Pub Culture

The classic Berlin corner pub stands for cheap beer, tradition and easygoing conviviality.

The Eckkneipe, literally the corner pub, is a Berlin institution. Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Prenzlauer Berg still hold plenty of them: worn wooden bars, cheap beer and a crowd that runs from regulars who have held the same stool for decades to curious first-timers. Nothing here is designed. What these places sell is atmosphere, blunt, unpretentious and delivered with the particular Berlin brand of friendly rudeness that visitors either love immediately or need a night to warm up to.

Many of these pubs stay open very late or simply do not post a closing time, and alongside beer they pour schnapps and sell the same salty snacks you find in a Späti, the late-night corner shop that keeps Berlin supplied with beer and chips long after the supermarkets close. This is the easiest way to see the everyday city away from the tourist track and actually talk to people who live here. One thing to check before you sit down: a sign reading Raucherkneipe means smoking is still allowed indoors, which is not for everyone.