Berlin: KadeWe Main Department Store and Groceries

I've been to the main KaDeWa store and you can buy small supplies of what you need for your hotel room.

I was dragged there by my wife, personally I don't see what the fuss is about. It's a department store selling products at higher prices than you'll find elsewhere. It's incredibly crowded and with a lot of people standing and sitting around various stores eating and drinking it makes it quite difficult to move around. I can get the same experience going to my local department store!

Is it iconic? Yes but probably because of how long it's been there and the subsequent hyperbole.

Is it worth visiting? In my opinion, no. Not unless you want to buy something particular that you can't find elsewhere but nothing springs to mind.

If I wanted to buy some fruit, greek yoghurt etc for my room I'd visit the local Lidl and pay far less and for considerably less stress.

Yes, if you want to buy basic food, another large supermarket chain worth looking for is Rewe.

To be fair, KaDeWe offers quite a large variety of high-quality (and, in particular, highly expensive) food, and overall, it looks a lot more stylish than the average department store. I certainly agree that it's not the place to go for everyday food :-)

I agree with the others. KaDeWe is a very fancy department store; their food section reflects this, with high end items at high prices, including many fancy prepared foods. If that's what you're looking for (either to browse or to buy), go. If you just want basic food items at fair prices, go to a regular supermarket.

As far as I know, there's only one KaDeWe store. This is supported by the fact that their website doesn't even give a store address, which they surely would if they had more than one location. Google Maps agrees (of course, they're not the final authority); they show only one, at Tauentzienstraße 21-24, 10789 Berlin.

Again, it's a fancy store; unless you have a generous budget and/or are looking for fancy items on a regular basis, it's not a "supermarket" you'll be visiting regularly.

As an aside, a friend had the "wow, what a great place to get lunch" reaction, while my mother had the "can we go now?" reaction (similar to JC). I was in the middle. If you brake for gourmet food stores, you'll like it; if these leave you cold or indifferent, you may have a shorter visit than you anticipated.

KaDeWe isn't the name of a chain of department stores. It is short for Kaufhaus des Westens, i.e. Department Store of the West. When it was built in 1907 the area didn't even belong to Berlin, but to Charlottenburg, which was (and still is) to the West of Berlin Mitte (the city center). Nowadays it is in the district of Schöneberg because the district borders were changed. So it has nothing to do with the 'free' West Berlin after World War II. Kaufhaus des Westens was its name from the beginning and from then onwards people have called it KaDeWe.
It was intended to be a department store for rich Berliners.

Very true. Charlottenburg at that time in 1908 was a suburb of Berlin, the richest suburb in Prussia, and did not join Berlin until 1920, along with other suburbs that year.

Less expensive options for groceries are Netto, Penny, Lidl, Aldi, or Rewe grocery stores. Use Google Maps to search for the address of your hotel/apartment and then type in "grocery store" in the search box to find nearby choices. Anything with "Bio" in the name is organic. Remember to bring your own bag.

The best bet in that area is the Karstadt Kaufhaus , just across from the Memorial Church . Great selection , it is actually a Rewe subcontracted to Rewe by Karstadt , so the prices are far more reasonable .

Raw minced pork for breakfast anyone? Here are some unusual foods you can find in Germany, but it may take some time for you to stomach them.

11 weird German foods

KaDeWe is ONE department store -- all 60K meters of it. If you want everyday items for your room, go to a local grocery store. If you want to sample fine chocolates, however, visit KaDeWe.

I agree completely with most of what the others said.

KaDeWe - and yes, that's the one and only - is just a sight to see, a place to get some special souvenirs or special food. If you enjoy just looking at or trying special food, go and indulge yourself. Where the regular supermarket has five kinds of mustard on its shelf, the KaDeWe has fifty. Where the regular supermarket has one shelf of a certain brand of coffee, the KaDeWe has a whole wall full of that brand. Or try those awesome petit fours they have - some of them with real gold leaf on top.

For your normal supply of groceries, however, go to the small supermarket around the corner. I do not recommend any department store supermarkets, no matter if Karstadt or Kaufhof, because they are usually overpriced.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the good input you have provided here.
My trip comes up in May, and I am so happy.

The weird foods...all relative. No problem with Rollmops or Sülze for breakfast, or Blutwurst. I have not seen the others.