Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Anyone looking for Israeli street food in Kreuzberg that goes far beyond the cliché will sooner or later end up at Erkelenzdamm. Golda delux has established itself there as a quiet go-to place for arguably the best Sabich in Berlin - plant-based, precise, and with a true signature.

Since 1994, Cynthia Barcomi and her team have been roasting their own Arabica beans and baking everything themselves in Kreuzberg's Bergmannkiez. With this, the American baking icon has not only created an institution on Bergmannstraße but has also shaped Berlin's coffee culture.

In Chamisso Kiez, not far from Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg, Restaurant Z serves Greek cuisine that goes far beyond gyros and bifteki. Modern interpretations meet Mediterranean classics, organic meat, and a considerable selection of Greek wines. The "Z" stands for Zoi, Greek for life, and that's exactly what's in every dish.

The weekly and organic market at Boxhagener Platz, with 80 to 100 stalls, is the largest weekly market in Friedrichshain. Organic vegetables from Brandenburg, fresh tofu, cold-pressed oils, cheese, and locally smoked fish are offered alongside street food from Lángos to Falafel. For this weekly market in Berlin-Friedrichshain, it means: weekly shopping and breakfast in one place.

In the backyard of Cuvrystraße in Kreuzberg lies the Ratibor Theater: Berlin's premier address for improvisation theater, home stage of the Gorillas, and for decades a meeting point for the national and international improv scene.

Artisanal ice cream from a Kreuzberg backyard: The ice cream manufacturer vanille & marille has stood for 100% natural ingredients, unique recipes, and a range that plays between classic and exotic since 2009. Up to 20 daily flavors, nine stores in Berlin.

In Kreuzberg, Five Elephant embodies what Berlin's specialty coffee stands for: directly traded beans, artisanal roasting, and a cheesecake almost as famous as the coffee itself. Since 2010, the roastery has shaped the Berlin coffee scene with a consistency you can literally smell in the backyard on Glogauer Straße.

On Oranienstraße, an unassuming green facade leads into a cocktail bar that is much more than that. Behind the door of Prinzipal Kreuzberg awaits an evening in the spirit of the Weimar Republic: Art Deco ambience, handcrafted drinks, and Berlin's most intimate burlesque stage.

In Libauer Straße in Friedrichshain, designer Marisa Fuentes Prado runs her label Maqu as a store and studio in one. The cotton is 100 percent GOTS-certified, manufactured in Berlin and Lima, and vegan shoes made from natural rubber are also available.

Spindler is located on Paul-Lincke-Ufer in Kreuzberg, in a Wilhelminian era building from 1911 directly on the Landwehr Canal. Karolina Preis furnished the rooms with handmade furniture and antiques. The menu features Boeuf Bourguignon, Moules Marinières, and Entrecôte with Café de Paris butter. For French restaurants in Berlin, it's the address by the water.