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Grillplätze

Up in your grill: The best BBQ spots in Berlin

From Charlottenburg to Lichtenberg, we list some great grilling spots all over the city for the coming summer months.

Grillplätze can be hard to come by in the summer months. Make like a towel-wielding German approaching a Mallorca sun lounger and get in there early. Photo: Imago/Seeliger

You smell it before you see it. That’s right, we are entering Berlin barbecue season.

Being a non-native German in Berlin feels all the more obvious when faced with the concept of angrillen. This very specific verb refers to the first barbecue of the year, which is arguably more a state of mind for most Germans. It heralds the beginning of summer, although some Berliners get a little too excited and the first one will take place on a deceivingly cold day in late April.

Here are some of the best spots for grilling in Berlin for the warmer months. 

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Goslarer Ufer

You can set up your barbecue with a view next to the canal at Goslarer Ufer in Charlottenburg. Photo: Imago/Jürgen Ritter

Between the old Charlottenburg gasworks and the Verbindungskanal is a spot where you can grill on Goslarer Ufer. The barbecue areas in Charlottenburg are among the last hidden nooks in the middle of the city. Although you might have to share the space with some screeching children, at least it doesn’t get too crowded here. 

  • Goslarer Ufer, Charlottenburg.

Landschaftspark Johannisthal

Landschaftspark Johannistal is one of Berlin’s most peaceful parks to barbecue in. Photo: Imago/Wirestock

The Johannisthal Landscape Park in Treptow is another insider spot for barbecuing in Berlin. What used to be Germany’s first airfield is now a pleasantly secluded place to set up camp and cook up a storm. The park is divided into zones: there’s a nature reserve of around 26 hectares in the middle, which is surrounded by a two-kilometre-long promenade path. You certainly won’t be rubbing shoulders with fellow barbecuers in this park. 

  • Landschaftspark Johannistal, Treptow, entrance on Hermann-Dorner-Allee, Walter-Huth-Str.

Mauerpark

Being one of the more popular places to grill in Berlin, Mauerpark has a surprising amount of barbecuing rules. Photo: Imago/Seeliger

Mauerpark: Berlin’s outdoor living room. Slap bang between Brunnenviertel and Prenzlauer Berg, it is always busy, even during the week. And when the weather is nice, it smells temptingly of grilled meat; particularly good meat too with Berlin’s best butchers just around the corner. However, this park comes with more rules than the entrance to the Auslanderbehörde.

Barbecuing is not allowed in the new part of the park, nor on the slope or Falkplatz, but only on the large meadow, opposite the amphitheatre. You can grill all year round between 12pm and 8pm and until 9pm in the summer months (June to August).

  • Mauerpark Eberswalder, Prenzlauer Berg, details.

Rudolf-Mosse-Platz

Be careful because you might miss it: this small Wilmersdorf green space is somewhere where you can barbecue. Photo: Imago/Müller

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This Platz in Wilmersdorf is only a small playground and a football field but is big enough to fit in some Grillplätze. There is a designated barbecue area, but because of repeated vandalism, the built-in barbecues are no longer repaired by the Bezirkamt. So you have to bring your own. The park has some lovely lawn space, so after eating too many Würste, you can take a pleasant nap. 

  • Grillplatz Rudolf-Mosse-Platz, Mecklenburgische Str., Wilmersdorf.

Schlesischer Busch 

Schlesischer Busch is the perfect park to grill with friends before heading off to Kreuzberg’s bars and clubs. Photo: Imago/Hoch Zwei Stock/Angerer

Schlesischer Busch flanks the nightlife mile between Schlesisches Tor and Elsenbrücke. In case you fancy something different to Arena, Freischwimmer or Club der Visionäre in the area, you can set up your barbecue in this green space. Only in the designated areas though.

Things can get a little crowded when the weather is nice but if you’re looking for something to do post-barbecue then Kreuzberg’s bars and clubs are only a short walk away. 

