Photo by mompl

State communism may have gone its way in East Berlin, but the workers of the world can still get fed at the Schwarze Pumpe (Black Pump) in Mitte.

The décor, featuring exposed pipes and wooden tables, is stylishly retro-factory canteen. The food is fresh, simple and cheap; the menu features daily specials such as goulash with salad and potatoes for €7—or a delicious cheese spätzle and salad for €6. Stop in anytime from breakfast to dinner and commune with the common man.

Schwarze Pumpe is located at Choriner Strasse 76. Telephone: +49 30 449 69 39.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Photo by chris_wass

White Trash Fast Food, the notoriously attitude-heavy restaurant/bar/club in Berlin’s Mitte, gets itself all gussied up on Sunday nights for Coconut Grove, a nostalgic nod to the heyday of swing.

While you can still order White Trash favorites such as the Killer Elvis Burger, and the joint’s schizophrenic décor is as much rock n’ roll Chinatown brothel as ever, starched white cloths adorn the tables and the wait staff dress up in period garb to match the mood.

Add candlelight and live swing by Andrej Hermlin & The Swing Dance Orchestra and you’ve got a memorable Sunday night out, all for a mere €3. The band usually starts sometime after 9 p.m. It’s recommended to make reservations or show up earlier to get a good spot. White Trash Fast Food is located at Schönhauser Allee 6/7. Telephone: +49 30 5034 8668.

Popularity: 11% [?]

photograph courtesy of plumilla

In Berlin’s hip Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, sometimes it seems a sight easier to pick up cheap Asian food than to actually find a traditional German restaurant. But when the result is great sushi for half the price, who are we to complain?

Tabeyo Sushi-Bar, close to café- and bar-lined Lychenerstrasse and the Kulturbrauerei entertainment complex, offers 50 percent off sushi all the time, and what that means to raw-fish lovers is basic sushi rolls (6 pieces) for less than €2, inside-out and special rolls for less than €6 and nigiri for a measly €1. You might well ask if there is something fishy going on here, but the quality at Tabeyo is anything but cut-rate, with dishes expertly prepared using the freshest ingredients.

We started with pots of warming green tea and delicious miso soup, thick with green onions, seaweed and silky-smooth chunks of tofu, before moving on to the main event of spicy tuna and salmon rolls. We washed it all down with cold Sapporos and were delighted when the bill came to just over €10 per person.

The ambiance comes for free. The small restaurant was recently renovated, and the low-lit, black-and-red interior offers a warm, quiet retreat; even the random fake palm trees and a giant plastic fish on the wall don’t disrupt the mood.

Tabeyo is located at Danziger Strasse 14 and stays open until midnight every night.

Popularity: 5% [?]