This once-divided city has seen a real resurgence in the fields of art, architecture,
music and, of course, entertainment over recent years. These days Berlin is a
dynamic, sexy and creative city, a city where anything goes. Packed with elegant
public buildings, glorious museums, chic restaurants and bustling pubs, Berlin is
clearly a city that thrives on change and reinvention. Occasionally austere on the
surface, the city has a hidden pounding heart, and the vibe in the clubs is like nowhere
in Europe. These, and many of the city's best bars can be found in the Prenzlauer
Berg. Sometimes these bars spring up from nowhere and are consigned to history in a
matter of weeks, others are there for the long-haul. The more grand and historic
venues can be found on the Oranienburger Strasse, where the first memorable scenes
of reunification took place.
BARS and RESTAURANTS
40 Seconds
Potsdamer Straße 58, 10785 Tiergarten, Berlin.
Telephone: +49 30 89064241
There’s a slightly space age feel to this stylish Berlin penthouse club. The name derives from the time it takes for the elevator to glide up from street level to the 8th floor, where the club is based. Once inside you’ll find a white-walled space with a look that’s part futurist, part 1980s throwback. It shouldn’t work but somehow it does. There are three lounge areas, all lit by gorgeous Verner Panton-lamps, but the main draw is the balconies, which all offer exciting views over this evolving city and of Potsdamer Platz below. This music is the standard mix of R'n'B, house and electronic, and the mood is glamorous and possibly wearing something skimpy and expensive.
Atrium Lobby Lounge & Bar
Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 3, Berlin.
Telephone: +49 30 23828 0
The minute you enter this striking hotel lobby your eyes are inevitably drawn upwards. The Atrium Lobby Lounge & Bar at the Radisson Blu is like no other hotel bar you’ve seen. Located underneath a dramatic ‘AquaDom’ – essentially a vast fish-tank, some 25 metres high and filled with 2500 fishes, it’s an incredible sight. Open all day, it’s otherwise - despite this incredible centrepiece - quite a conventional lobby bar where people tend to stop for coffee and cake in the afternoons or, later on, for a cocktail to kick off their Berlin evening in considerable style.
Bangaluu
Invalidenstrasse 30, Berlin.
Telephone: +49.30 80 96 93 077
Clean, pristine Bangaluu is a minimalist's dream. Everything is white and unsullied, a world a way from Berlin's often slightly grimy club scene of yore. A decadent dinner club, where dainty 10 course meals are served up before the partying begins in earnest, the décor is white-toned yet plush and comfortable, the atmosphere a German take on the famed Supperclubs in Amsterdam and Rome. A place for pretty people to pose against a stylish backdrop, it may prove a bit too glossy for some, especially afficiandos of Berlin's old school super clubs, but for those who like their nightspots chic, shiny and exclusive then Bangaluu is the place to be.
Saphire Bar
Bötzowstr. 31, Berlin, 10407.
Telephone: +49 30 25562158
The Saphire Bar (with just the one ‘p’) is one of Berlin's very best whisky bars, stocking a huge variety, including some rarities and unexpected gems. There's also an imposingly large cocktail menu if whisky isn't your thing, many created in-house by the talented bar staff, though, of course, the classics are there too. But it’s those who love the odd dram who will really be in their element. Divided into two elegant lounge areas, the bar is peppered with cosy white leather sofas on which to perch while you sip your drink. Upmarket but not pretentious with it, this is one of Berlin's best.
Riva
Dircksenstrasse 142 Mitte, Berlin, 10178.
Telephone: +49 030 24 72 2688
Chic cocktail bar in ultra hip Mitte, cordoned off with thick dark curtains and named, rather oddly, after the 1970s Italian football star Luigi Riva. (Maybe there just wasn't call for a bar called Beckenbauer in Berlin.) Dark and moody, it's an odd tunnel-like space with a curved ceiling painted in bright red, yellow and purple squares. The oval-shaped centrepiece bar is all designer glitz and perfect for perching yourself at since you get to see most of the babes in the room, but leather benches run along the walls and give a good view too. Riva's picture hangs behind the bar meanwhile, begging the question: have the models in here come to gaze at the Italian Stallion or to sample the exotic selection of martinis and champagne cocktails? You decide.
Adagio
Marlene Dietrich Platz, Berlin.
Telephone: +49 30 2589890
Berlin’s clubbing scene is world renowned with reason. But recently, in some quarters at least, there’s been a move away from the sprawling underground clubs to something far less raw and edgy. Not that there’s anything subtle about Adagio, far from it: indeed it exudes a vibe that’s pure Vegas. Everything about this place is glitter-bedecked and gilt-tinged, teetering (and maybe even toppling) over the line of good taste. The music is cheesy and the crowd is dressed to the nines. It’s ridiculous and excessive but sometimes, just sometimes, that’s exactly what the situation demands.
Puro Sky Lounge
Tauentzienstrasse 9-11, Berlin, 10789.
