26 Best Restaurants in Berlin, Germany

In the historic grand villa of silent movie star Henny Porten, the Einstein is one of the leading coffeehouses in town, and it charmingly recalls the elegant days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, complete with an artsy, high-brow clientele and slightly snobbish waiters gliding across the parquet floors. Order Austrian delicacies such as Tafelspitz or schnitzel (the small order is plenty large), coffee, and, of course, some cake.

Your childhood dream of having dessert for dinner can come true at this intimate "dessert bar" on a pretty street in trendy Neukölln—except at CODA, many of the desserts are more savory than sweet, and all can be paired with alcoholic beverages, from cocktails to beer to wine. Four- or seven-course menus use very little added sugar or fat in the dishes, but feature plenty of different textures and beautiful presentations to keep things interesting, even for those without a sweet tooth.

The name might have you thinking something different, but this is actually a vegetarian fine-dining restaurant that serves fantastic food (it's above what used to be a club called Cookies, owned by a nightlife mogul by the same moniker, now home to an eatery called Crackers); the chef steers away from "easy" vegetarian dishes like pasta and stir-fries and instead focuses on innovative preparations. The entrance, too, is misleading: the only access is via a dingy alley between the Westin Grand Hotel and the Komische Oper next door, but once you're inside the vibe is industrial-chic, and the service is friendly, casual, and fun.

In a clean and modern Scandinavian-styled space done up in woods and light colors, chef Silvio Pfeufer combines local German dishes with global influences (think pike perch served with finger limes and veal tongue with black truffle and parmesan) on his six-course tasting menus; there's also a separate menu for vegetarians. Pair your meal with a fine selection of wines from Austria, France, Italy, and Spain, or opt for their house-made non-alcoholic drink accompaniments.

One of Germany's top restaurants, Facil is also one of the more relaxed of its class: the elegant, minimalist setting—it's in the fifth-floor courtyard of the Mandala Hotel, with exquisite wall panels and a glass roof that opens in summer—and impeccable service make this feel like something of an oasis in the busy city. Diners can count on a careful combination of modern takes on German classics and inspiration from across the globe, best sampled in the four- to eight-course set meals.

In a cozy wood-paneled room with a colorful mural of Berlin scenes along the wall and a sleek open kitchen, Austrian chef Sebastian Frank puts a creative spin on dishes from his native country. Vegetables (along with touches of meat and fish) become the stars of the show with innovative cooking techniques and a judicious use of herbs, many grown on his roof terrace, in a choice of five- or eight-course menus; each dish pairs perfectly with unique wines primarily from Eastern Europe.

In their namesake restaurant on a side street in Kreuzberg, Dutch chefs Lode van Zuylen and Stijn Remi combine ingredients primarily from small producers in interesting ways—expect lots of dry-aged and cured fish and meat—in regularly changing four- or seven-course tasting menus. With a minimalist aesthetic inside, the focus remains on the beautifully plated food, along with the large wine list with lots of natural selections from across Europe.

Intimate and effortlessly cool, this pint-size modern restaurant specializes in prix fixe menus showcasing creative plates using both local and European ingredients with an Asian touch, served alongside expertly mixed cocktails or inspired wine choices. Snag one of the tables if you’ve come with a group, but it’s most fun to sit on a bar stool near the kitchen where you can chat with the friendly staff and feel like a part of the action.

The locavore obsession is taken seriously at this trendy spot that uses only the most local ingredients in the simple but sublime preparations that come from the open kitchen and are served at a long, shared counter. One 10-course menu is served each evening (dietary restrictions can usually be accommodated) and everything—from the bread and butter through several vegetable, meat, and fish courses—is gorgeously presented and delicious.

The perfectly crafted and creative haute cuisine at the Michelin-starred Reinstoff, prepared by renowned chef Daniel Achilles, focuses on both rare and traditional German ingredients but gives them an avant-garde twist and often playful presentations. Diners choose either five-, six-, seven-, eight-, or nine-course menus (à la carte is only by special request), either with or without wine pairings, and the relaxed but professional service and quietly refined atmosphere make this one of the most enjoyable dining experiences in the city. It's expensive but worth it. The wine selection is heavy on European wines.

The conservative decor belies the artistry on offer at this Michelin-starred restaurant from Germany's most famous celebrity chef. Upscale Asian-influenced cuisine, combining Japanese, Thai, and Chinese flavors and techniques, can be sampled in either classic or seasonal seven-course tasting menus for dinner or four- to eight-course tasting menus for lunch; pair your food with splendid wines from one of the most comprehensive lists in Berlin.

