Berlin is a city rife with culture, history, and a bohemian attitude that takes a lot of visitors by surprise. It’s an easy city to enjoy on a budget, with plenty of free attractions to keep even the most frugal-minded traveler happy.
If that’s not incentive enough to book those cheap flights, Berlin is a city bursting with Best Cheap Eats. No matter how low your budget is, you’re sure to find some awesome food for a couple of Euros on the streets of the German capital.
Curry 36
If you’re set on seeing Berlin on a budget you’re bound to find yourself eating currywurst at least once, and you can’t say “Ich bin ein Berliner” unless you’ve sampled the wurst Curry 36 has to offer. Currywurst is steamed and fried sausage topped with curry powder and ketchup: it’s that simple, and that delicious. This little shack has queues of hungry locals in front of it night and day, and it has such a strong reputation that they’ve even launched their range of official currywurst sauce.
Burgermeister
It’s well worth leaving your hotels in Berlin for a day out in Kreuzberg, and if it’s meaty goodness you’re looking for, look no further than underneath the U-Bahn tracks near the station. Of course, there are some vegetarian options too: the tofu burger is nice enough, but nothing can compare to the bacon laden Meistaburger. The chili cheese fries are pretty good too.
VadimLahmacun
Despite Angela Merkel’s declaration that multiculturalism has failed in Germany, there is some pretty great budget that Best Cheap Eats to be found once you start visiting ethnic restaurants like TadimLahmacun, which specializes in the Turkish dish lahmacun: a Turkish burrito. Thin flatbread is topped with minced meat, salad and sauce then rolled into a burrito shape.
Miss Saigon
You can pick up a dish of delicious Vietnamese soup (pho) for around €6 at this modest little fast food joint. Like most great cheap foodie options, it’s popular with Berlin office workers. You might find yourself standing in a queue if you turn up at lunchtime, but your first bite of the fresh, crunchy spring rolls will make it all worthwhile. Try the milkshakes, too: the coconut and avocado one sounds a bit strange, but the flavors do work.
Rogacki
Back to German-style food, this deli offers a lunchtime platter of blutwurst, liverwurst, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes for €4.50. The sausages (blood sausage and liver sausage respectively) are somewhat of a delicacy, poppinmedia, so if you don’t enjoy black pudding then it’s perhaps better to avoid this one and try something else on the menu, like the fried fish.
If you do decide to go for it, you’ll be rewarded with a taste of real hearty German fare. Splash out on some weissbier to cut through the rich flavors. Once you’re finished dining, browse Rogacki’s fine selection of 150 varieties of cheeses and over 200 cured meats; you’ll be spoiled for choice.
