Street Food Markets

At Berlin's street food markets you can taste your way through the world's cuisines in one place.

Street food markets are among the best meals Berlin serves. On fixed weekdays or weekends, market halls and public squares in Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Friedrichshain turn into loud, crowded gathering points where vendors from all over the world cook their specialties on the spot. The lineup runs from hand-folded dumplings to Korean rice bowls to Venezuelan arepas, most of it assembled in front of you while you wait.

The point is grazing rather than dining: split small portions, drift from stall to stall and end up talking to whoever is sharing your table. Several of these markets are set inside historic Markthallen, the covered market halls built in the 19th century, or along the banks of the Spree river and the Landwehrkanal, which gives them a backdrop no food court can match. Two practical notes: bring cash, since not every stall takes cards, and arrive hungry, because portions are small and the temptation is not.