BERLIN is known more for having the Best Turkish food (outside of Turkey) than having the best German food.
The Turks migrated to Berlin when nobody wanted to live there after WW2, and became the largest ethnic minority group in the city. The largest Turkish communities can be found in Neukölln, Kreuzberg, and Mitte.
You’ve got to try the Turkish Friday Market, Doner Kebab, and Hasir Restaurant in Kreuzberg when in Berlin…
TURKISH MARKET (Every Tuesday and Friday)
The Turkish Market is open every Tuesday and Friday along the bank of Maybachufer. 🙂
You can ride the U-Bahn and get off at either Kottbusser Tor (U1 & U8) and walk for a bit, or at Schönleinstrasse (U8), which is much closer to the market.
It’s a beautiful location, set up under the trees along the riverbank and along a cobbled street.
There are various non-food stalls and food trucks serving Turkish specialties.
You can easily walk around the neighborhood to get the Turkish feel of the place and stop by for Doner Kebab.
Met my travel blogger/journalist friend Barbara Woolsey (http://barbarawoolsey.com/), who lives in Berlin, but goes to Bangkok during the winter season, who showed me around the Turkish market.
Doner Kebab is Turkish street food made from lamb, sometimes with veal or beef, and cooked in an inverted cone fashion on a vertical rotisserie.
(Trivia: The Arabs call it Shawarma, while the Greeks refer to it as Gyros.)
The meat is vertically shaved and put on a pita flatbread…
…and then topped with cucumber, lettuce, and onions. Adding chili is also an option.
Here’s a great foodie tip I got from Barbara–the Doner Kebab is best paired with this Ayran milk drink.
The Ayran is a cold, diluted yogurt drink that is very salty. It’s an acquired taste, but it gets very addicting quickly once you pair it with the doner kebab.
Don’t miss the chance to have some Turkish Baklava for dessert while you’re in the area.
Love the combination of the thin, crisp phyllo dough with chopped pistachios and sweet honey.
They say it’s a popular Turkish dessert because of its aphrodisiac properties. 🙂
Thanks to Barbara for meeting me in Berlin. See you when you’re in Asia!
You can contact Barbara via her travel blog http://barbarawoolsey.com/ or her Facebook page.
HASIR TURKISH RESTAURANT
For the best Turkish restaurant in Berlin, go to Hasir, located along Adalbertstraße 10 in Kreuzberg.
Hasir started in 1984 as a small barbecue restaurant. It has now expanded to six locations in Berlin.
The restaurant specializes in charcoal grilled barbecue, based on a home-cooked family tradition.
HASIR MENU: Soup, Appetizer, Salad | Mezze | Kebab | Dessert | Grill Specialty | Drinks
We started with Kuver (€6), which is bread with sesame corn…
…served with a side dish of butter, salsa, parmesan, and cottage cheese.
The bread is best paired with a yummy mezze of…
Hummus (€5) – Chickpeas puree with sesame oil, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic;
Pastirmali Humus (€6) – Chickpeas puree with Turkish dried beef au gratin;
Abugannus (€5) – Chargrilled eggplant and tomatoes with fresh herbs, spices, and syrup with pomegranate; and…
Coban Salatast (€5) – Mixed salad of tomatos, cucumbers, onions, and green pepper dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
Camille (http://itscamilleco.com/) doing the Instagram top shot before we start our meal. 🙂
We all loved the grilled lamb, beef, and chicken (€11.50 per order), freshly chargrilled with yellow rice and salad.
Don’t forget to order your Efes Turkish Pilsner (0.33 l – €2.50, 0.4l – €3.50) to match with the Turkish kebab spices.
End with some Turkish Tea (€1.00/glass) to aid your digestion.
This is the best lunch I’ve had in Berlin–super yummy and affordable! 🙂
HASIR -Kreuzberg
Adalbertstraße 10, Kreuzberg, Berlin
Telephone: +49 (030) 614-2373
Website: http://www.hasir.de/
AWESOME BERLIN – The Best Kept Secret City of Europe Series:
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- BERLIN: Meeting SupperClub Founder at Hüttenpalast Caravan-Hotel in Hipster-District of Neukölln
- BERLIN: Hasir + Doner Kebab – The Best Turkish Food Outside of Turkey! @BarbaraWoolsey
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Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Disclosure: Our Berlin Trip was courtesy of the Foreign Ministry as part of the Blogger Visitors Program of the Federal Republic of Germany. I wrote this article with my own biases, opinions, and insights. Read Our Awesome Planet Complete Disclosure Policy here.
P.S. Don’t miss the Turkish food in Berlin! 🙂