Berlin’s hottest food news

SUMMER IS OVER BUT WE’RE STILL HUNGRY

What’s the scoop, people? Welcome back to the newsletter that keeps you hungry, thirsty and on your food toes! As usual, we’ve gathered all the info to keep you in the loop on the newest openings, the saddest closings and some spicy rumours on top to keep your eye on the horizon. We’re all about providing full bragging rights to your food savvy friends and speaking of friends, why gift them a BFS Restaurant Voucher? We’ve added some great new spots to redeem it and it only takes 5 minutes to buy!

Temperatures are certainly starting to cool down, but Berlin’s busy kitchens are hot as ever and eager to host you (and those friends we talked about). Among the openings there are some extra hot slices waiting for you, especially at Common and Magic John’s new location. You haven’t heard of Common? Not the rapper, but the café and pizza place we’’re in love with. Great coffee, even greater cardamom buns and even greater sourdough pizza served at nights - this needs to go straight on your to-eat list.

But hold your pineapples, because we’ve got some extra exciting news for you: Ever wondered what to buy in the gourmet jungle at our finest Feinkostladen Frische Paradies? Well, lucky you we just partnered with them so keep your hungry eyes peeled for our new series “Shop Like A Pro” where you can learn a few shopping and cooking tricks from Berlin’s finest culinary conjurers.

OPENINGS

Common: Copenhagen-inspired modern bakery on Karl-Marx-Straße that turns into a Hinterhof pizzeria at night, serving pies through a window. Very promising dual concept. Watch this place. That’s all we’re saying.

Kalle Halle Neukölln: Big new food court on Karl-Marx-Straße in Neukölln with 15+ vendors. Already tried the Koji Handroll stand, looks like a strong new hub.

Prince: Cantonese–Malaysian restaurant with rare dim sums and hard-to-find Malay dishes. High-end and already spotlighted on BFS as a hot pick.

Serio Pizza: New Neapolitan pizza spot in Wedding’s Sprengelkiez. Great corner location, raising the neighborhood’s pizza game.

Magic John’s (second location): NY and Detroit-style pizza spot just expanded to Heidestraße near Mustafa’s. This frees up their old bakery on Oranienstrasse for their O-Street bagel project.

Oka Onigiri: Omakase-style onigiri shop. Still figuring out what that means exactly, but intriguing and exciting.

Æka: New café and deli in Kreuzberg, serving pretty and stylish plates.

D·eli: Mediterranean deli in Kreuzberg with promising and mighty fine looking dishes. Definitely goes on our list.

Simorgh: Persian restaurant focusing on skewers. Much-needed addition to Berlin’s scene, exciting new option.

Little Little: Dumplings and noodles on Stuttgarter Platz. This city can never have enough dumpling spots, bring them on!

Zout: A new café on Kollwitzstraße, offering coffee and cake. Simple but inviting.

Belle Ivoire: West African restaurant on Danziger Straße. Great to see African cuisine reaching Prenzlauer Berg.

Flip & Fry: In-N-Out inspired burger joint on Marienstraße. Buzz is real. Claims to serve burgers just like in California.

Crosta: Tuscan-style café on Weinbergsweg specializing in handmade schiacciata sandwiches. They look tasty!

Foodbag: A new kebap experiment on Prinzenstraße featuring mackerel döner. Sounds odd, but we know bold moves get attention..

CLOSINGS

Prism: The 1-starred, levantine-inspired fine dining restaurant, operated by Israeli chef Gal Ben Moshe, closed the doors of the restaurant this summer after 7 years of service.

Navi: Sadly the modern-Indian project Navi on Gräfestrasse in Kreuzberg also (unexpectedly) closed its doors this summer, but at the same time also hinting towards other projects on the horizon.

Brasserie Am Gendarmenmarkt: The iconic restaurant on Gendarmenmarkt has officially closed its doors after 26 years of operations citing the “reality of today’s Gastronomy landscape” as the main reason

Kaijin Ramen: Kaijin is temporarily closed since June 15th due to “operational optimization measures”, offering its venue for lease

Faelt: Their last evening of service will be on October 31st in order to renovate for their "it's all about Björn Swanson” starting December 5th every Friday with 1 table and 10 spots.

