Yknow how most people draw up travel itineraries for a trip? Well, I do that but for food. I love searching the location feature on Instagram for the best snacks, prettiest restaurants, and most unusual local delicacies and then casually dropping them into conversation when my husband asks where we should eat like I haven’t already planned my exact order in my head.
For Berlin, I only had a couple of things in mind. I knew I wanted to get a vegan donut of dreams from Brammibal’s Donuts and I was also interested to try kartoffelpuffer after years of making it myself at home. Things like German sausages and pretzels were also pretty up there – oh, and I really had my heart set on getting a hot chocolate from a market in one of those mugs you can pay to keep.
Although I have done a little section on what to eat in Berlin in my travel guide, I decided I would do an entire post dedicated to all the delicious goodies we feasted on whilst away.
Brammibal’s Donuts
So, I want to start with potentially one of the best things I ate in Germany – this donut. It is vegan, it is has hibiscus flavoured icing, it is huge, and the donut itself was so doughy and lush. They do so many different varieties of donuts and they change seasonally too. I kinda wish I had tried a few more flavours and at about 2-3 euros, you really can afford to.
Doner kebab
When you think of Germany, you probably think of sausages. Or sauerkraut. Or sauerkraut over sausages. But the real favourite food of the German seems to actual be the good, old doner kebab. I mean, I am already pretty partial to a kebab (even when I am stone cold sober) so I wanted to see what the fuss was about. But it was just a kebab. A pitta bread filled with long shreds of meat and salad and covered in whichever sauce you choose (aka garlic mayo unless you are actually mad). It was no different to the kebabs we have here – was still nice tho.
The currywurst and chips mountain
At the Potsdamer Platz Christmas market near our hotel, they had a stall selling these fried bread nests and you could fill them up with whatever you wanted. They had wedges, chips, or these fried potato slices and a choice of toppings ranging from pork casserole to garlic mushrooms. For 8 euros, we decided to share one and Isaac was pretty persistent about wanting currywurst (slices of sausage in a tomato sauce) as his topping. So, we had that. And it wasn’t half bad. Granted, I am not a huge currywurst fan but I liked the fried potato slices.
Pretzels and other famous faces from the bread family
One thing that Germans do well is baking. Especially savoury baking. I loved the giant pretzel that I bought from the market that was seasoned with salt and pepper and tasted like a really crusty bit of tiger bread (yknow the French bread one). We also got some other bread that was similar to this at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) at one of the bakery kiosks. I can’t say I know the name of it now – or even at the time – but it was lush and had that same salt and pepper flavour.
Schmalzkuchen
These were little donut balls which were sold at almost all of the markets and were so nice (and so moreish that I almost ate the entire cone of them before Isaac even got a look in). They are coated with icing sugar and have an almost frangipane taste. Deffo the best snack.
Meatballs at Stadtklause
I wrote about this restaurant in my travel guide but it felt right to mention it here too (since it is food and this is about, yknow, food). So, one of the evenings we were there, we wanted to try out a restaurant and Isaac was adamant that it should be German cuisine – despite my hankering for a biryani. So, we asked one of the lovely ladies at the hotel reception and they directed us to this little German restaurant about five minutes walk from the hotel. It was a really traditional tavern/pub kinda place run by people who didn’t speak a huge amount of English (and also couldn’t seem to comprehend any of my admittedly rusty German either – awks) but it was an authentic German experience. I ordered some meatballs with bread, pickled gherkin, sauerkraut, and mustard and Isaac had the pork schnitzel. It was an interesting meal and oh so German. I loved the bread they gave me and gherkins are my fave. But I am not a huge meat eater so one meatball was more than enough for me. Isaac loved it though!
Just a whole lot of sausage
This may not seem like enough food to fill 4 days – and you’re right. Most of our other meals were sausage in various forms. Currywurst, Krakauer, Bratwurst – basically all of the sausages. But when in Rome!
Do you love trying local food when visiting a new country? Or are you someone who knows what they like?
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