17 Best Bars in Berlin

"Neukolln's Weserstraße is home to some of Berlin's best cocktail bars, and this elevated-but-casual outpost, established in 2021, has already won 2024's award for Best Bar in Germany. You'll find handmade wooden furniture that welcomes relaxation, moody downlighting, and two-toned walls that give polish to the city's traditional plaster, plus touches of industrial cement. A cozy fireplace lends a little warming glow to gray, cold Neukolln evenings. Wax On is there if you know to look for it—and while plenty don't, those who do are a crowd who know their drinks. Regulars from around the kiez (immediate neighborhood) are drawn here by the exotic ingredients—clarified banana juice has been known to feature. The menu has traditionally rotated between four imaginative drinks (concocted in the basement below) and four classic cocktails—or you can, of course, call your own drinks with an obliging staff that's happy to prepare them or put together something based on your tastes. If cocktails aren't your thing, there are also a few natural wines to order, plus a pils on tap and some carefully considered zero-proof options." - Krystin Arneson