Lonely Hearts Cafe: After receiving massive energy bills over 18 months during 2022 and 2023 they’re closing down. They are looking to sell or rent out their cafe.

Dan Thai Food: The legendary Thai hole-in-the-wall in Wedding has been closed since early summer and a reopening seems unlikely due to the old age of the owner.

TISK: Temporary closed with a promise of a transformative vision which they are excited to present their “True International Soul Kitchen”.

Shop like a Pro with BFS at

FrischeParadies!

🔥 BFS x FrischeParadies = Shopping Gold 🔥

ANZEIGE - WE ARE NOW AN OFFICIAL FrischeParadies PARTNER!

Berlin Food Stories is hyped to announce a partnership with Frische Paradies, the iconic gourmet food retailer in Germany. Check our new series called “Shop Like A Chef” where we bring you alongside chefs, creatives and surprise guests to see how they find inspiration to shop, cook and create dazzling dishes.

Ever wondered what secret go-to items chefs have up their sleeves to spruce up a meal? Each new episode (first ones featuring Luka Huemer, chef of the Austrian Embassy in Germany, Diana Quach, Berlin stylist and set decorator and Arseny Knaifel, cook and YouTuber behind the channel My Name is Andong) will show you some tips and tricks to take your meal to the next level.

The Shop Like a Chef series launches across Berlin Food Stories’ social channels (Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts), so tune in to discover what chefs and creators are cooking with their FrischeParadies finds!

P.S. Stay tuned for FrischeParadies voucher giveaways, and also a members event at one of the stores. Also, if you apply for FrischeParadies club card, you can get 15% discount on the whole store every 1st Monday of the month!

RUMORS & NEWS

Swing Kitchen: The Vegan Burger chain Swing kitchen is insolvent and the Berlin restaurants have closed.

Shiori: Shiori just started building a new location in Friedrichshain under the name “Nichi Getsu”. This new spot will be serving an Omakase sushi menu.

You Mi: This Chinese hot spot is apparently opening a new location on Kantstraße 56

Volume One: Gastro Bar who’ve found a temporary home for the remainder of this year.

New York Bagel Bar: The Hamburg bagel shop and finalist of the 2025 Uber Eats Awards are officially opening their first Berlin shop on Rosenthaler Platz.

POP-UP’S

Roti Mami: East London raised Bengali chef, Rez Rahman is going global. Catch her pop-up on November 5th in Berlin before she finishes her tour in Melbourne and Lagos.

Club Baguette: Classic French gourmand sandwiches.

Stella Mortadella: Berlin's finest mortadella sandwich. Soft and crispy Pane di Milano at Kollwitzmarkt.

ADDA (Golpo): ADDA is more than a supper club, it’s a table where food, memory, and conversation meet. In Bengali culture, ADDA is never just talk. It’s the slow, soulful ritual of gathering. Food. Design. Story.

Daun Daun: Prenzlauer Berg apartment turned supper club/pop-up with Malaysian food.

Freddy’s Fried Fish & Fries: Beer battered cod or pollock fish and chips. Flaky fish with a crunch, and chips ready to dive into tartar sauce. That’s the stuff!

Kenzy: Italian dinner parties created by the young gun Peter Sum.

BUY YOUR FOOD FRIENDS A VOUCHER!

Gift an unforgettable memory with the BEST voucher in the city!

Vouch to your friends by gifting them a BFS Restaurant Voucher. Take the pressure off and treat your buddies with our favourite spots Berlin has to offer. Drink & dine along this carefully curated list by Per and his crew of experts which has 40+ restaurants and bars to choose from. It’s basically a food guide and voucher combined!

Choose from classics like Goldies, Hórvath, Annelies and Gazzo, or our recently added restaurants from the Ming Dynastie group, which includes Aroma, Mingtastic and Han BBQ (check out the full list of restaurants online)

Buy a BFS Voucher and support both independent restaurants and our work in Berlin! 

HOT TOP LIST

Craving some serious nigiris? We’ve got THE list of the best sushi restaurants in Berlin to warm your heart and soul with the finest seafood and rice. From the traditional to pushing boundaries with twists that wrap up nicely in a temaki hand roll. You might have your cherished spot that you swear by, and so do we! We’ve trimmed down the options to the very best, so head over to the website and explore the best sushi experiences Berlin has to offer!

IDEAS, QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK?

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