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Full of young families and established artists and creative types, Schöneberg isn’t looking to show off; the restaurants here tend to be reliable, low-key affairs.
The lines here are often long, but they move fast and the combination of seasoned, salty meat with crunchy salad and warm bread is unbeatable. Most people come here for a quick döner kebab, line up outside on the sidewalk, and order from the window; there's also a good choice of other Turkish specialties.
Venture to Schöenberg's far southern reaches to find one of the most talked-about pizza-focused Italian joints in Berlin (there's a second location in Prenzlauer Berg), which serves up Neapolitan-style pizza along with tempting appetizers such as eggplant in tomato sauce with Parmesan and arancini (stuffed rice balls). There's a lovely outdoor terrace that attracts a young, lively crowd when the weather's nice.
Black-and-white photographs by the German landscape photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch, the restaurant's namesake, decorate the dark-wood-paneled dining room at this beloved local gathering place that focuses on top-notch ingredients, respecting the classics while also reinventing them. The menu changes daily but might feature blood sausage with lentils or perhaps venison with choucroute, along with lighter bites like a selection of Flammkuchen (Alsatian flatbread tarts) that are perfect for sharing.
On a small winding street in an area between Kreuzberg and Schöneberg known as Rote Insel (Red Island) because of its location between two S-bahn tracks and its socialist, working-class history, this neighborhood institution was an early advocate of the slow-food movement. The current owners continue to focus on high-quality ingredients in their tasty selection of pizzas, salads, and pastas.