Telephone: +49 30 2636 7875
Let’s get this straight: this isn’t wear hip Berliners come to hang out. Instead the crowd are a mix of the moneyed and those craving – literal –highs. The chief reason people visit this rather self-consciously glam penthouse lounge is the floor-to-ceiling views of the Berlin skyline. There are few sites as striking and it makes the perfect place to bask with a champagne flute in one’s hand. A decent cocktail list is another plus-point and while the slickness and mainstream house won’t appeal to everyone, the majesty of the views and the veneer of euro glitter have a real appeal. The space occasionally plays host to live acts and guest performers, making for a more exciting proposition.
6vorne
11 Hektorstrasse, Berlin, 10711.
Telephone: +49 163 606 1666
'6vorne' is all about numbers. Its cryptic name translates as 'six forward' which, contrary to some suggestions, is not a reference to the contorted pleasures of Twister. Its other numerical boast is that it stocks fifty vodkas that will sate the palette of the most discerning vodka connoisseur. On the aesthetic front, think clean lines, dark walnut features, lashings of Germanic minimalism (if that's not a contradiction in terms) all bathed in the most wonderful of orange and green lights. This is why a) '6Vorne' is the talk among Berlin's fashionista and why b) you will never ever see a mullet or moustache here. Promise.
Rosa Bar
Spreewaldplatz 2 10999 Berlin
This cellar bar has a quaint atmosphere and is known for its Retro-Futurism design of the 60s. There you will find large beige beanbags, orange lighting and vintage looking carpets. Rosa Bar is a perfect stylish place to cuddle in small cozy booths separated from the real world by fringe curtains. Cocktails are fantastic there and the variety of drinks is really huge. If you are searching for a nice place to have a date in Berlin, look no further: Rosa Bar is perfectly romantic.
DANCE CLUBS
Watergate
Falckensteinstr. 49 10997 Berlin, Berlin.
Telephone: +49 30 61280395
Berlin’s clubbing scene is internationally renowned and Watergate is one of the stand-outs in a city not short of spaces to dance until dawn. The Kreuzberg club regularly attracts big name DJ talent and the music is a collage of house, break-beat and drum’n’bass. The décor is pretty darn chic, with lots of glass and a somewhat minimalist aesthetic. Muted earth colours have been used to good effect in the design and there’s a stylish bar area in which to acquire a drink before being lured to the dance floor. Large windows are the ribbon on the box, offering a superb view out over the river. The place attracts an appealing mix of serious clubbers and people just out to enjoy the location and revel in the vibe the place generates.
WEEK END CLUB
- Alexanderplatz 5 10178 Berlin
Attracting more bewildered tourists than the VIPs flashing black keys to gain unquestioned entry these days, this well-weathered club occupies the twelfth floor of an Alexanderplatz skyscraper. Its irresistible draw lies in its grandiloquent roof terrace flaunting a jaw-dropping view of the surrounding city. Much easier, and much more fun, than trying to score a seat at the TV Tower’s 360-degree turning restaurant.
It also still remains a brilliant venue for going wild on the small dance-floor, or sitting around the perimeter of the club on padded benches. Weekend, true to its name, offers seating areas for shattered nerves and bodies, and a pounding sound-system up front for those who’ve still got a bit of fighting spirit in them
FELIX CLUB-RESTAURANT IN THE ADLON PALAIS
Behrenstrasse
72
The FELIX
Club Restaurant is situated in the heart of Berlin, in the Adlon Palais, right
next to the Brandenburg Gate and not far from the Potsdamer Platz.
It’s
casual and relaxed, and at the same time fascinating atmosphere makes the FELIX
Club Restaurant a unique symbiosis of sophisticated dining, lounge bar and
clubbing.
Surrounded
by light pillars shining in endless colours and with one of the most modern
sound systems in Europe, guests can enjoy international flair. The club has
been running for three successful years – so successful, in fact, that it has
now produced its first own CD compilation: “Dining and Dancing Metropolitan
Style.”
„Metropolitan
Food“ is the culinary slogan of the FELIX. A cuisine with light and aromatic
dishes and the impact of the worlds metropolises; created by Tim Raue, Chef of
the Year in the Gault Millau 2007 and awarded with a Michelin Star, and
Culinary Director of the Adlon Collection; operated by his Head Chef Michael
Jaeger. A cuisine is full of joy and vitality, in which the guest gets enough
energy for a long club night.
The FELIX Club Restaurant stands for flexibility towards guests’
requirements. Every Thursday there is the 104.6 RTL After Business Club - one
of the most successful after work parties in the city. Whilst at the weekends a
dazzling club atmosphere develops after dinner. Besides the house own label,
“House of Fame”, well-known events are also hosted here, as for example the
legendary PACHA Party, Europe’s most well-known club.
ADAGIO
Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1
Located on Potsdamer Platz in the very heart of Berlin, the
ADAGIO is the most contrastive venue of the nation’s multi-faced capital, what
with its unique ambience. Here, the most diverse styles meld into a compelling mélange
of the decorative arts. The interior architecture derives its impulses from the
legacy of various periods of the past – You’ll find antique choir stalls,
ubiquitous angels of all sizes, frescoes, murals and painted ceilings. Add to
this the patina on coffered wooden ceilings, enchanting colonnades, Romanesque
window arches spanning Byzantine painted glass windows. The very essence of
nightlife and entertainment.
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