Kosher Guide to Berlin

Germany is in the Schengen Area. Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Israel can visit without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period with a valid passport. Since 12 October 2025 the EU Entry/Exit System registers non-EU visitors' fingerprints and a facial photo at their first Schengen border crossing; the ETIAS travel authorisation is not yet in operation.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is linked to the city by the FEX Airport Express train to Berlin Hauptbahnhof and by S-Bahn lines S9 and S45. An ABC ticket (€5.00) covers the trip; taxis and Uber, Bolt and FREENOW rides are available outside the terminal.

No. The U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses reach all of the city's Orthodox shuls and kosher shops, and central Berlin inside the S-Bahn ring is a low-emission zone where cars need a green emissions sticker and parking is scarce.

No. There is no eruv in Berlin, so carrying on Shabbos outside a private domain is not permitted.

In Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf: the Central Orthodox Synagogue on Joachimsthaler Straße (Ashkenazi, no registration needed), the Chabad Central Synagogue on Münstersche Straße, and the Sephardic Tiferet Israel synagogue on Passauer Straße. In Mitte: the Adass Jisroel synagogue on Tucholskystraße, Kahal Adass Jisroel on Brunnenstraße (register by email 48 hours ahead) and Chabad Berlin-Alexanderplatz.

Stay within walking distance of your shul, because there is no eruv and the western and eastern Orthodox clusters are far apart. Expect security checks and bring photo ID to services. Chabad Berlin and Chabad Berlin-Alexanderplatz host Shabbos meals by advance registration, and the Joachimsthaler Straße synagogue holds a Kiddush and dinner after the Friday evening service.

Kosher meat restaurants include Bobbe Speisesalon in Schöneberg (regular service on Sunday evenings), L'chaim at Chabad Berlin and the King David Garden restaurant in Wilmersdorf. Hummus & Friends in Mitte is kosher parve, and Balaboosta, Kosher Good Morning and Adass Jisroel's Beth Café are kosher dairy cafés.

Kosher groceries include Lampari and Kosher Daily Markt (Kosher4all) in Charlottenburg and KosherLife in Mitte. Kosher-certified baked goods are sold at Patisserie Avnon, Die Backstube, the Süßfein cafés and the Brammibal's Donuts branches. The Orthodox Rabbinical Conference of Germany publishes a list of kosher products sold in ordinary German supermarkets. The Hofpfisterei organic bakery branches sell a set of breads and rolls certified kosher, Pas Yisroel, by Rabbi Elias Dray; only those breads are kosher, not the rest of the shop.

Berlin has no fully kosher hotel; King David Garden on Münstersche Straße is a kosher apartment hotel two minutes from Chabad Berlin. Most observant visitors stay in a hotel within walking distance of either the Kurfürstendamm and Wilmersdorf area or Mitte, and use the kosher restaurants and Shabbos meals nearby.

Yes. Chabad Berlin has a women's mikvah on Münstersche Straße, by appointment. The Joachimsthaler Straße synagogue has a men's mikvah open Sunday to Friday around Shacharis and a women's mikvah by appointment, and there is a women's mikvah at the Kahal Adass Jisroel building on Brunnenstraße.

The kosher restaurants and the kosher groceries close for Shabbos. Some certified places stay open on Saturday, including Hummus & Friends, Patisserie Avnon, Die Backstube, three of the Süßfein cafés the Brammibal's Donuts branches and the Hofpfisterei branches (certified breads only), and they are marked as open on Shabbos in their listings.

Most shops in Germany close on Sundays, including the kosher groceries. Bobbe Speisesalon serves dinner on Sunday evenings, L'chaim is open Sunday evening, and Balaboosta and Kosher Good Morning have Sunday hours.

Buy a ticket before boarding at a station machine or in the BVG apps, or from the driver on buses. A single AB ticket costs €4.00 and is valid for 120 minutes in one direction; the airport needs an ABC ticket (€5.00).

Germany uses the euro (EUR). Sockets are Type C and Type F at 230V, so visitors from North America need a plug adapter and, for devices that are not dual-voltage, a converter. The country calling code is +49.