Bar entertainment in Berlin
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Floating Lounge
The best time for a cold one at this retro lounge on the Eastern Comfort Hostelboat is at sunset when the sun paints the Oberbaumbrücke (bridge) a fiery red. Very romantic, very Berlin. On Wednesday nights, the Floating Lounge hosts the Boat Party, which brings together an easy-going, all-ages, international crowd keen on practicing their English skills with a merry band of English-speaking expats and visitors. It’s a fun way to meet locals and visitors over a beer and bratwurst. The party attracts lots of regulars, but don’t be shy – people are eager to welcome newcomers. Admission is €1, which is added to your first drink. Also check MC Charles’ website, www.english-ev…
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Kuschlowski
If you’re a veteran Berlin traveller and wistfully remember the days when Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg were the haunt of improvised, trashy-cool bars, pubs and cafés, you should feel quite Piccadilly in Kreuzkölln – the hot new Kiez (neighbourhood) between Neukölln and Kreuzberg. The bad-rap ‘ghetto’ south of the Landwehrkanal is being discovered by kool kids from across town hungry for a funky, unrenovated non-scene where prices are low and people relaxed. And new ventures open up all the time to feed their appetite. Here, a fresh wind has blown into an old bordello: a small and charismatic bar with a fireplace and Russian vodka.
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Künstliche Beatmung
You won’t need artificial respiration (the name of this bar), but the deliriously retro look may well take your breath away. The psychedelic wallpaper could cause ’60s flashbacks while the white-ribbed tunnel will make you feel like Jonah inside the whale. Thursday nights, when hobby DJs hit the decks, can be hit or miss but come Friday and Saturday seasoned pros heat up the crowd with minimal, electro and funk.
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Newton Bar
At this glamour vixen on Gendarmenmarkt you can swirl your whisky with the posh set with an entire wall of Helmut Newton’s high-heeled nudes stimulating the imagination. On your way to the upstairs humidor and smoking lounge (in winter only), you’ll even pass a signed photograph of the master himself. In fine weather, sit outside and see if you and your stogey can stop that cutie on the footpath.
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Eschschloraque
This trashy-chic bar is a rare bulwark against Mitte’s creeping yuppification. Find it past the trash cans at the end of the courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg, one of the few unrenovated houses left around here. We love the surreal monster decor by the Dead Chickens art collective, the comfy sofas, the strong cocktails and the eccentric live music – if only the staff laid off the snootiness.
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Reingold
This 1930s-style glamour lounge draws talkative sophisticates, grateful for the mellow lighting and low sound levels. Video projections, photography exhibits and a wall-sized portrait of Klaus and Erika Mann – a mosaic of pages from Klaus’ novel Mephisto – add an artsy touch, while tapas options provide sustenance. There are DJ nights at weekends and a terrace in summer.
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Victoria Bar
Dedicated to quality imbibing, this discreet cocktail lounge attracts a crowd that’s like a two-inch heel – chic but sensible. Try the Ramos Gin Fizz, barkeep Stefan’s favourite libation. Budget boozers invade before 9.30pm and for the all-night Sunday happy hours, while academics can bone up on the merits of various key spirits at the monthly ‘School of Drunkenness’.
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Shōchū
Don’t have the fat wallet to sample Tim Raue’s exquisite food at MA or uma ? Well, scrape together your pennies and enjoy the same luxurious setting in the attached bar, where you can get liquefied on a classic martini or on clever shōchū-based cocktails infused with green tea, sesame, jasmine and other tantalizing ingredients.
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Becketts Kopf
Sensuous lighting gives even pasty-faced hipsters a healthy glow at this luxe bar named in honour of the great Irish playwright. Beyond Beckett’s head in the window, the art of cocktail-making is taken seriously. Try one of the barkeep’s own creations (the mint costa is recommended) or sip a classic dry martini while waiting for that Godot guy (or your date).
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Sanatorium 23
This ‘sanatorium’ is likely to cure whatever ails you. The look is Zen-meets-pop-art-in-hospital, the vibe is relaxed, the vodka drinks creative and the leather lounge beds and wispy curtains sensual. On weekends DJs turn the place into an electro party zone and if you’re too trashed to go home there are even rooms for rent. Free wi-fi.
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Madame Claude
Nope, it’s not a bad acid trip, it’s Madame’s. Gravity is literally upended at this living-room-style booze burrow where tables, chairs and teapots dangle from the ceiling. Don’t worry, there are still comfy sofas for slouching and entertaining your posse, plus Wednesday’s music quiz night and other suitably wacky events.
