Dear Reader,

Welcome to the 5th edition of my very favorite places to eat in Berlin right now – the list of the BFS TOP 50 EATERIES 2020! People always ask me for my favourite restaurant in Berlin, but it’s impossible for me to name just one – so I figured I give you 50 instead!

This year, marked by pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, has certainly been a complicated year for Berlin gastronomy and for a long time I contemplated, whether it made sense at all to publish this list in a year where restaurants really just are happy to be alive. I decided it did make sense, just to add a bit of normality and good vibes to this forsaken year.

The 2020 list features 10 new entries and features plenty of eating inspiration for everyone, from Michelin star experiences to bakeries and holes-in-the-wall street food joints, all according to my principles that a meal’s greatness always should be held to the same standards, regardless of its price: It all comes down to quality, execution and consistency.

Berlin’s Top Eatery list is a list for very serious eaters, who always travel the extra mile for a great meal. It’s a list that dives into the heart of contemporary dining culture in Berlin, and although it can be used by visitors and locals alike, it was specifically conceived for people living in Berlin as the ultimate restaurant bucket list for 2021 when restaurants open up again..

Makes sure to look out for the blue Berlin’s Top 50 Eateries 2020 sticker in restaurant windows and doors all across town and treat it like a beacon of good food hope by celebrating these food heroes of Berlin and paying them a visit. With no further ado, behold the Berlin Food Stories Top 50 Restaurants 2020 in full glory (in NO particular order or ranking):

Adana Grillhaus
Home of Turkish Grill House love

Albatross
Category leader of contemporary baking

Annelies
Taking the Berlin breakfast to unfathomed levels

Barra
The very cool expat neighborhood restaurant

Burgermeister
Trusted smash burger dealer

CODA
Dessert fine dining traiblazer

Chung King Noodles
Chinese Chili Noodle revelations

Da Jia Le
Chinese Dongbei style epiphanies

Ernst
Path-defining fine dining putting Berlin on the world food map

Einstein Unter Den Linden
Big city Austrian finer dining

Estelle
Sourdough pizza neighborhood restaurant

Fine Bagels
Bagel perfection

Gazzo
Sustainable and highly entertaining pizza eating

Goldies
Frying with fine dining expertise

Grill Royal
Notorious celebrity hangout and fine steak house

Güllü Lahmacun
Exceptional Turkish Manti and Gözleme

Hallmann & Klee
The modern German dining benchmark

Heno Heno
West Berlin Soba and Udon oasis

Horváth
Neo-Austrian fine dining

Khao Taan
Next level Thai style family dining

Khwan
Eclectic and open fire-cooked Thai food

Kin Dee
Michelin star Thai dining with local ingredients

Kumpel & Keule Speisewirtschaft
Meat-centric, next gen casual German

Lebensmittel in Mitte
Exceptional, classic Southern German lunch fare

Lino’s BBQ
Fine Texas BBQ

Liu
Chengdu style noodles and dumplings

Lode & Stijn
The Dutch take on contemporary casual fine dining

Madame Ngo
The mesmerizing Vietnamese Pho Dealer

Malafemmena
Classic Neapolitan style fare

Malakeh
Contemporary Syrian eating

Mangiare
Groundbreaking Neapolitan pizzas

Meet You
Chinese breakfast revelations

Michelberger Hotel
Contemporary farm to table hotel restaurant eating

MINE
Extravagant finer Italian eating

Mogg
Extraordinary Jewish deli and home to the best pastrami

Mrs Robinson’s
Extravagant, multi-faceted and utterly trailblazing fine dining

Nobelhart & Schmutzig
Regional and produce focused revolution of Berlin fine dining

Otto
Contemporary German Eating with neighborhood roots

ORA
Simple dining in the extravagant setting of an 1860’s pharmacy

Örnek
Category defining Lahmacun baking

Rocket + Basil
Schöneberg’s freshest neo-Persian lunch offering

893 Ryotei
The cool Nikkei Japanese West Berlin Finer Dining experience

Sasaya
Classic Japanese eating

Shiori
Japanese Omakase experience

Sironi
Italian baked goods dreams

Smart Deli
Japanese deli love

Standard Pizza
Neapolitan style pizza perfection

St. Bart
Modern gastropub dreams

Thai Art
Classic and simple Thai fare

Tulus Lotrek
Extravagant fun fine dining