Würgeengel

Tucked away behind the chaos of Kottbusser Tor is Würgeengel, suitably named after a Luis Buñuel film in which aristocrats find themselves stuck at a lavish dinner party. With its mirrored bar, beaded chandeliers, velvet seating, and suited barmen shaking classic cocktails to the soundtrack of light jazz, you might think you’ve time-traveled back to 1920s Berlin. 

Come alone on a weeknight for a pre-movie martini at the long bar before tottering seconds down Dresdener Straße to Babylon Kreuzberg, one of the best arthouse cinemas in the city. If the olives aren’t quite cutting it, order a plate of puttanesca that’ll be brought to your table from next-door Gorgonzola Club. Just don’t turn up with a big group on a Friday or Saturday night (you won’t get in), and don't show up on a Sunday, either. Würgeengel is annoyingly and nonsensically closed then, which proves just how Berlin it is.