5 new Bars in Berlin to watch out for

© Mored

Berlin’s bar scene is flourishing again. Both bar-savvy locals and visitors to the German capital can look forward to a wide variety of exciting new concepts. Jan-Peter Wulf has had a look round the city and now introduces us to five new openings that could hardly be more different in their style and venue. What they do have in common is quality and a passion for quality drinks.

1. Bar Verōnika

The former ‘Kunsthaus Tacheles’ art venue on Oranienburger Straße was one of the capital’s creative hotbeds par excellence in the period following reunification: art, culture, spontaneous events, parties and even a stripped-back fighter jet from a Russian military airbase. Those days are long gone but now art has returned in the form of the ‘Fotografiska’ museum, which also exists in New York, Stockholm and Tallin. At the turn of the year a new restaurant ‘Verōnika’ opened on the 4^th floor including a bar of the same name on the floor above: with a spacious, stylish lounge, cosy semi-séparées, artworks on the walls and an international clientele. Berlin rarely gets this cosmopolitan! The menu features signature twists on such classics as Manhattan or Sazerac (with rum and rye whiskey), various sours with Mezcal, gin, bourbon or rum, long-drinks and non-alcoholic alternatives. Not forgetting three different Pisco Sours and Espresso Martinis a piece. Plus a ‘Verōnika Martini Tray’ including Polish vodka, Osietra caviar and, instead of an olive, a mini green peach which amazingly tastes almost like an olive just a bit fruitier. Add to this, bar food ranging from tempura oysters and Scotch eggs to lobster in challah bread. The special highlight: if you’ve bought a ticket for the exhibition, you’re welcome to view the art with a drink in your hand. The museum is open until 11.00 pm.  

Oranienburger Straße 54, 10117 Berlin
www.veronikaberlin.com/bar

© PION Studio

2. The Knast Bar

Art and culture is also centrestage at another project ongoing for five years now in the upper middle-class district of Lichterfelde: a former prison, which was in operation until 2010 (most recently as a women’s gaol) is now a cultural site. From physical imprisonment to artistic freedom today: the impressive complex of buildings, even some neighbours reportedly did not realise was a prison, now serves as an atelier and workshop for artists. Operator Janina Atmadi and her partner Joachim Köhrich previously already teamed culinary delights with “kinkiness” at the (now closed) Michelin-starred restaurant ‘The NoName’. They now aim to follow on in this vein at ‘The Knast’ bar. Via a spiral staircase you access the large, vault-like space once serving as a prayer room for inmates. If you like, come in kinky gear to the bar – dressed in patent leather, mesh or next to nothing. Openness and tolerance are key here and a strict “no-snaps policy” ensures that what happens in ‘The Knast’ stays in ‘The Knast’. By holding events with a strict kinky dress code, the owners want to provide the scene with a new home and playground. On regular evenings customers can basically wear what they like, but preferably make it chic. This also fits the venue’s elegance which is even echoed in the cocktails: after running his own bar in Seoul, bar manager Nuri Oh – who then headed up the ‘Beuster Bar’, bar ‘Layla’ at the Levante restaurant and the ‘Waldorf Astoria’  – was inspired by contemporary Korean art for this first bar menu: coating ice cubes with beetroot or presenting his creations with a smoky note in a wooden wine crate. He also serves probably the most infamous of all spirits, absinthe, either mixed into two excellent creations or arriving at your table in a traditional absinthe fountain. Late 2024 will see the scheduled opening of the restaurant and hotel at ‘The Knast’.   