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Silverfuture
Dressed in rich purple, burgundy and silver, Kreuzkölln’s favourite gay – though thoroughly heterofriendly – bar is as charmingly over-the-top as a playful grope from your favourite drag queen. There’s Madonna on the jukebox, Polish and Czech beer in the fridge and enough smiling faces for a dependably good time.
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Greenwich
So hip it doesn’t even bother with a sign, this highfalutin fixture on the cocktail circuit is another Midas-touch venture by Heinz Gindullis, the man behind Cookies. You’ll have plenty of time to study the mamba-green bar and sofas, illuminated aquariums and eye-candy crowd while you’re waiting for your expert cocktail.
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Orient Lounge
Heed the call of the kasbah at this classy nightspot infused with ambient Arabic sounds and the sweet aroma of apple and honey. Find your favourite cushion in the sultry shisha (water pipe) lounge or reserve a private niche to sip your cocktails behind a tinkling pearl curtain. The entrance is through the Rote Harfe pub.
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Gainsbourg
An American bar with a Paris vibe right in the middle of Berlin – it doesn’t get more international. Cramped and casual, this warmly lit den speaks to a crowd probably old enough to have made out to Je t’aime, Serge’s steamy duet with Jane Birkin, when it was first released. Awesome cocktails, Gauloises optional.
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Luzia
Tarted up nicely with vintage furniture, baroque wallpaper and whimsical wall art by Chin Chin, Luzia draws its crowd from SO36’s more sophisticated urban dwellers. Some punters have derided it as Mitte-goes-Kreuzberg but it’s still a comfy spot with lighting that gives even pasty-faced hipsters a glow.
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Ambulance Bar
No first aid required: the Ambulance Bar is a healthily hip modern lounge that’s refreshingly untacky, despite being stuck in tourist central. Red lights make everyone look good, and nightly ‘DJ pleasures’ kick in after 10pm. Cocktails are competently mixed but don’t expect any bargains.
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Fc Magnet Mitte
In the club home of the eponymous football club, this stylish bar is a civilised spot to relive the 2006 soccer World Cup euphoria. A flirty crowd sips cocktails, plays table football or cheers on its favourite team on the big screen, all under the watchful eye of the 'Kaiser' Franz Beckenbauer himself.
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Monarch Bar
Bonus points if you can find this upstairs bar right away. Tip: the unmarked entrance is next to the doner kebab shop east of the Kaiser’s supermarket. Behind steamed-up windows awaits an ingenious blend of trashy sophistication infused with bouncy electro, strong drinks and a relaxed vibe.
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Puro Skylounge
Puro has quite literally raised the bar in Charlottenburg, by moving it to the top of the Europa Center, that is. It's a great place if you want to trade classic Berlin funky-trash for a high-heeled Chanel world. Mind erasers of choice are Moët, martinis and cosmos. Dress up, or forget about it.
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E&M Leydicke
Old-fashioned Berlin pubs have their own tradition of hospitality - beer, schnapps and the Berliner humour all served up in rustic, smoke-filled surroundings. This ancient example of the species (first lager poured in 1877) bottles its own flavoured schnapps and fruit wines on the premises.
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Astro Bar
Get ‘beamed’ into this cosmic lounge where wrinkle-free sci-fi fiends from the hood and beyond drown in cheap drinks and long conversations, often until the stars in the sky start fading. DJs kick into action after 10pm. Probably the most stellar spot on this increasingly tacky party drag.
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Habermeyer
Habermeyer isn’t about seeing and being seen – it’s too dark for that. Funky GDR-era furniture, a pinball machine and endearing self-crafted decor (check out the ‘pipe grotto’ out the back) bring in local hipsters who avoid Simon-Dach-Strasse like the plague. DJs hit the decks most nights.
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CSA
Friedrichshain's fanciest bar has been carved out of the former Czechoslovakian national airline office and exudes an ironic Soviet vintage vibe. Dim lights, clear design lines and strong cocktails make this a favourite of the grown-up set. Check out the tables with built-in ash trays.
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Bundespressestrand
Sure, it's expensive and deluged with tourists, but if you happen to be in this area on a sunny day, this sandy bar with wicker chairs, kiddie corner and power view isn't a bad spot to give your feet a rest. There's food and special events like salsa parties or barbecue cook-offs.
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