"Smoking Allowed" Bars in Berlin
One counter, fourteen bar stools, the best ingredients, classic basic recipes with a creative twist and highly professional service: this is the minimalist secret of Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro's magnificent bar, which rightly made it on to the charts of "The World's 50 Best Bars" ten years ago.
The Limonadier cocktail bar in the Bergmannkiez neighbourhood feels like you've been transported back to the Roaring Twenties. The menu features exciting and original creations, reinterpreted classic cocktails and homemade lemonades. Many of the ingredients used are produced by the bar team themselves.
As Berlin's oldest bar, the Rum Trader is still one of the top addresses for really good drinks in the capital. The atmosphere is intimate and personal, the furnishing style eccentric and reminiscent of the 70s. The bar is known of course for its excellent selection of different types of rum.
The drinks mixed at Herr Lindemann in the quiet Rixdorf district of Neukölln promise a healing effect. They are made with lots of herbs, which, in combination with gin, rum and other spirits, are not only supposed to make you healthy, but also have a completely convincing flavour.
With dark wood, black leather, and the tangy aroma of almost 40 years of bar history, Franzotti is a Kreuzberg classic with a solid selection of cocktails and a mecca for whisk(e)y fans. There are hundreds of bottles of Scottish Islays, Canadian Rye whiskeys, and exclusive bourbons, which not just pleasing to the eye.
Meet up for an aperitif after work at the Salut! Classic Bar in Schöneberg. The menu features classics from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the bar's own first-class drink creations. Bar owner Dejan Spasovski attaches great importance to high-quality ingredients, some of which are produced on site.
Tasty drinks are served at the long bar or in the cosy seating areas in the Hildegard Bar. The so-called "Poetry Drinks", which are inspired by personalities, are particularly fine, such as the "Bellini Fellini", a tribute to Federico Fellini made from port wine, peach puree and crémant.
Howdy - you should actually wear cowboy boots here, if only because of the decor. Local craft beer, bourbon or rye whisk(e)y and very good cocktails such as the "Stagger Lee Manhattan", which are mixed with homemade ingredients, are served with very good sound (an often underestimated bar accessory).
A little scruffy, a little nonchalant, but always bright in the head: unfortunately, the city is rarely as authentic as Berlin is in some places. TiER stands by its derangements, with old plush sofas, dim lighting and simply really good drinks - honest Neukölln.
In this pleasantly unspectacular neighbourhood, it is more by chance that you find a wonderful watering hole for real barflies. Named after the Prohibition gangster George Remus, the bar offers a surprisingly large selection of spirits of all kinds and impressive cocktails such as the "Waldspaziergang" or the non-alcoholic "La Bella Donna".
Bar Immertreu is no longer an insider tip, but an integral part of the Berlin bar scene. In the understated interior with subdued, warm lighting and art deco elements, you can enjoy classic cocktails and modern interpretations of your favourite drinks in cosy leather armchairs or at the long bar.
Stylishly furnished, with rough brick walls and an enchanting portrait of three Japanese geishas on the back wall. This Friedrichshain bar, away from the tourist hustle and bustle, is a successful mix of urban insider tip with wonderfully creative drinks, and a charming neighbourhood pub for local cocktail fans.
Rustic vintage design meets modern drink creations: Schwarze Traube in Kreuzberg is a hidden gem for fans of sophisticated cocktail culture. Here, owners Atalay Aktas and Yalcin Celik create different drinks every day, which are mixed using fresh seasonal ingredients.
Jazz is played in the tube-like shop under the S-Bahn, what else? Young and well-known jazz musicians from all over the world regularly show what they can do at sessions here. There is also a good selection of cocktails, pre-bottled but with drive, including bottle-aged specials such as "The Hat Old Fashioned".
Red, gold and blue lighting, stylish furniture, an inviting bar and a mosaic of Ursula Andress on the wall: the Ku'damm Bar is all about the sixties elegance of the old James Bond films. The "Martini Dry" and the "Atomicpenecillin", which Bond villain Blofeld would probably also order, are also true to style.
This somewhat hidden, stylish American bar is not a much-whispered-about insider tip for nothing. Owner Günter Windhorst is considered a doyen of the Berlin bar scene and has been delighting bar culture insiders with outstanding versions of classic cocktails such as the "Laurel's Punch" with an exquisite rum base since 1999.
A classic yet modern hotel bar with a motivated bartender. Seasonally inspired cocktails like the "Mandarin Ricky" or "Barrel-aged Negroni" are served at the stylish bar. Upstairs at the rooftop bar you can celebrate summer in the city with a Limoncello Spritz, all while enjoying a fantastic view over the city centre.
It's the dose that counts, both with the remedies that were once prepared in the Mariannen pharmacy and with the ingredients that are now mixed into imaginative drinks behind the beautiful old pharmacy counter. The healing cocktail menu can be found in proper style on the "Emergency Days" daily menu.
The meisterschueler bar on the banks of the Spree in Mitte combines art with high-quality drinks culture. With a view of the Spree, you can drink coffee on the terrace during the day and round off the day in the evening with classic drinks or cocktail creations while admiring contemporary works of art.
Driving beats, a lively buzz of voices, lots of good-looking guys in front of and behind the bar: The atmosphere at Coven is urban and gay, but undogmatically party-ready. Accurate drinks are mixed with great charm at the bar: from classics such as "Naked & Famous" or "Kiss & Tell" to very successful signature drinks.