Foodie restaurant recommendations Berlin

Just to preface my post, I have to admit that I have not been to the places I am posting about but rather have done research on them either from Travel Channel programs hosted by Andrew Zimmern (you could probably watch a few of these before you go) or from suggestions garnered from previous forum posts. So here goes . . . as a foodie myself my trip in August will most likely include:

1) a food tour - the Original Berlin Mitte Food Tour - about 10 food samples of items like currywurst, baked goods, leberkase, etc. - see www.berlinfoodtour.de. Tours are on Fridays and Saturdays.
2) Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg - go Thursday evening for the street vendor foods
3) Doner Kabobs - Turkish street food
4) Lutter and Wegner - their menu claims they have the best saurbraten and they also are known for their Wiener schnitzel
5) KaDeWe department store - one of the top floors is all international foods

There are loads of others. Please post where you go in July either related to the above or any discoveries of your own.

Thank you so much. We are typically not focused on street food as we will have been touring all day and are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying a drink and good service.

Our hotel’s concierge sent us to Aigner the night we arrived. Liked it so returned there a second night.

Currywurst is awful. I was so looking forward to trying my first one as it appears to be such a culinary tradition but I was so disappointed. The sausage itself isn't so bad it's the sauce that is terrible, typically made from cheap astringent tomato ketchup simply mixed with curry powder that hasn't been cooked so it simply retains the harsh flavour that uncooked curry powder has. I've tried several in the hope that my first experience was a one off but they're all the same, I have no idea why they're so popular.

Turkish donor kebabs? Not my choice of foodie option, they're ubiquitous around Europe and are regarded as late night alcohol soaker. The meat is generaly of poor quaility and best consumed when you're too drunk to care.

I'm afraid I've not had any good memorable meals in Berlin. Expect lots of dull boiled potatoes, I don't know why, boiling potatoes is the least exciting thing you can do with a potato. I'm from Polish stock so I've grown up with the flavours of Central and Eastern Europe, lots of saurkraut, paprika, smoked sausages, basically a lot of the tastes of Germany however I've never eaten anything in Germany (apart from the occasional sausage from a market stall) that has excited or impressed me.

KaDeWe has been mentioned which I would regard in a similar way to Harrods, particularly the food court. It is impressive but it consists primarily of vendors selling good quality food at very expensive prices. You can eat there, I didn't but my wife and chidlren ate some cake which was nice enough but not good enough to justify the price. You're paying for the 'experience' which if trying to find somewhere to sit in a room crammed full of tourists constitutes a good experience then go for it, personally I found it wholly overated.

My most enjoyable food experiences in Germany centre around the beer gardens in Munich, hunks of roast pork, sausage and roast chicken washed down with gallons of beer which tells you a lot, it's not that the chicken, pork or sausage was anything special but because of the environment you're in plus the amount of beer you've drunk it all tastes great.

Several friends and I are taking our annual foodie long weekend where we travel to somwhere in Europe for a weekend of good food and drinking. This year we've opted for Berlin and I'm hoping to dispel my current held views of German food. Unfortunately we'll be going in September so I won't be able to offer you any advice but hopefully you'll have a better experience than me and can offer some good options.

Hi,

If you want good, typical German food, Berliner cuisine, etc, go to places in the eastern areas, ie, in Köpenick, Karlshorst, Alexanderplatz, the Jannowitzbrücke area, Nikolaiviertel, etc.

I’ve had very good meals at Katz Orange and Lokal.