You probably know the feeling: After visiting the museum, you have seen a lot, are inspired and want to review the exhibition, perhaps with friends. The best way to do this is with a good coffee, delicious cake or hot food. There are plenty of lovely cafés in Berlin - of course! Here we give you catering tips where you can easily combine exhibitions and culinary delights.
Tip 1: Café under the dome of the Bode Museum
It is not without reason that the Bode Museum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since 1904, it has graced the top of Museum Island as the home of the world-famous sculpture collection and the Museum of Byzantine Art. A visit is exciting, but you'll feel it in your legs at some point: The building is vast, the artefacts numerous. We recommend a detour to the Bode Museum's own café. It is considered one of the most charming in the city, and not just by Bode fans. You can sit at round marble tables directly under the imposing domed hall of the historic museum building and look down on the equestrian statue of the Great Elector from above. The menu offers coffee and cake.
When: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Café in the Bode Museum, Am Kupfergraben 3, Mitte
Tip 2: Café in the Neue Nationalgalerie
Our next tip: the museum café in the Neue Nationalgalerie. The Cuban-American artist Jorge Pardo has taken up the ideas of the museum architect and former Bauhaus director Mies van der Rohe and varied them. Still under the impression of the glass light hall on the ground floor, you sit under impressive figural light installations and surrounded by orange-coloured tile patterns in a glass "room within a room" - enjoy the rather spectacular ambience!
When: Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday to Sunday from 10.30am to 6pm, Thursday from 11am to 7pm
Where: Café in the Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str. 50, Tiergarten
Tip 3: Café in the Kunsthaus Dahlem
The Kunsthaus Dahlem was built in the 1940s as a studio for the sculptor Arno Breker. After the Second World War, the artist Bernhard Heiliger used the high halls as a place to work and live. Many years of artistic practice also characterise the cosy café with its high, stylish interior. The culinary offer is delicious! In the summer months, patio doors open onto the garden. There you can enjoy a coffee under the treetops, surrounded by 20 works by the former owner Heiliger. Even if you've already seen the exhibition here - take the time to stroll over to the Brücke Museum, it's only a few steps away and the exhibitions there are exciting!
When: daily except Tuesday from 11 am to 6 pm
Where: Café in the Kunsthaus Dahlem, Käuzchensteig 8, Dahlem
Tip 4: Beba Restaurant in the Gropius Bau
An expansive tiled counter and high, industrial windows give the Beba Restaurant in the Gropius Bau an international touch reminiscent of New York. The kitchen team has set itself the task of offering dishes from old and new recipes from the Jewish diaspora. Many nationalities are represented here, from Israel and Argentina to Russia and Yemen. A special highlight in the warmer months is the vertical indoor garden, where the restaurant's own herbs and vegetables thrive. Beba uses the produce to make various teas, lemonades, salads and other delicacies.
When: Monday to Friday from 12 to 18:30, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday closed
Where: Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, Kreuzberg
Tip 5: C/O Berlin X Bark Berlin
With its first-class, always appealing and moving photo exhibitions, C/O Berlin is one of the most popular exhibition centres in the city. In the light-flooded C/O Berlin X Bark Café on the ground floor of the photo museum , the best snacks, soups and dishes are served at the bar until 8 pm, along with coffee, white wine and various drinks. Try the minestrone, it tastes delicious! Behind the large window façade, you have a wonderful view of the bustling area around Bahnhof Zoo. Sit, enjoy and watch the street life...
When: daily from 11 am to 8 pm
Where: C/O Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 22-24, Charlottenburg
Tip 6: Café Restaurant in the PalaisPopulaire
The PalaisPopulaire on the boulevard Unter den Linden is a modern venue for contemporary art, culture and dialogue. Deutsche Bank has been presenting international contemporary art in the former historic Prinzessinnenpalais since 2018, accompanied by readings, concerts and talks. If you want to combine an art tour with culinary delights, sit down in the in-house restaurant LePopulaire by Kofler & Kompanie: the cuisine is modern and seasonal, the interior is stylish and the homemade patisserie makes dreams come true. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy the cosmopolitan flair of Berlin once again !
