A couple of years ago some friends and a person I didn't know before called Mike (you can check out his blog: Das Gastronom) did me a great favor: They spoiled most of the Berlin's bars for me.
There are two reasons why I am writing this rather short blog post: getting inspiration and giving inspiration:
I received a cocktail course as a birthday present. That was the beginning of me becoming a cocktail nerd or a barfly, which is the word used by bartenders for people like me.
I love to go to good bars and have great cocktails especially if some friends are joining me! A good bar is not necessarily an expensive bar but it is very unlikely that you will find a "happy hour" there.
How do you know if a bar is a good bar?
You probably have a kind of "fallback-cocktail" that you are always ordering when you are unsure what you should chose or that is simply your "start-into-the-evening" cocktail. I have two of them: Sazerac and Negroni. If you really like your starter-cocktail in a bar, there is a good chance that other cocktails taste as well. I really love bars where the bartender is consulting you with your cocktail choices. There is nothing more boring than always drinking the same cocktail.
There are two reasons why I am writing this rather short blog post: getting inspiration and giving inspiration:
Getting Inspiration
I am continuously searching for bars with good cocktails in Berlin. Please let me know if you discovered an amazing bar I don't know yet or I might have forgotten to mention here. Just add a comment to this article (ideally with a link to the hp of the bar)
Giving Inspiration
Sometimes people are asking me to suggest a bar. In most cases I just have 2 or 3 suggestions I can immediately recall, although Berlin has a lot more to offer. I have compiled a list where you can get some inspiration the next time you want to go to a bar. If you can check most of them as "visited" you will definitely have earned the title "barfly"!
Warning: As I told you: you will get used to good cocktails. And at one point you will refuse to join your friends if they go to an happy-hour bar at Simon-Dach-Straße in order to consume juice-watered "fusel"-booze cocktails they regret the next day.
So here is my list of bars I visited at least once and I can strongly recommend (ordered alphabetically):
- Amano - If you manage to ignore the Mitte-wannabes, you can enjoy some really good cocktails. Try to check out the roof-top-terrace!
- Antlered Bunny - Small, nice and in FHain, give it a try!.
- Apotheken Bar - This bar looks exactly like the name promises. It is close to Engelsbecken.
- Becketts Kopf - If you can ignore the cigarette smoke, this is an awesome bar in the middle of Prenzlauer Berg.
- Booze Bar - The only bar in the list with a table-soccer (Kicker). You should check-out the beer-cocktails! Amazing!
- Bruegge - Great cocktails and great people! Give the bartenders some space and they create some magic in a glass! Give some greetings from the LiquidM-Team.
- Curtain Club - One of the two Ritz Carlton bars which are really great. Often you get some live-jazz while sitting in leather armchairs and enjoying cocktails created by generations of bartenders.
- Fairytale - The concept of this bar is a little bit crazy which makes it unique. The bartender are dressed according to some fairy-tale themes. You might get your drinks from the crazy hatmaker!
- Fragrances - The second Ritz Carlton bar: The menu consists of fragrances and their components that you can smell separately. The cocktails are visual artworks!
- G&T - You love Gin & Tonic? Don't miss that bar! Although a little bit difficult to find in the backyard, it is in any case worth the search! Try some of the tea-infused gins!
- Galander - The galander group consists of three bars (including the Bruegge) but it doesn't matter which bar you visit, you cannot make a wrong choice!
- Green Door - I think only the Reingold has a longer bar. It is a little bit hidden and you have to ring at a (you would never guess) green door.
- Immertreu - This bar has style and so have the cocktails. It is located in Prenzlauer Berg and a great place to chill and talk.
- Le Croco Bleu - This bar has a industrial crazy look, but also the cocktails will come up with some crazy twists.
- Lebensstern - Directly located above the Café Einstein, it is one of the older bars of Berlin. Although the drinks are a little bit expensive and you have a good chance to bump into the west-berlin"upper-class", it is worth a visit. The selection of spirits is really amazing.
- Marques - Although the bar chef changed recently, the old concept still seems to work. You get classy cocktails and have the chance to eat really good tapas upstairs. You should bring some time if the bar is crowded. ;)
- Prinzipal - Have you ever been in a burlesque bar? No? You should give it a try!
- Reingold - The longest(?) bar in Berlin with a big selection of spirits. During the summer-months you can enjoy the terrace.
- Rum Club - Also known as Botocal Lounge, this bar is the home of one of the world's rum ambassadors: Dirk Becker. Tell him what you like and he will come up with something that is even better. But be careful, a visit can become expensive because you can buy the ingredients of your drinks the next door!
- Rum Trader - If you get along with the cigar smoke, you will have a pleasant evening highlighted by the bartender Gregor Scholl.
- Salut! - A cosy bar with good cocktails. A place to stay and enjoy.
- Schwarze Traube - I haven't been there yet but I met some of the bartenders on different events where I could taste their work. It is definitely worth a try!
- Stagger Lee - The wild west in Schöneberg. The right place to go if you want to have some drinks in the saloon.
- Triobar - If you find it, it is awesome! ;)
- Voima - Nordic cool but ignites a fire in your stomache!
- Windhorst - You want to feel like one of the diplomats in Berlin? Check out Windhorst! It is so central in Mitte that there is no excuse not to drop by!
- Würgeengel - Always crowded but it pays off to fight your way through the people to the bar!
- Zyankali - Have you ever tried to drink absinth the original way, letting water drip through a cube of sugar into a glass of absinth? Even if you don't like it, you will find some great drinks on the menu and a unique character (Tom) behind the bar.
And for the spontaneous people I attached a map with all the bars above. Just check out which bar is closest and enjoy!