Favorite italian restaurant, great simple food, friendly staff and the coolest atmosphere (vinil music only). Smart to make a reservation before you go.

One of the most beautiful pieces of Berlin actually is a piece of another city (Al-Hillah, Iraq). Normally Berliners are laid back and like to hang around, drink beer and chat till sunrise. Sometimes they do get excited though, and then they start taking old war-battered stones and piecing them together to (re)form walls. The results are great as can be seen all over Berlin, but the Ishtar gate in the Pergamon museum is where they’ve really outdone themselves.

Situated in the patio of the Kunst-Werke, a well established exhibition house for contemporary art, this cafe features mirror-walls and a selection of nice cakes and lunch menu. 

Kw is a great art institute situated at the backyard of a very eastern part of town, place for many other small galleries. Auguststrasse is worth the walk and Kw is worth the stop.

A place where I spend some time almost everyday is the Marheineke Markthalle on Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg. It's just around the corner from where I live and a great place to buy fresh food and products from local farmers or all kinds of delicatessen from different countries. Many market stalls also sell freshly prepared food and it's always busy at lunchtime. For saturday mornings try the original french croissants.