It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a city with an active Four Square community will likely be be an absolute godsend for spotting vegetarian restaurants. This is in fact true for Berlin, city of bratwurst, hipsters and surprisingly plentiful vegetarian options.
It had been almost a decade ago since I visited Berlin for the first time and within that short span of time, the city had gentrified at a crazy pace. Gone were the derelict buildings covered in graffiti, the leather clad ladies of the night in knee high boots and the slightly seedy atmosphere around the train station. Instead, the hipster invasion has spread across the city, Asian restaurants are plentiful, and there is always something organic around the corner a rustic yet trendy cafe.
Reflecting on that decade between my first and second visit, a whole lifetime had passed between the two trips. Back then i just finished my undergrad, saved up my pennies for travelling and hoped to figure out what this “real world” is all about once I get back. Fast forward a couple of years and a number of jobs later, I’m back in Berlin. Somewhere between those years, I have definitely aged, learned more than I thought I could in the “real world” and switched to a mainly vegetarian diet.
I had to admit that I wasn’t quite sure what options we will find in Berlin, but armed with Foursquare and looking for the tag “vegetarich” we did pretty well!
We stayed at Mitte and without a lot of planning realised that we were in the perfect spot for food, and a good flat white! Just a short walk away is The Barn. A small coffee shop with fantastic coffee serving baked goods and sandwiches on dark rye bread. I loved munching on combination of sweet and savoury of pear and brie cheese while people watching from the bar stool.
The Barn
Auguststrasse 58 (Corner Koppenplatz)
10119 Berlin
Our airbnb host told us to give this charming Southern German bar restaurant a go. He mentioned the name Schwarzwaldstuben a couple of times, before feeling sorry for our blank looks (thankfully) wrote the name down.
Schwarzwaldstuben
48 Tucholskystr, Berlin, Germany (Mitte)
It gets quite busy in the evening, and it’s easy to see why. The bar has a nice relaxed feel and it’s easy to drink a couple of the Rothaus beer on tap to wash down the spatzle, a cross between pasta and macaroni and cheese. Their menu changes often and they have an English menu to make ordering even easier.
I’ve never come across Rothaus before, but apparently it has a bit of a cult following in Germany eventhough the company shied from advertising campaign.
I didn’t expect to find a vegetarian hot dog, so understandably got quite excited when I realised there is a hot dog stand that served vegetarian hot dogs so off we go to visit Der Hot Dog Laden. Located south of Mitte we got out at the Nollendorfplatz station and walked towards this nondescript hot dog stand.
For the non vegetarian they do have normal sausages with all the various sauces and trimming you want. For the very affordable price of €2.60 you get a pretty filling snack. The soy dog tasted and has the same texture as a normal hot dog, the bun was warm and soft and the toppings were generous.
Der Hot Dog Laden
Motzstraße 1, 10777 Berlin, Germany
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