The days are getting shorter and a cool wind blows around your nose in the morning. It can no longer be denied: The balmy summer days are over, it's getting autumnal. So it's high time to switch from light summer fare to hefty soul food. Because there's nothing better for body and soul than classic home-style cuisine in all its forms and variations. With our top 11 Berlin restaurants in autumn you'll always know where to find the best food for the cooler season.
Tip 1: Feast in a rustic ambience at the Joseph-Roth-Diele
Relaxed, rustic, a little quirky, delicious ... The Joseph-Roth-Diele in Schöneberg is the restaurant you're looking for after a long walk in the cool air. And it would certainly have pleased the man who gave it its name. The writer lived in Berlin from 1920 to 1925 and was by no means averse to worldly pleasures. You should do the same here and treat yourself to home-style classics such as beef goulash, schnitzel or cheese spaetzle.
Where: Potsdamer Straße 75, Tiergarten
When: Tuesday to Friday 10am - 10pm
Tip 2: Relax at the Markthalle IX market
The Markthalle IX is located in the middle of bustling Kreuzberg. It's the perfect place to stroll around on a free afternoon and discover the huge range of fresh food on offer. If you get hungry, you should head straight for the market restaurant. No one has regretted this decision for 130 years. That's how long regional and seasonal food has been served here. Of course, there are also drinks to go with it in the form of beer, wine or cocktails. Freshly fortified, you can continue shopping or simply sit back and relax.
Where: Pücklerstraße 34, Kreuzberg
When: Tuesday and Wednesday 6pm - midnight, Thursday to Saturday 12pm - 4pm and 6pm - midnight
Markthalle IX
Tip 3: Enjoy old Berlin cosiness at Jäger & Lustig
Are you looking for old Berlin cosiness, modern and warm? Then the Jäger & Lustig is made for you. The home-style cuisine served here creates a homely feeling, even for newcomers and visitors to Berlin. Food simply brings people together. That's why Jäger & Lustig is a guarantee for cosy evenings and convivial get-togethers with friends. When you dine here, Berlin becomes your (second) home.
Where: Grünbergstraße 1, Friedrichshain
When: Daily 11:30am - midnight
Tip 4: Discover the north of Berlin at the Schollenkrug
A restaurant with a difference is located in the north of Berlin, between Tegeler See and Hermsdorfer See. The Schollenkrug is a real traditional restaurant and will spoil you with seasonal fare from breakfast to dinner. So you can either fortify yourself in the morning for the upcoming excursion or recover from the exertions behind you in the evening. You'll definitely find the right food for this at Schollenkrug.
Where: Waidmannsluster Damm 77, Reinickendorf
When: Daily 9am - 11pm
Tip 5: Make a stop at the Grunewald in the barn
Aptly named, the Scheune is located in the immediate vicinity of West Berlin's urban nature, the Grunewald. It's the perfect place to enjoy a bite to eat after a trip to Teufelssee lake or the sand pit. In the barn, you can expect home-style and regional dishes prepared with passion. The Scheune is known far beyond the city limits for its goose dishes, which are served from mid-October. Make a reservation now and mark the date in your diary.
Where: Eichkampstraße 155, Grunewald
When: Daily 10 am - midnight
Tip 6: Discover fresh fish at Stilbruch
At Stilbruch, even the journey there is spectacular. You don't find a restaurant on an island every day, even in Berlin. But don't worry, you don't have to swim to your plate. Although there is a private jetty, you can also simply take the bridge. Once you arrive on the island of Eiswerder, creative German cuisine with international influences awaits you. In addition to game and changing seasonal dishes, fresh fish is of course also on the menu.
Where: Eiswerderstraße 22, Spandau
When: Friday to Sunday 4 - 10 pm
Tip 7: Get the Dicken Wirtin to tap you a fresh beer
The best recipe against turbulent days is serenity and a freshly tapped beer. With this motto, the Dicke Wirtin has been helping her guests in all situations for many decades. When the situation has calmed down a little and you feel a little hungry, the Dicke Wirtin naturally has the right thing ready. The freshly tapped beer is accompanied by old Berlin cuisine ranging from light to savoury to sweet. Whereby light is relative. Nothing beats currywurst and potato salad here.
Where: Carmerstraße 9, Charlottenburg
When: Wednesday to Monday from 11am
Tip 8: Immerse yourself in Köpenick's history at Mutter Lustig
In summer, an excursion destination for water enthusiasts, in winter a cosy hut with a fairytale forest. Mutter Lustig has something to offer in all seasons. Since 2014, she has been welcoming hungry guests with snacks, lunch, homemade soups and fruity desserts. Eating like mum does. The restaurant takes its name from the famous Köpenick laundress Henriette Lustig, who founded the first contract laundry in 1835. Instead of hand washing, today you can enjoy handmade home cooking. Right on the waterfront and with a view of the picturesque bay and Köpenick Castle.
Where: Müggelheimer Straße 1, Köpenick
When: Wednesday to Friday 11am - 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am - 10pm
Tip 9: Discover modern German cuisine in Friedrich
Pankow is also a great place to eat. The district with the most inhabitants in Berlin even has a top-class restaurant to offer. At Friedrich, you can enjoy modern German cuisine in a stylish ambience. In addition to classics such as tarte flambée with leek and feta or pike-perch fillet, you can also enjoy seasonal dishes such as a wild herb salad with chanterelles or ricotta and lime spaetzle. The kitchen team at Friedrich constantly reinvents tried and tested culinary delights and clearly has fun doing so. No wonder the restaurant is so popular with everyone.
Where: Hermann-Hesse-Straße 20, Pankow
When: Wednesday to Sunday from 12 noon
Tip 10: Eat fresh from the field at Katz Orange
The Katz Orange serves the perfect mix for autumnal days: comfort food with local seasonal ingredients. After all, there's a reason why autumn is a time of thanksgiving and enjoying the bounty of the harvest. Harvest is also one of the key words at Katz Orange. As a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement in Germany, the restaurant only serves food that has been grown in the fields or stables of selected suppliers. This includes spare ribs from Mecklenburg pigs as well as salmon trout and oak leaf lettuce. How good that autumn exists.
Where: Bergstraße 22, Mitte
When: Daily from 6pm to 1am
Tip 11: Treat yourself to southern German cuisine at the Repke
If it hadn't been for that one cauldron of sausage soup, the house where the Repke now resides would have burnt down. All pleas to the busy fire brigade were to no avail; it was only the mention of the sausage soup that ensured the fire was extinguished quickly. Luckily, today the building is home to what is probably Berlin's only Spätzlerei. As the name suggests, you can enjoy classic southern German cuisine with sauerbraten, Maultaschen, schnitzel and, of course, spaetzle. And if that's too far from home cooking for you, the menu also offers Königsberger Klopse and currywurst.
Where: Bleibtreustraße 46, Charlottenburg
When: Daily from 11:30am