When: daily except Tuesday from 11 am to 6 pm, Thursday until 7 pm
Where: Palais Populaire, Unter den Linden 5, Mitte
Tip 7: Café Restaurant W66 in the Museum of Communication
Message in a bottle, telegram, telephone, teams: these are just a few examples of the countless means of communication that mankind has invented over the centuries. But the undisputed winner among them is and remains the dining table. The Museum of Communication has probably also come to this conclusion and has created the W66 museum café and restaurant . The design is modern, the stucco on the ceiling breathtaking and the concept as simple as it is ingenious: business lunches, snacks, delicious cakes and children's meals for a small price. For many, the W66 has become an indispensable part of the museum experience.
When: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm
Where: Museum for Communication, Leipziger Str. 16, Mitte
Tip 8: Fotografiska Café + Bar
In the heart of Mitte, our next tip combines art, culinary delights and Berlin lifestyle in a very special setting: Fotografiska Café + Bar in the exhibition centre for contemporary photography is more than just a classic museum café. It is also a meeting place for the neighbourhood, for creatives and strollers. Fresh pastries and coffee await you here in the morning, seasonal dishes with regional ingredientstempt you in at lunchtime and the space transforms into an atmospheric bar with fine wines and cocktails in the evening. The perfect place to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounded by clean architecture and gorgeous designer furniture!
When: daily from 10 am to 11 pm
Where: Fotografiska Café + Bar, Oranienburger Str. 54, Mitte
Our extra tip for Mitte: pop into Café Bravo! It belongs to the KW Institute for Contemporary Art and is a real work of art: in the courtyard of the KWI, you can sit in a glass cube designed by the American artist Dan Graham, whose works have been exhibited at Dokumenta several times.
Tip 9: TOREINS at the German Museum of Technology
The German Museum of Technology in Kreuzberg is so big that there is room for not just one aeroplane, but several. There are also ships, locomotives and numerous special exhibitions to marvel at. Logically, the museum café/restaurant TOREINS is located in its own building and not among all the exhibits. TOREINS awaits you as part of the historic shopping street in a lovingly furnished brick building on the site. Surrounded by the Gleisdreieck park, you can enjoy delicious breakfast menus, German cuisine and a variety of coffees . Perfect for catching your breath after the numerous experiences in the Museum of Technology!
When: daily from 10 am to 10 pm
Where: TOREINS, Möckernstraße 26, Kreuzberg
Tip 10: WeltWirtschaft in the House of World Cultures
Cuisine and culture come together under the curved dome of the House of World C ultures in the WeltWirtschaft restaurant and beer garden. Like the HKW itself, its restaurant sees itself as a place of exchange, diversity and openness. The food here is not simply cooked, but curated with artistic finesse: The seasonal cuisine is regularly expanded by international guest chefs who contribute their own recipes and flavours. Dishes such as the Caribbean-Asian Jerk Chicken Chow Mein by chef Craig Wong represent the same attitude that characterises the restaurant: art and food as a living combination of cultures. Here you can experience evenings where meals are combined with performances - or with music, film and literature.
When: daily from 12 noon
Where: House of World Cultures, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, Tiergarten
Tip 11: Café Max in the Liebermann Villa
The world-famous German Impressionist artist Max Liebermann had Villa Liebermann built as his Berlin summer house in 1909. The painter came here to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and to draw inspiration and strength from the extensive garden. He created around 250 paintings in his studio on the upper floor, many of which depict the house and garden itself. The former dining room of the villa is now home to Café Max. Here you can enjoy cakes, tarts and savoury dishes all year round. Surrounded by the rose garden, the Wannsee panorama or in the cosy fireplace room, you'll feel like you're part of a Max Liebermann painting!
When: daily except Tuesday from 11 am to 5 pm
Where: Liebermann-Villa, Colomierstraße 3, Wannsee
