Curry 36
If you want to eat currywurst the Berlin way, order yours here boiled and naked ("ohne darm", without skin), looking a little pale in comparison with the ones in pink skins. The sausage at this particular snack bar is so popular that they've started a range of merchandise sporting their daft logo. Besides the currywurst there's bockwurst, krakauers and several other types of sausage as well as proletarian Berlin specialities such as fried burgers and bouletten (meatballs/patties). Take it away or wolf it all down at one of the outdoor stand-up tables.
• Mehringdamm 36, Kreuzberg, no telephone, www.curry36.de. Mon-Sun 9am-5pm. Currywurst €2.50
Burgermeister
With a name that requires no translation, this burger kiosk below the U-Bahn tracks is where Kreuzbergers go when in need of a meat fix. There are six types of hamburgers; vegetarians are welcomed with a tofuburger, but others should try the meistaburger, laden with mustard, onion, bacon and barbecue sauce, with a side of chilli-cheese fries. All snacks and sauces (including mango-curry) are freshly made with top-quality ingredients. Sit at tables below the tracks, or take away. Very popular and often busy with considerable waiting times, but thankfully it's open into the early hours.
• Oberbaumstrasse, U1 Schlesisches Tor station, Kreuzberg, no telephone, burger-meister.de. Mon-Thurs 11am-2am, Fri-Sat 11am-4am, Sun 3pm-2am. Burger €3.50
Gel Gör Inegöl Köfteci
Neukölln and Kreuzberg, two low-income districts in a formerly remote and unloved walled-in corner of west Berlin, have always attracted radical students and immigrants. The area on the border of the two districts, nicknamed Kreuzkölln, attracts plenty of locals looking for good food and a party, and this Turkish snack bar does a great job satisfying their craving for köfte – tasty minced meatballs with herbs – served in a baguette with salad and mint sauce. There are vegetarian options too. It's open 24 hours and buzzes on weekend nights.
• Kottbusser Damm 80, Neukölln/Kreuzberg, +49 30 6958 2753, no website. Open 24 hours. Köfte €3.50
Konnopke's Imbiss
A contender for the title of best currywurst in town, Konnopke's newly renovated snack bar in Prenzlauer Berg serves its curry sausages with or without skin and with great dollops of spicy sauce. The simple snack shack is located below the tracks of the Eberswalder Strasse U-Bahn station and is run by the Ziervogel family, whose forefathers started selling their famous sausages on this spot in 1930. There always seems to be a line of people waiting for the wurst, buletten and French fries. This particular snack bar cashes in on its popularity by selling postcards and a book about Berliner curry sausage.
• Schönhauser Allee 44b, Prenzlauer Berg, +49 30 442 7765, konnopke-imbiss.de. Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 12-8pm. Currywurst €2.50
Hamy Cafe
A fantastic and exceedingly busy Vietnamese fast food joint with lightning-quick service and fresh, tasty food. The open kitchen churns out two different main dishes every day, and a good range of daily meals; try the pho ga chicken soup, the pho bo beef soup, or a goi mien noodle salad, finished off with banana pudding. Amazingly, even when the place is packed and hectic, it manages to serve food fast. Fraternise with the locals by sitting at the communal tables outside. Located between Kreuzberg and Neukölln, it's well positioned for a quick snack to start or round off an evening out.
• Hasenheide 10, Kreuzberg/Neukölln, +49 30 6162 5959, hamycafe.com. Mon-Sun noon-midnight. Main dishes €4.90
Miss Saigon
Low prices, a central Kreuzberg location and delicious, fresh food make Miss Saigon the fast-food mistress of choice for many Berliners. Serving a modest number of south Vietnamese dishes including crunchy spring rolls, pho soup and various vegetarian and vegan dishes, and drinks such as lassi and Vietnamese tea, Miss Saigon manages to attract large numbers of diners ever day, yet serves them all quickly, albeit with little ceremony. Cool down on a hot day with the wonderful milkshakes – the coconut-avocado variety is a winner. Booking for dinner is advised to beat the crowds.
• Skalitzer Strasse 38, Kreuzberg, +49 30 6953 3377, miss-saigon-berlin.de. Mon-Sun noon-midnight. Main dishes €6
The Bird
Importing its beef from Iowa, this New York style steakhouse and bar in the trendy northern bits of Prenzlauer Berg has range of fantastic steaks as well as a dozen different burgers (to be eaten with your hands, no exceptions), chicken wings, hand-cut French fries, salads and sandwiches. All food, dressings and sauces are freshly prepared. As a rule, if the ingredients can't be sourced fresh, they won't serve it. There's proper English-language service from the American owners and their staff, and the portions are often large enough to leave you completely stuffed, shamelessly clutching a doggy-bag of food for further feasting back home.
• Am Falkplatz 5, Prenzlauer Berg, +49 30 5105 3283, thebirdinberlin.com. Burger €11.50
Henne Alt Berliner Wirtshaus
Famous for its supreme half-a-hen grilled chicken with potato salad and bread, but also serving various traditional Berlin dishes, Henne is a rustic "old Berlin" restaurant in Kreuzberg whose claim to fame is a visit by John F Kennedy – who dropped by for a beer after making his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in 1963. Look out for his signed photograph on the wall. Just two years earlier, surprised patrons nursing their beers witnessed the Wall being built right in front of Henne. Despite its stolid looks, Henne attracts plenty of hip young things from around the world, so booking a table is advised.
• Leuschnerdamm 25, Kreuzberg, +49 30 614 7730, henne-berlin.de. Tues-Sat from 7pm, Sun from 5pm. Half a chicken €7.90
Witty's
After shopping at west Berlin's massive KaDeWe department store, head to the district's best currywurst kiosk to refuel on its sausages in spicy sauce, before you attempt strolling and shopping your way up the famous Kurfürstendamm (Ku' damm) boulevard. Witty's is the best joint on the square, using only the best local meat and vegetables. Beside the famed sausages (with our without the skin), Witty's has grilled bratwurst, frankfurters and some great chunky Belgian-style fries – all liberally drenched in a sauce of your choosing. In keeping with its organic credentials, it sells tasty Weissenoher, a monastery-brewed bio-beer.
• Wittenbergplatz 5, Schöneberg, +49 30 211 9496, wittys-berlin.de. Mon-Sun 11-8pm. Currywurst €3
Hühnerhaus
Kreuzberg's popular "hen house", located in Görlitzer Park, has some of the best grilled chicken in the city – juicy on the inside and crispy skin on the outside, the poultry is so good there's a permanent queue winding from the simple kiosk into the park. Despite the crowds, half a portion of chicken with a choice of salad or french fries, bottomless bread and a variety of sauces is usually served surprisingly fast. While there are a choice of menus, you'd be mad not to go for the famed half hen; try it with the homemade spicy sauce.
• Görlitzer Strasse (Görlitzer Park, corner Skalitzer Strasse), Kreuzberg, +49 172 617 7583, hühnerhaus.com. Mon-Sun 9am-2am. Half a chicken including fries €3.75
