Berlin - eating out
You won’t probably be going to Berlin for the sake of testing the delicacies of the local cuisine, but there’s plenty of options to please your gluttony, or to fill your stomach, whichever is the priority for you. One important thing to know is that, apparently, the average Berliner rarely eats at home. Therefore restaurants and food outlets will serve food at almost any time of day, regardless of the concepts of lunch and dinner. The minor drawback to this is the fact that buying food in supermarkets can be more expensive than elsewhere, being often not much cheaper than eating at a fast food. Sometimes it’s really not worth the bother to buy your own stuff and cook it.
The Berliner Frühstück
One peculiar eating habit in Berlin is the so-called Berliner Frühstück, or Berlin breakfast. It is only a distant relative of breakfast, since many places will serve it up until four in the afternoon. It can be any variation on continental and British breakfast, with coffee, tea or juice, with marmalade or sausage and eggs, or even the so-called "Champion’s breakfast", which consists only of black coffee and a cigarette. Apart from this last option, it usually abundant and cheap, and a good alternative to lunch, especially if you get up very late, which is apparently common in Berlin.
Restaurants
There is a huge variety of ethnic restaurants in Berlin, ranging from Thai to Indian, from Turkish to Chinese. Otherwise, every place which serves you beer will have several more solid options, often consisting in mixed salads, sandwiches, sausages, meats. Furthermore, many places, both restaurants and bars, will feature, beside German cuisine, Hungarian, Russian or other East-Europeans specialities.
Eating cheap
There are several options to eat and spend little in Berlin. The most common are Turkish food outlets, which are ideal if you like your food spicy. They serve kebab (grilled mutton or lamb meat in a sandwich, with onions, cabbage and other vegetables, usually with hot sauce or yoghurt sauce), falafel (which are chickpea balls, typical of Middle Eastern cuisine, a valid alternative to Kebab for vegetarians), Turkish pizza (which is different from the Italian one, but still a great option), roasted chicken and variations on the above. There are several Chinese takeaways, which serve the usual variety of food.
There are also German bars or Kneipe, which will serve several types of sandwiches, usually with baguette bread, butter and ham or cheese. Then there are the usual global fast food chains, with an interesting variation in a chain called Nordsee, which serves fish and fish sandwiches exclusively.
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