Top 5 bars in… Berlin

Berlin has long been hailed the European capital of cool, and the city’s bar scene has all the substance it needs to back up the style.

Berlin: A city of three-and-a-half million people with nine big universities and a record-breaking tourist trade. There are myriad of reasons why the city is a major culture and leisure hub, and its bar scene is both fuelling, and benefitting from, its trendsetting reputation.

The city is “one of the hottest places in the world right now,” says Kathleen Schuart, marketing and on trade senior director, Campari Deutschland. “Berlin is a rapidly growing international hub with a bar scene that is as beloved as it is ubiquitous.” Indeed, Schuart is one of the trade’s many professionals heading to Berlin for Bar Convent next month, with her brand’s signature negroni cocktail heading up the agenda.

More than 5.8 million guests visited Berlin in the first six months of the year, spending 13.8m nights in the capital, according to VisitBerlin. And the city is more than catering to the whims of its travelling imbibers. Eight new hotels are due to open in the city this year, which means 2014’s “hotel bar boom” looks set to continue.

Arnd Heißen, bar manager at Ritz-Carlton’s Fragrances and The Curtain Club, notes that an obsession with newness is driving the sector. “Eau-de-Vies and high quality local product” will become the next big thing in cocktails, he reckons. Other hotels with must-see bars to look out for include Amano Grand Central, opening this summer with a rooftop terrace and sky bar, and Sheraton Berlin Grand Hotel Esplanade which boasts a colossal back bar.

Capturing the essence of a new customer experience is certainly the name of the game at Fairytale, too. The recently opened venue strives to create a world of whimsy and wonder for guests. Patrons should expect the unexpected and prepare for an evening that will challenge perceptions as soon as they set foot in the bar.

Personalisation is another trend permeating the Berlin bar scene. What could be more tailored than Schwarze Traube’s approach: not a menu in sight, just bartenders on hand to ascertain a guest’s flavour preferences. A couture-crafted cocktail will duly follow.

With Berlin’s status as a gourmet metropolis well and truly established – its restaurants were awarded a total of 20 Michelin stars in 2014 – its no surprise that taste experience is prevailing across the bar scene, too.

And with an Olympic bid in the pipeline, fashion weeks which are growing in prominence, and a multitude of arts events taking place throughout the year, there’s no doubt that the rich cultural character of Berlin will continue to fuel the city’s bar scene for decades to come.

Click through the next few pages to discover our pick of the top 5 best bars in Berlin.

Fairytale

Am Friedrichshain 24, www.fairytale.bar
Opened just this year, the petite yet enchanting Fairytale bar is a whimsical wonderland. As with all the best speakeasies, you’ll be a little underwhelmed when you’re outside the tower block it calls home, but once inside you’ll discover a bar full of fanciful curiosities. Expect childhood nostalgia, kitsch 3D menus and fanciful potions.

Fragrances

The Ritz-Carlton, Potsdamer Platz 3, www.ritzcarlton.com
This is the world’s first and only perfume and cocktail bar. Touted as “a bar for all the senses”, visitors are invited to sniff their way through a sensory “Hall of Fame” featuring designer perfumes by Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent. Each scent is matched with a corresponding cocktail, whose story is designed to evoke specific emotions and memories. Genius.

Schwarze Traube

Wrangelstraße 24, www.schwarzetraube.de
“Please knock and smile” commands the door of this inconspicuous bare brick, fleamarket-décor Kreuzberg bar. Those lucky enough to stumble upon Schwarze Traube are in for a treat: this is the habitat of Berlin legend Atalay Aktas. There’s no menu here, instead waiters ask for your flavour preferences and concoct a personalised potion from a wide range of both traditional and house-infused spirits.

Neue Odessa

Torstraße 89, www.neueodessa.de
Minimalist retro chic meets warm speakeasy ambience. This popular bar in Mitte is always crowded, usually with fashionable creatives, arty types and well-dressed locals. Expect a mouthwatering and original menu, which celebrates ingredients such as lavender, lychee and ginger. Look out for the menu section “Papa Zahlt” which translates as “daddy is paying”.

Lebensstern

Kurfürstenstraße 58, www.lebensstern-berlin.de
You’ll find the historical Lebensstern bar in cosmopolitan Schöneberg. Formerly an illegal casino in the roaring twenties, the venue’s décor has been kept in line accordingly. With a back bar stocking 1,800 spirits – including 800 rums – it goes without saying the parlour staff are to be trusted as masters of both time-honoured cocktails and new innovations.