Best skills:
Booze Bar
„No Shisha. No Happy Hour. No Shit“ is Booze Bar’s mission statement. Instead they boast colourfully illuminated brick walls with black-and-white film stars on them, premium-quality spirits and the same motto each night: assisted drinking. What sounds funny is being implemented affectionately by the staff. In the area, word has it that these guys are a bunch of skaters, of the sociology student kind, who took the initiative after a desperate search for good cocktails. One of these bearded nice guys always comes to the table to take orders with words like „,where are you heading for tonight?“. There is the obligatory menu, but you’ll get it on enquiry only. It is more exciting to carefully approach the choice of cocktail together with the experts anyway. The bartenders mix drinks with great care, sample them during the process and add ingredients until the taste is perfect. If you still don’t like it, you can even give a drink back. We haven’t heard of such a thing happening though. Cocktails cost 7 to 12 Euros. An evening in this award-winning bar is well worthwhile the high bill though.
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Chapel
The walls gleam golden and silver in the otherwise dim surroundings, upholstery and candelabra ooze charm, numerous popular and signature drinks shine with their taste. The tools of the most important men here – a variety of bottles full of flavours and alcohol – blaze through a cube embedded into the wall. If you stumble cocktail-thirstily over Sonntagstraße, you should definitely stop at Chapel (Sonntag means Sunday – church – chapel – got it?). Especially fans of gin and tonic will love this bar as they stock a great choice of each ingredient. Lest we forget: the friendly and expert staff are fond of all their customers.
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ČSA Bar
In Y2K, Czech airline CSA packed its bags at Karl-Marx-Allee and made way for a heavenly bar. The new guys have not only adopted the name of the former tenants but also taken over parts of the interior decoration. A model runway is still on display behind the bar. The place exudes a 60s sense of style underlined by cream-coloured, indirectly lit furniture. With its high quality drinks, CSA has even made it among our editorial office’s favourite Berlin bars.
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Goldfischbar
A lustre hanging from a brick wall, dim light – reading through our recommendations, this is apparently what you need for a quality cocktail bar. At Goldfischbar, you can not only drink well but also converse with old or new acquaintances. The white seating furniture is arranged in a square and the bar is extra-long which makes it perfectly suited for conversation. This is another bar where staff are not only friendly but also skilled – it’s easy to hang out till late at this pleasant and stylish place. Customers are a mixed, trendy bunch – though you will never be alone among hipsters here.
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Jigger Beaker & Glass
You’ve had enough of all the usual cocktail menus and don’t fancy „Sex on the Pina“ anymore? In Jigger Beaker & Glass, just around Boxhagener Platz, the true mixologists behind the bar have created many drinks themselves and constantly come up with new ideas. Tony Galea used to be in charge of the by now closed Antlered Bunny – nowadays he is mixing, stirring and shaking a few corners away alongside Yannick Marty and Max Garth. The latter has already won the Bloody Mary contest of vodka brand our/berlin. Sometimes they use extraordinary ingredients in Jigger Beaker & Glass – like Dijon mustard. But no matter whether you are open-minded or just like a really good cocktail – you are spot-on in this small bar on Gärtnerstraße.
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Nice location:
Tussy Lounge
This place caters for your palate and your hair. In the daytime, Tussy Lounge is a hairdresser which turns into a cosy watering hole in authentic 60s lounge style after dusk. Drinks bear inspiring names like „Horst und Jutta“ (Horst and Jutta) or „Tante Johanna“ (Aunt Johanna) which don’t do the taste any harm though. Moreover they offer proper old school cocktails which people with proper hair used to enjoy already half a century ago. Expect a bit of Elvis or a film classic in the background from time to time. Tussy Lounge is small, cosy and a little bit different. Plus every Friday, before the first cocktails, you can get yourself prettied up for the weekend over a glass of Prosecco.
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Fitcher’s Vogel
Joy and good cheer, that’s Fitcher’s. Essentially this place offers exactly what one has come to expect from bars around Warschauer Straße: random furniture, no wallpaper, shabby chic, young punters, moderate prices, table football and a regular music quiz on top. Long drinks and cocktails complement the choice of beer, liquor and wine, but they are neither adulterated nor made with brands which inevitably come with a headache on board. Due to this well-balanced selection of drinks Fitcher’s Vogel can not only call itself a pub, but a proper bar. Be aware that the actual bar is the place to order your drinks – self-service it is.
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Sanatorium 23
This bar’s concept is geared completely towards the healing powers of alcohol. The interior does not ooze the charm of a hospital though. Only the red-and-white leather seating reminds of the couches at a clinic, the wall behind the bar is tiled in white and the menu has the make-up of a periodic table. There are not only cocktails on it, but also tasty long drinks like Vodka Rhubarb. DJs play at the weekend and those who are willing can start the dancing therapy to the sounds of electronic music. If you are an up-and-coming DJ you are welcome in this bar on Tuesdays for Open Decks day. Unknown artists find open doors, too: they can use the walls of the bar for exhibitions. Don’t be disappointed to come upon a quiet Sanatorium and not a big party during the week. As defined by the owner, the bar is a place to chill, relax and bum around during these times.
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mini.mal
Mini.mal is about music first and foremost, with different DJs playing electronic stuff everyday. Besides that the bar boasts table tennis and a quite exceptional design. The walls behind the leather sofas have been painted elaborately, industrial style lamps dangle from the ceiling and shine with a warm glow in addition to the red indirect light. They are well set behind the bar and even students from around the corner can afford a cool drink in this trendy sitting room atmosphere. On the weekends the owners up the ante and conjure up schnapps, brandies and even some Schlager music.
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Honolulu Bar
Honolulu Bar is conveniently situated anyway – directly opposite Warschauer Straße underground station. The unique mixture of punters and the laid-back atmosphere make it special though. Honolulu is based in the foyer of Michelberger Hotel, to be distinguished by its lovingly designed website. Overnight guests from all over the world mix with a trendy Berlin crowd, the common-or-garden guy meets the hipster girl. Rumour has it that the nearby record company Universal sometimes accommodates its stars at Michelberger. And that those illustrious guests appear at the bar from time to time. The monthly Bar Food Friday is another reason to drop by: a specialty to eat and a craft drink from the bar are the ideal start into a jolly evening.
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