Söhtstraße 7, 12203 Berlin
www.theknast.de/bar

© Florian Kroll 

3. Bird’s Nest

Arnd Heißen’s new bar (his first own venture) – whose beer cocktails for Brlo we recently presented – was already much talked about in the industry even before launching. And now the doors to the ‘Bird's Nest’ have opened. The venue picked by this renowned bartender is interesting and unusual in more ways than one: on the one hand, it’s located in the – central but very touristy – Nicolai district, where Berlin locals (until now at least) only rarely ventured. On the other, it’s housed on the upper floor of a restaurant, the Vietnamese ‘Ngon’. In GDR days this place was home to an eatery called "Schwalbennest" (‘Swallow’s Nest’) – hence the name today. Anyone familiar with Heißen’s former ‘Fragrances’ location will recognise some elements – such as the ‘Hall of Fame’ where he compiles perfumes under glass hoods. However, you won’t find those world-famous brands here but instead ‘indie’ fragrances from a boutique in Charlottenburg. These not only smell great but also serve as an “olfactory menu”, so to speak: meaning guests can “sniff out” their favourites (or just use the conventional menu inside). And, needless to say, Heißen really shows off his flair and expertise in aromatherapy when creating his scents/drinks to convey emotions via fragrances and flavours. Sounds complicated, and actually is – though not for customers. Already voted “Host of the Year” by the Mixology magazine over ten years ago, Heißen knows how to make ambitious, quite highbrow creations accessible and fun to drink. And since his ‘Bird’s Nest’ is located inside a restaurant, his drinks also come served with little snacks. For instance: the ‘Fuego Futuro’ – made of Mezcal, red and white vermouth, Mate cardamom, pine liqueur, mint water, Damiana and honey – is served with a dish of mushroom confit with blackberries, pine kernels and Jerusalem artichoke. Perfect for a delightful and inspiring evening.  

Rathausstraße 23, 10178 Berlin
www.instagram.com/birdsnestberlin

© Frommelt

4. Mored Restaurant & Bar

Here it’s those quirky little details – like the decorative tiles and kitsch ancient colonnade lining the cellar staircase – which still hint at what this place used to be. Former brothel ‘Villa Rasputin’ then made way for the ‘Rebell’ (i.e. Rebel) – which is incidentally the translation of ‘Mored’ – the name of this new bar-restaurant. Though now it doesn’t look so rebellious at all, instead resembling a large living room with candelabras, fireplace and winged, bullseye-glass double doors. “Mored’ is the brainchild of Yotam Alon and Yarden Dotan. Previously, Alon jointly opened the ‘Bellboy Bar’ (from Tel Aviv) at Gendarmenmarkt and this cocktail competence can be both seen and tasted: here the Levante’s world of aromas is not only staged in such dishes as “Jaffa Tartare” with lamb, aubergine and Medjool dates or “Sea Bass Shawarma” but is also evident in the drinks. For instance: in their “Labneh Punch” with Arak, gin and cucumber-fennel syrup, their “Shakshuka Martini” with tomato vodka, rhubarb and Miso vermouth, their “Pomegranate Spritz” with pomegranate liqueur or their “Jerusalem Sour” with sweet Kiddush wine. What’s more, customers are all served a little welcome drink from the bar. And if you’re happy to sit here at the bar counter, you can watch the kitchen team while they work through the opening in the buffet backwall. Cocktails can – as an alternative to the all-Israeli wine menu – also be enjoyed at the tables. And with the advent of spring in the city, the big beer garden will open to the rear of the building – seating an impressive 200 people.

Münstersche Straße 11, 10709 Berlin
www.mored.rest

© Mored

5. Suspiria Bar

‘Suspiria’ shot in 1977 is one of the masterpieces of Italian horror film director Dario Argento. Michael “Mike” Korkia named his second bar, which opened in Kreuzberg’s Bergmannkiez district in January, after this movie. Previously in the hotel marketing business, Korkia already runs a bar in the same district called ‘Redrum’. And at both bars, the interior is artistic, underground and a bit quirky. Though it would be wrong to label it a “party bar” because despite turning up the rock-pop music over the course of the evening, quality is not neglected here (unlike some other party bars in the vicinity). “At Suspiria we love our drinks as loud and bold as the 1970s proved to be,” reads the menu. A look at the drinks list reveals creations like ‘Midsommar’ with Mezcal, Italian herbal liqueur, Suze and port, or ‘Montenegro’ made with this amaro bitter, sake and ginger schnapps. What else? Lots of absinthe, including a “psychedelic potion” you could also call a “sipping shot”. This new bar housed in a basement on the Bergmannstraße “food mile” doesn’t look new at first glance: vintage furniture and patterned wallpaper, lots of red and a floor with bags of patina all make ‘Suspiria’ look like it’s been here for decades. But this look not only goes well with the drinks concept, it also seems to appeal to the student/graduate crowd. Just another way for bar culture to manifest itself. 

Bergmannstraße 104, 10961 Berlin
www.suspiriabar.com

© Jan-Peter Wulf