The narrow, unassuming facade of the only three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Berlin, tucked away on a sleepy stretch of Chausseestrasse, belies the elegant interior and stellar food you'll find inside. "Inspiration" tasting menus of six or eight courses make the most of ingredients like lobster, trout, or veal and combine unusual items like black radishes and mushrooms, or asparagus and wild violets; you can find more casual and heartier fare at the Weinbar downstairs.

Sparsely decorated, with a collection of handmade bowls behind the counter, the focus at this Japanese izakaya is solely on the food; there are just 10 seats around a small counter where you can watch chef Shiori Arai at work. The 11 to 13 exquisitely presented seasonal courses fuse local German ingredients with Japanese technique and can be paired with a small but smart selection of sake for some of the most authentic Japanese cuisine in town.

In a gorgeous restored 1914 villa facing Heligensee lake, renowned chef Tim Raue updates classic Brandenburg dishes. Choose from the seven-course tasting menu, or order dishes such as beef tongue salad with onion and caper mayonnaise or perch meunière with parsley, spinach, and lemon à la carte; ask the helpful sommelier for the best pairings from their extensive German wine list.

This tiny and hip 20-seat eatery serves inspired French cuisine in rotating seven-course menus (with two optional additions) celebrating a mix of seasonal regional and international ingredients. If you can't get a reservation here, try the sister restaurant next door: the larger and slightly more casual 3 Minutes Sur Mer.

Hidden behind a metal door in a nondescript part of Wedding, this buzzy restaurant from Canadian wunderkind chef Dylan Watson-Brawn presents a series of roughly 30 small plates foraged, gathered, and purchased from producers he has personally met, mainly in Germany but also from farther afield in Europe. Eight diners watch the chefs at work right in front of them and hear the stories behind each dish, as well as the tales of the carefully selected all-natural wine pairings chosen to accompany them.

The slightly more casual offshoot of Michelin-starred restaurant ernst, this wine-focused eatery serves coffee, fresh-baked goods, and (yes) wine during the day and more elaborate market-driven prix fixe menus at dinner; dishes are heavy on the organic veggies, plus sustainable seafood and meats, and many have a Japanese slant, featuring accompaniments such as shiso flowers, miso, ponzu, or yuzu. An open kitchen encourages you to watch the chefs at work, while enormous pane windows let you keep an eye on the action on the lively Wedding streets outside.

Hidden away in a courtyard off a busy Neukölln street, in a space that used to contain an old launderette (hence the Italian name), Lavanderia Vecchia offers a prix-fixe-only Italian menu that includes two appetizers, a pasta or risotto primi, a meat or fish secondo, and dessert (vegetarian versions also available), accompanied by a half-bottle of wine and followed by coffee and a digestif; à la carte options, as well as three- to five-course menus, are available at lunchtime only. The white-painted industrial space is decorated with vintage kerchiefs strung along old wash lines.

Named after the famous Berlin film director Ernst Lubitsch, this sophisticated restaurant attracts an equally refined crowd with its hearty local fare (and lighter international options) that's hard to find these days. Dishes like Königsberger Klopse (German meatballs in a creamy caper sauce), baked eggs in mustard sauce, and Wiener schnitzel are examples of the home-style German cooking, plus there are frequently rotating seasonal specials.

The dark-wood-paneled walls, parquet floor, and multiple rooms of this bustling restaurant across from Gendarmenmarkt have an air of 19th-century Vienna, and the food, too, is mostly German and Austrian, with game served in winter and classic dishes offered year-round. In the Weinhandlung, a cozy room lined with wine shelves, meat and cheese plates are served every day until late.

If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind dining experience, head to this half-timber house—built more than 100 years ago as a pub and guesthouse along the Paris–Moscow railway—that stands dwarfed by a government complex and the hotels and office buildings around Hauptbahnhof. Today, it serves dishes so intricately prepared they look like works of art, with unique flavor combinations; in addition to the à la carte menu, there is a three-course set menu, with a vegetarian option, in the evening.

Chef Gal Ben Moshe creates updated Levantine cuisine—a mix of Israeli, Lebanese, Syrian, and Greek cuisine—at his sophisticated restaurant on an unassuming side street off Kantstrasse. Try ingredients such as jameed (dried yogurt) and baharat (Middle Eastern all-purpose spice) in a six-or eight-course tasting menu, or for lighter appetites, opt for “prism social,” a four-course sharing menu where you can sample smaller portions of all eight courses.

Potsdam is proud of its past French influences, and the highly praised French food at this intimate restaurant on the edge of the Dutch Quarter is served in a lovely space, with brick walls and a fireplace. Restaurant Juliette is affiliated with four other more casual French restaurants in Potsdam, including a creperie and a café.