktail bar. Prices range from €10-€16 per cocktail at serious bars.
What are the best bars in Berlin? The city has a bar scene that ranges from 19th-century beer gardens to internationally acclaimed cocktail bars to neighbourhood dives that have barely changed since reunification. This guide covers the best by category with real addresses and prices.
Cocktail bars and speakeasies
Buck and Breck
Brunnenstrasse 177, Mitte (between Mitte and Wedding). The most consistently praised cocktail bar in Berlin.
The formula is specific: 14 seats, no exterior signage, ring the doorbell to enter. The interior is a narrow bar with dark wood and carefully sourced spirits. The cocktail menu focuses on pre-Prohibition era classics and house specials made with unusual ingredients. Staff are knowledgeable and unhurried.
Price: €13-€16 per cocktail. No entrance fee. Reservations are near-essential on weekends — book via their website. Walk-ins are possible on quiet weekday evenings if there is space.
Getting there: U8 to Rosenthaler Platz, then 5 minutes walk north.
The honest take: The hype is deserved. It is small, so on busy nights you will wait or miss out. If cocktails are what you’re specifically after in Berlin, this is the right destination.
Becketts Kopf
Pappelallee 64, Prenzlauer Berg. Another small cocktail bar modelled partly on 1920s German bar culture, with framed photos of Samuel Beckett on the walls and a calmer atmosphere than most.
Price: €11-€14 per cocktail. Reservations recommended on weekends.
Getting there: U2 to Eberswalder Strasse, 5 minutes walk.
Stagger Lee
Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44e, Kreuzberg. Named after the 19th-century American folk anti-hero, Stagger Lee has a worn-in neighbourhood feel and excellent cocktails. The location on the Landwehrkanal is good for warm evenings when you can sit outside.
Price: €9-€12 per cocktail. No reservations; walk-in.
Getting there: U8 to Schönleinstrasse, 8 minutes walk.
Beer gardens and traditional pubs
Prater Garten
Kastanienallee 7-9, Prenzlauer Berg. Operating since 1837, this is the oldest surviving beer garden in Berlin. The outdoor space seats hundreds under chestnut trees. It serves Prater’s own house beer (a light lager brewed on site) at €4-€5 per 0.5L, plus basic German food.
The beer garden is seasonal (spring through autumn depending on weather). The attached pub operates year-round.
What it is not: A hipster attraction or a tourist trap. It is genuinely an old neighbourhood beer garden that has been there through most of modern Berlin’s history. The crowd is mixed and local.
Getting there: U2 to Eberswalder Strasse.
Hops and Barley
Wühlischstrasse 22, Friedrichshain. A neighbourhood brewpub in a former butcher’s shop with unpasteurised house beer brewed in-house. The Pilsner and dark beer are both good. Very local atmosphere, cash only, low prices (€3-€4 per beer).
Getting there: U5 to Samariterstrasse.
Natural wine bars
Vin Aqua Vin
Weinbergsweg 3, Mitte (near Rosenthaler Platz). A wine bar focused on natural and biodynamic wines from small producers. The list changes seasonally. Good charcuterie and cheese. Popular with the art and creative crowd from the surrounding neighbourhood.
Price: €7-€12 per glass of wine.
Getting there: U8 to Rosenthaler Platz.
Viniculture
Stargarder Strasse 67, Prenzlauer Berg. Neighbourhood natural wine shop and bar. The selection is strong and the staff genuinely knowledgeable about the producers. Good for early evening before moving elsewhere.
Price: €6-€10 per glass.
Dive bars and neighbourhood institutions
Zum Starken August
Tucholskystrasse, Mitte. A traditional Berlin Kneipe (neighbourhood pub) that has changed very little since the 1970s. Cheap beer (€3-€4), old-school Berlin atmosphere, cash only, no cocktail menu. The kind of place that disappears quickly as neighbourhoods gentrify — worth visiting.
Roses
Oranienstrasse 187, Kreuzberg. A small gay dive bar covered in pink velvet and kitsch decorations, open since the 1980s. Friendly to everyone, cheap drinks, stays open very late. One of the most genuinely characterful bars in Berlin regardless of orientation.
Price: €3-€5 for beer and simple drinks. Cash only.
Getting there: U1/U8 to Kottbusser Tor, 5 minutes walk.
