If 2025 taught us anything about Berlin’s food scene, it’s this: resilience is the name of the game. But so is caution. In a year marked by exploding operational costs, political instability, 19% MwSt. and a notable drop in tourism, Berlin’s restaurants mostly buttoned up and played it safe. Not one soul mentioned words like “fine dining renaissance” or “when is Berlin getting its next three star?” - the existing fine dining establishments were happy if they stayed alive. For a year that will be remembered for words such as survival and simplicity, a handful of standout establishments still managed to surprise and delight.
“ People still want to eat well, they just don’t want to pay more than 150 euros for that privilege
No Fine Dining Renaissance, Just a Fight to Survive
Fine dining in Berlin in 2025 became less a badge of prestige and more an act of masochism. 2025 will definitely not be remembered as the year Berlin made a mark on the international fine dining stage. Yes, there were a few, notable new Michelin Stars (Loumi, Matthias, Pars), and both Loumi and Hallmann & Klee cemented their status as the go-to destinations for contemporary fine dining.
But the fact that all Berlin restaurants dropped off the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants was telling for the state of the scene. With rent, staff, and insurance costs soaring, and fewer tourists, this simply wasn’t the moment for ambitious multi-course tasting menus or Michelin dreams. Why fewer tourists? Well, when you mix an overpriced airport the airlines actively avoid, a tourism board that (unlike others) still hasn’t fully grasped the power of gastronomy as a driver for travel, and a city whose once-unstoppable cool factor has settled into something a bit quieter, you end up with a pretty tough climate for restaurants trying to make noise beyond city limits.
“ Fine dining in Berlin in 2025 became less a badge of prestige and more an act of masochism
The Rise of the Berlin Diner
The appetite for good food among locals, however, never went away. People still want to eat well, they just don’t want to pay more than 150 euros for that privilege. So what we got was a wave of approachable concepts, clever spins on comfort classics, and a solidification of trends that aim to comfort during chaotic times: like the Berlin diner.
Call it the year of the all-day, pseudo-American, not-quite-affordable diner. Bertie may have lit the torch last year, but in 2025, the movement found momentum. Places like Onette in Schöneberg, Goldies Bar at the KaDeWe, and especially Ari’s in Kreuzberg, leaned hard into diner aesthetics while leaving the greasy spoon pricing behind.
Ari’s, the Peruvian-American concept by the marvelous Arianna Plevisani, stood out as the most complete expression of the genre. Housed in a converted garage in Kreuzberg, it delivered soulful sandwiches, fluffy pancakes, and a Sunday Pollo a la Brasa that went down as one of the best things we ate all year. Meanwhile, Onette gave us a beautiful, slightly more low-key, democratic take on the diner idea, and Goldies Bar proved that the team behind Germany’s Smashburger boom still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, even if it's as banal as a plate of sliders with a glass of champagne. Yes, please.
Sandwiches, Snacks & Simplicity
2025 was also the year Berlin finally started figuring out sandwiches. Romeo’s in Kreuzberg delivered the city’s best homage to American hoagie culture, with loaded Italian subs and estragon chicken melts that gave us a reason to believe in sandwich culture again.
Lighter eating became a dominant mode of dining, most notably at Pinci in Mitte. This stylish aperitivo bar has been packed from morning to midnight with the city’s most beautiful people, proving cool Berliners, more than anything, crave sociable, flexible, bite-sized eating and, most of all, loads of fun drink options. Pinci’s popularity wasn’t just about food, it was about a mood. That's 2025 in a nutshell.
The Underrated Heroes
On the buzzing streets of Prenzlauer Berg, Pluto, the wine bar from the all-German team behind Otto and Trio, offered a refined, low-key sanctuary for wine nerds. With killer snacks like spicy mussels and Welsh rarebits, Pluto flew a bit under the radar, but deserves far more recognition.
