Berlin is famous for its exhilarating nightlife. When the sun goes down, tourists and locals alike gather in bars and clubs to drink, relax, listen to music and dance the night away. It is easy to find bars in the busiest and most touristy places, and you can certainly enjoy your beer/wine/cocktail there, too, but you’d really be missing out on a proper Berlin nightlife experience if you didn’t seek out the local favorites, those more hidden bars and venues where Berliners go to chill out or party.
Here’s our pick of seven authentic Berlin bars in the city, those that upon entering you immediately say “yes, this is Berlin!”. Whether you like wine, beer, spirits or cocktails, a cozy place after a long day of sight-seeing, a cool dive bar with live music or, the Berliner favorite, techno and electronica dance floors, you will find a place on this list satisfy your nightlife preferences.
Promenaden-eck
In the heart of Neukolln, one of the trendiest areas of the city, you will find this real Berlin treasure; Promenaden-eck. The interior design is very original. The floor is covered with old carpets and you can chill on retro, stylish sofas and armchairs while enjoying your drink at a non-touristy price!
Source: Pomegradeneck
While stylish interior and cheap drinks in Berlin are not too difficult to find, Promenaden-eck is popular among locals for a different reason. Each night it hosts a different DJ pumping out quality techno music. Berlin is well known for being the techno capital of the world, so it is not so surprising that you can dance to excellent techno music from Monday to Sunday.
Schillerpromenade 11, Berlin 12049
Szimpla
Szimpla, the little sister of the famous bar Szimpla Kert in Budapest, which you will know if you have been on our pub crawl there, is located in Friedrichshein, the heart of the bar/club-district of Berlin. This is also one of the specially selected venues on our Berlin bar crawl, but it’s a nice place to check out any time of the day, whether you do our night-time pub crawl or not.
Source: Szimpla Berlin
They are open from 9 A.M. to Midnight and offer traditional Hungarian dishes, such as Goulash, Lecso and Strudel, and the indispensable Hungarian spirit, Palinka. They offer various cocktails, decent wine and quality craft beers, too. You can even try several types of IPA beers in their dedicated bar,
Labor. There is often live music acts too to be enjoyed and the friendly staff speaks German, English, and Hungarian.
Gaertnerstrasse 15, 10245 Berlin
Crush XV
Another of our specially selected bars on our pub crawl in Berlin, if you want to visit a typical Berlin bar with no extravagant interior design and overly priced fancy drinks, Crush XV is your place. This cozy little bar offers delicious drinks, an intimate atmosphere and, if you are lucky, fun performances. There is usually an excellent local live band or DJ, and it’s not unusual to see people dancing on top of the bar here. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to watch Berlin’s most talented drag queens perform their shows here too.
Source: CrushXV on facebook
The friendly owner-bartender, Maria, mixes amazing drinks (you must try her bubble-gum vodka shot, the specialty of the house) and makes sure that there are always fresh flowers on every table. We just love this exceptionally charming bar in the middle of the city.
Gärtnerstrasse 15, 10245 Berlin
Muted Horn
If you are a beer lover, you will enjoy Muted Horn. The craft beer bar and beer garden serves a great selection of beers; more than 20 types on tap and even more by bottle. You will find beer from all around the world and spend hours and hours here trying out different flavors. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable about the beers they offer and happy to suggest the perfect ones to suit your tastes. The decor and ambience, and the always excellent music makes for a delightful little watering hole in Berlin.
Flughafenstrasse 49, 12053 Berlin
Source: Muted Horn Berlin
8 mm
In the city of techno music, 8 mm is a special gem. Beloved by its regulars and fortunate new comers, the bar offers cheap drinks, underground rock'n'roll music, dj sets and sometimes live concerts. The international crew welcomes its regulars by their names and makes sure no one has an empty glass. The bar’s name, 8 mm, is a reference to the pre-digital age when films were recorded on standard 8 mm film, and old alternative movies, short films and video clips are constantly screened on the bar’s wall, so this is a perfect place whether you want to meet others, or just want to chill by yourself and be mesmerized by the unique films being projected.
The 8mm bar team Source: 8mm website
Schönhauser Allee 177b, 10119 Berlin
Barbie Deinhoff's
Barbie Deinhoff's cool and trendy atmosphere is spiced up with Barbie-themed eccentric design and the alternative art gallery of the bar. It is a queer-friendly bar with a great range of cocktails, awesome music and charming interior. Tu-tu Tuesday is all-night happy hour for guests on a budget where one can get two drinks for the price of one!
Source: Tripadvisor
The place is run by the famous performer Lena Braun, who gives space to the city’s queer performance artists and organises crazy performances for not only to the LGBT community but everyone who is open-minded, curious and fun-lovin’. If you are in Berlin, check out this pink bar and if you are lucky, besides a nice cocktail, you will enjoy an amazing show here, too.
Schlesische Straße 16, Kreuzberg 10997
Deck 5
Enjoy the beautiful view of the city from the highest beach bar of Berlin on the top of Schönhauser Allee Arcaden department store. Deck 5 rooftop bar provides an extraordinary 1000 m
2 cozy and chilled-out environment for its guests with a sandy ‘beach’, rotating menu of excellent cocktails, good coffee and delicious food from the grill.
Source: Deck 5 facebook
Perfect for a reprieve from the hectic city, here you can chill-out on beach chairs while watching the beautiful sunset over the bustling city. The bar offers free WiFi and their food and drinks are fairly priced. During December you will even encounter a lovely Christmas market where you can try traditional German snacks and winter cocktails.
Schönhauser Allee 79, 10439 Berlin
There you have it, our top seven recommended local-loved Berlin bars that are off the beaten path and beyond the usual touristy trail. As mentioned, you will encounter some of these more hidden bars on our
Berlin pub crawl which also gets you free VIP entry with a free drink in the 5 dancefloor nightclub, MATRIX, a firm local favorite too, and you’ll also enjoy some free shots, including local favorite, Berliner Luft (meaning Berlin air), the surprisingly refreshing, classic, minty liquor of Berlin, free street beer between venues and, of course, a fun night in Berlin with a ready-made crew of new party buddies and us lovely local pub crawl guides!
Whether you visit Berlin during the scorching summer or the freezing winter, a night out after a day of exploring or discovering
Berlin on free walking tours is always a great idea; so, if you want to immerse yourself in the
real nightlife of Berlin, follow our advice and visit a few of these cool bars with brilliant personality and style.
