Berlin
Polished, precise, civilised. Berlin's best hotel-bar drinking — picked for craft, not concierge buzz.
Mitte · $$$$
The Pearl draws a steady local crowd in Mitte. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Charlottenburg · $$$
A-Trane draws a steady local crowd in Charlottenburg. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$
Amano Bar is the rooftop of Hotel Amano in Mitte. The view is good rather than spectacular — the central Berlin skyline including the TV Tower — and the cocktai
Mitte · $$$
B-Flat Acoustic Music & Jazz draws a steady local crowd in Mitte. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$$
Bar am Steinplatz is the cocktail bar of the heritage Hotel am Steinplatz in Charlottenburg. The room is preserved 1920s Berlin — leather banquettes, dim warm l
Mitte · $$$
Tausend Cantina draws a steady local crowd in Mitte. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Charlottenburg · $$$
Bar Zentral draws a steady local crowd in Charlottenburg. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Mitte · $$$$
Tausend Bar draws a steady local crowd in Mitte. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$
Becketts Kopf — meaning 'Beckett's Head' — is named for Samuel Beckett, with a sculpted bronze head of the writer mounted above the bar. The room is dim, intent
Mitte · $$$$
Borchardt Bar draws a steady local crowd in Mitte. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Hotel bars solve specific problems. You need a bar near your room. You need somewhere quiet to take a meeting. You want the drink right the first time and you don't want to negotiate a wait. Every recommendation below clears those three bars. Most are open to non-guests; we've flagged any that aren't.
Best for: business travellers, late-checkout drinks, hotel-room negotiations made civilised, anniversaries that deserve a hotel jacket. Pricing skews higher than the city average — that's the trade. The rooms below justify it.
Civilised, polished, not pretending to be a club. Pick by neighbourhood and proximity to where you're sleeping.
Looking beyond Berlin? See our guide to the best hotel bars worldwide, or compare hotel bars city by city.