Monarch
Skalitzer Strasse 134 (above a Kaiser’s supermarket), Kreuzberg. A bar above a supermarket with an industrial interior, cheap drinks, and a rotating soundtrack of indie and post-punk. Entrance via a separate door on Skalitzer Strasse. Very local, very cheap.
Where to drink in each area
Mitte (Scheunenviertel): Buck and Breck, Vin Aqua Vin, and the wine bars around Weinbergsweg. Avoid the tourist-area bars near Hackescher Markt which are overpriced and generic.
Prenzlauer Berg: Prater Garten (beer garden), Becketts Kopf (cocktails), Viniculture (wine). Helmholtzplatz area has a good concentration of neighbourhood bars along Stargarder Strasse and Lychener Strasse.
Kreuzberg: Stagger Lee (cocktails), Roses (dive), Monarch (indie). Oranienstrasse and the canal banks. See the Kreuzberg bars guide for fuller coverage.
Friedrichshain: Hops and Barley (brewpub), the Simon-Dach-Strasse strip for casual drinks, Revaler Strasse for more alternative venues.
Neukölln: The best neighbourhood bar scene currently in Berlin. Reuterkiez around Weichselstrasse has multiple good wine bars and cocktail spots. No single landmark recommendation — explore the streets around Reuterstrasse on foot.
What to order
Berliner Weiße: A cloudy wheat beer specific to Berlin, served with a pump of raspberry or woodruff syrup. Strongly associated with summer. €3-€5 in most bars. Historically a working-class drink.
Radler: Beer mixed with lemonade, common across Germany. Refreshing, lower alcohol, not considered a serious beer choice but widely enjoyed.
Unpasteurised lager: Several Berlin brewpubs produce lager that is not pasteurised and meant to be drunk fresh. Prater Garten, Hops and Barley, and Brauhaus Lemke are the main options. The difference in taste compared to mass-produced lager is noticeable.
Korn: A German grain spirit similar to a neutral vodka but made specifically from rye. Cheap (€2-€3 per shot in a Kneipe), traditional, and an acquired taste. The correct Berlin way to have a round of Korn shots is with a beer chaser.
Frequently asked questions about Best bars in Berlin
What do cocktails cost in Berlin bars?
Cocktails in decent cocktail bars cost €10-€16. Neighbourhood bars with cocktails charge €8-€12. Beer in a regular bar is €3-€5 for a draught 0.5L. Natural wine bars charge €6-€10 per glass. Mitte bars run slightly more expensive than Kreuzberg or Neukölln equivalents.What is Buck and Breck Berlin?
Buck and Breck is a small cocktail bar on Brunnenstrasse in Mitte with only 14 seats and no sign outside. It specialises in pre-Prohibition era cocktails and requires ringing a doorbell to enter. It was awarded a place in Europe's 50 Best Bars rankings and is considered one of the best cocktail bars in Germany. Reservations are strongly recommended.What is Berlin's oldest bar or pub?
Prater Garten on Kastanienallee in Prenzlauer Berg is Berlin's oldest beer garden, operating since 1837. It has survived two world wars, division, and gentrification. The outdoor section seats several hundred; it closes in cold weather but the indoor pub remains open year-round.Are there wine bars in Berlin?
Yes, the natural wine scene in Berlin is strong, particularly in Neukölln and Prenzlauer Berg. Vin Aqua Vin on Weinbergsweg (Mitte/Prenzlauer Berg border) is one of the most-cited natural wine bars. Viniculture in Prenzlauer Berg has a broad selection. Prices are €7-€12 per glass.Where can I drink by the water in Berlin?
Several good options. The Landwehrkanal banks in Kreuzberg are an informal outdoor drinking scene in summer — buy from a Späti and sit by the water. Kater Blau on the Spree has a riverside terrace. Badeschiff on the Spree in Treptow is a floating pool-and-bar (summer only). Spreeufer in Friedrichshain has outdoor bars along the river.Are Berlin bars cash only?
Many neighbourhood bars and most clubs are cash only. Larger cocktail bars and hotel bars increasingly accept cards, but you should always carry cash in Berlin. ATMs (Geldautomat) are widely available but sometimes out of order at 2am.What are good low-key bars in Berlin for conversation?
Quieter bars good for conversation include Stagger Lee (Kreuzberg, good acoustics), Becketts Kopf (Prenzlauer Berg, cocktail bar with calm interior), and Zum Starken August (Mitte, traditional German pub). Avoid Simon-Dach-Strasse on weekends if you want to hear yourself speak.