Same goes for Manon, the ambitious, French neo-brasserie opened by The Duc Ngo at the new Roomers Hotel in Charlottenburg. It’s a classic French kitchen with a modern twist, with marvellous versions of French classics such as steak au poivre, morel sauce chicken, and steak frites.
And over in Neukölln, Common might have initially gotten famous for its Copenhagen-style cardamom buns, but its evening pizza program is where the money is at. Based on a spectacular pizza dough, made with a unique mix of Bavarian flours, and topped with seasonal, local (and quirky) ingredients, the Common pizza is one of the most original and best pizzas we’ve had in Berlin in a decade.
The Best of the Year: Two That Mattered Most
Two openings truly defined the year: First, there was Tacos El Rey, born from the ashes of the flooded Markthalle Pfefferberg. When El Oso had to close due to water damage in 2024, the team doubled down and opened a new, higher end taqueria in early 2025 that ended up changing the taco game in Berlin, Germany and, really, also Europe. Based on self-imported heirloom Mexican corn and fresh tortillas made to to order, this Kreuzberg gem delivered what we’ve long dreamed of: Real tacos, bursting with flavor, and topped with insane things like green chorizo and paper thin rib eye steak. It’s really time to call El Rey for what it is: One of the most genre-defining restaurants this city has seen.
And then, the heavyweight opening of the year: Stoke. The long-anticipated, fine yakitori restaurant from Jessica Tan and Chef Jeffrey Claudio took the top spot as our Top Opening of 2025. Located in Kreuzberg near Axel Springer, Stoke delivered a big city restaurant experience that we rarely catch a glimpse off these days. A roaring fire station, mastered by some of the finest chefs in the city. A dramatic dining room, controlled like a symphony orchestra by seasoned service professionals. A menu that’s both accessible and deeply refined at the same time. And beverage offering, which by itself would suffice to power one of the best bars in Berlin. In a year dominated by safe plays, Stoke swung for the fences and hit a home run. It’s the only opening that felt truly export-worthy, the one restaurant that carried enough weight to make the international food world look at Berlin and say: Ah, there it is. A reason to get on a flight and come to Berlin! (Who are we kidding, there are no direct flights, you will have to switch flights in Stuttgart).
The Sad Part: The closings
Not everything was forward motion. 2025 was also a year of painful closures. Chief among them: the hauntingly great Eierhäuschen, or as it was officially called: Ei-12437-B. Tucked into Spreepark and helmed by the visionary duo Jessica Joyce-Sidion and Alexandra Strödel, this was one of the most progressive, elegant, and joyful interpretations of modern German food we’ve seen in years.
Alongside places like Trio and Luna D'Oro, Eierhäuschen was redefining “neo-German” cuisine, not as something heavy or nostalgic, but as something thoughtful, local, and yes, even sexy. That it was also an all-female-led team made its closure feel like the loss of something greater: It will be deeply missed.
“ In a year dominated by safe plays, Stoke swung for the fences and hit a home run. It’s the only opening that felt truly export-worthy, the one restaurant that carried enough weight to make the international food world look at Berlin...
What Berlin Needs in 2026
So what’s next? Where does Berlin go from here? First, we need to recognize reality. Berliners still want to eat well. But when restaurants are fighting for their lives amid rising costs and shrinking guest budgets (and yes, the lowered VAT to 7% will sadly be nullified by cost increases, sich as the raised minimum wage), we, the diners, need to understand just how hard it is to run a restaurant here. That €18 bowl of pasta isn’t necessarily a rip-off. It’s often survival.
But on the flip side, chefs and restaurateurs also need to stop playing it safe. We don’t need another Neapolitan pizza joint. We don’t need another Smashburger clone. Take risks. Be weird. Go down rabbit holes. Bring back ideas from your travels and homes and turn them into something really good. Give us something worth falling in love with. Because here’s the truth: with fewer tourists coming, this food city is now ours to shape. Let’s not squander that but instead push the envelope together.
HAPPY MEALS!
