Eating in Berlin for €10 (In One Day)
Hello, and welcome to something a little different today on the blog.
A food challenge! I challenged myself to a whole day of eating in Berlin on a budget of just €10.
I’ve been wanting to do a challenge like this for years and was first inspired by Damon and Jo’s 20 vs 20 series, where they would take €20 and visit two different cities and see which city offered cooler stuff on a budget.
Going into this I had a few goals:
Have three meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Have some kind of caffeine source: espresso, tea — whatever it is, I’ll have it!
Get in some fruit somewhere. Veggies are easy, plenty of street food like wraps come topped with lettuce, onion, and tomato. Fruit, on the other hand, is not thrown around as much, and I love having fruit every day.
No food or drinks from grocery stores (farmer’s markets are fine) or home. Water gets a pass.
Now Berlin has certainly gotten more pricey in the last few months, but is this still a city that can be experienced in a budget-friendly way for locals and tourists?
Let’s get into it!
Morning
When writing out a plan to properly tackle my food budget, Libanon Falafel, was one of the first places I thought of. This little food stall, located on the corner of Hermannstraße and Flughafenstraße is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and offers up one of the best food deals I’ve found in Berlin. For €2 you can try their falafel, shawarma, or kafta wrap, which includes fresh vegetables, pickled vegetables, multiple sauces, and your choice of main filling.
I ended up ordering their falafel wrap as my first meal of the day, and really liked it. The wrap made for an excellent breakfast, and I’m always impressed by how consistently good their wraps are, regardless of the time of day I visit. The pickled vegetables are really just such a nice touch! Their wraps are on the smaller side so it’s a bit of a lighter meal, but a solid deal in any case.
Remaining Budget: €8.00
Next, I was in search of my second goal of the day: a little caffeine boost. I knew that I’d seen €1.20, sometimes even €1 espressos in Berlin before, but I couldn’t remember where, and I figured those prices might have since gone up a bit anyway.
Since I was in the Kreuzkölln area I found it only logical that I try out a neighborhood Turkish bistro in search of some affordable Turkish black tea. The Berlin neighborhoods of Kreuzberg and Neukölln (along with Wedding), are home to the biggest population of Turkish people outside of Turkey so I had my pick of solid Turkish spots.
I decided to try out Şengüloğlu Antep Baklava, which is only about a ten minute walk from Libanon. Upon entering I was immediately tempted by their many delicious looking pastries and breads, but unfortunately, there was no room for them in the budget this visit. I ended up settling on a small glass of Turkish Tea which I acquired for just €1.
The tea totally hit the spot and I enjoyed my mug at a table outdoors while overlooking the hustle and bustle of Kottbusser Damm, through the curtain of scaffolding hanging from the apartment construction above.
Remaining Budget: €7.00
From here I began to walk north towards Kottbusser Tor to make my final stop of the morning: the bi-weekly Turkish Market that takes place every Tuesday and Friday along the Maybachufer. I was hoping to find some fruit and lucked out by running into a stall selling ripe and juicy figs for just 20 cents! After a delightful breakfast that added up to €3.20, I went home to get some work done before lunchtime in a few hours.
Remaining Budget: €6.80
Midday
For lunch, I decided to head over to Wurstpate, a snack bar that specializes in all things wurst. They sell several kinds of meaty items including kettwurst, currywurst, and hot dogs, and additionally offer plant-based sausages for a slight surcharge. The food here might not blow you away, but I will say that their currywurst is one of my favorites in town, and their sign proudly reads that they use an old Berliner recipe to make their currywurst and homemade curry ketchup sauce.
Although I normally order currywurst and fries, that would set me back €4.40, leaving me with just €2.40 for dinner. Which, unless I wanted to go back to Libanon for dinner, probably wouldn’t work. I decided to try one of their hot dogs and decided on their Danish Dog which ended up being a slim hot dog topped with mustard, ketchup, crispy roasted onions, and pickle. Pretty good for €2.50!
Remaining Budget: €4.30
Evening
By dinnertime, I was hungry and ready for a larger meal. Luckily, I knew just the place. I took the train over to Schöneberg and headed into Fadi Food. At Fadi’s, you can find all sorts of tasty Middle Eastern food including hummus plates, wraps, and manakish. Manakish is what I had my eye on today. If you haven’t tried it, it’s sort of like pizza, except it was invented even earlier in Lebanon. It’s popular in Levantine, and is essentially flatbread topped with seasonings like za’atar or thyme, sauce, cheese, and/or meat. Delicious!
With €4.30 worth of coins left in my purse, I decided to try their olive and cheese (#45) and muhammara (#54) manakish. They cost €2 and €1.50, respectively. The muhammara was especially intriguing to me because I’d never tried it or even really heard of it before. After ordering I did a quick Google search and found that muhammara is a Syrian dip made of walnuts, red bell peppers, pomegranate molasses, and breadcrumbs.
They ended up being an excellent dinner choice! Both were very flavorful and filling, and the muhammara was my favorite for its more unique taste. They also mistakenly put cheese on my second flatbread, and although they offered to remake it, I had no problem with the addition. (50 cents worth of free cheese woo hoo!) The vibe of the eatery itself was also super lively, with many makeshift tables being built around us as people flooded in to fuel up before their Friday night festivities.
Remaining Budget: €0.80
Although my meals for the day were over at this point, I was determined to make good use of my remaining 80 cents.
I carried my leftover coins in my palm and made my way to the nearest späti, Spätkauf Spätywood, nearly positive that I could find a cheap beer to conclude the night.
Alas, the most cost-friendly beer I found at this particular late-night shop was just over €1, and simply out of budget. Just when I was losing hope, I stumbled upon the kid’s section of the späti, and found familiar bags of Capri-Sun for just 70 cents each! I decided on the ‘fairy drink’ flavor and had no regrets. It honestly probably tasted a lot better than whatever their cheapest beer was.
Remaining Budget: €0.10
At this point, with just a single small coin left, I felt thoroughly satisfied with the day and headed home. Success!
Final Thoughts
Going out to eat in Berlin is fairly affordable for a European capital, and although you will, of course, have to spend a little extra to get a more diverse picture of what the city’s food scene has to offer, I think both locals and visitors can find many suitable budget eats in Berlin.
Berlin really can be enjoyed on a budget, however prices have also noticeably increased. Libanon’s wrap previously cost €1.50 a year or so ago (and it was even less not long before that point), and Fadi Food had several obviously repriced items that were made clear by the tape and newly handwritten prices.
Even so, I can honestly understand minor price increases and appreciate these eateries for still serving overall affordable and tasty food, even when I’m sure their expenses have also recently increased. I recommend all of the places mentioned in this post, so please support them and other local businesses when you can. ♥️
Until next time!