  • Schlesischer Busch, Treptow.

Volkspark Friedrichshain

You may have to book an appointment to grill in Volkspark Friedrichshain but it’s well worth the admin! Photo: Imago/Werner Schulze

Berlin’s oldest park, Volkspark Friedrichshain does allow barbecuing, but in typical German style, only if you book an appointment. Together with the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Park Department, this initiative was developed to allow barbecues in the park and protect green spaces at the same time. You can get a deposit stamp for 20 euros and your show identity card at Café Neuer Hain (at the entrance to Danziger Straße), which gives you permission to set up your barbecue at one of the 30 sites.

For those of you that like to improvise, both disposable barbecues or digging your own are prohibited.

  • Volkspark Friedrichshain, Friedrichshain, details.

Tempelhofer Feld 

The huge Templehofer Feld has not one, but three barbecue areas. Photo: Imago/Jürgen Held

Tempelhofer Feld, one of the old West Berlin airports, is now the biggest open space in the city. The 300-hectare field is the epitome of freedom for city dwellers, so it is fitting that there are also three official barbecue areas here too. They are all at the various entrances to the park: Oderstraße, Columbiadamm and Tempelhofer Damm.

Ground barbecues are prohibited, and barbecues can only be made with coal, not gas. 

  • Tempelhofer Feld Eingänge: Tempelhofer Damm, Oderstr., Columbiadamm, Tempelhof/Neukölln.

Landmarke 

You can make a day of it at Landmarke in Lichtenberg, a park especially good for families. Photo: Imago/agefotostock/easyFotostock Alexander Matvienko 

Landmarke is admittedly at the very edge of Berlin, at Hagenower Ring in the Lichtenberg district of Neu-Hohenschönhausen. The barbecue area definitely benefits from the extra space, amidst fruit trees and extensive green spaces. It’s a great place for a little weekend trip, especially for families, as there is an adventure playground right next to the barbecue area.

  • Landmarke, Lichtenberg.

Görlitzer Park 

Good vibes and music come free when you barbecue in Görli. Photo: Imago/Rolf Kremming

Görlitzer Park’s got a reputation for many things, but it’s also a place where you can barbecue. There are two designated areas, one on Cuvrystraße and the other on the corner of Sorauer Straße. Unfortunately, barbecuers at Görli do not tend to take cleanliness very seriously. Those who set up here and later dismantle their barbecue should set a good example.

  • Görlitzer Park, Kreuzberg.

Monbijoupark 

Mitte isn’t completely lost – there are still barbecue spots in existence. Photo: Foto: Imago/Pemax

Every year we are amazed (and delighted) to find that barbecues are still allowed in the middle of Mitte. However, like almost everywhere else, barbecuing is only allowed in a separate small signposted area. Monbijoupark offers a great view of Museum Island and you can catch some beautiful sunsets. But take note, barbecuing may be prohibited during prolonged dry spells. 

  • Monbijoupark, Mitte.

Blücherplatz

Görli or Blücherplatz? They’re only 10 minutes away from each other, so you could do both! Photo: Imago/Sven Lambert

Set up your barbecue on Blücherplatz in the heart of Kreuzberg. On the lawn between Waterlooufer and Zossener Straße, you’ll have a beautiful view of the water. If you can’t find a free spot here on a hot day, rest assured – the barbecue area in Görlitzer Park is only about ten minutes away by bike. 

  • Blücherplatz, Kreuzberg.

Thaipark 

You can both grill and enjoy some delicious Thai food in Preußenpark, otherwise known as Thaipark. Photo: Imago/Stefan Zeitz

Most people probably know Preußenpark in Wilmersdorf as Thai Park. It’s one of the oldest parks in Berlin and also the largest Thai street food market in Germany. In the mid 90’s many Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino and other Asian families moved to Germany. Preußenpark became a place where these communities would come together and cook, eventually transforming into today’s market.

Barbecuing is also allowed in the park, although it might seem a little silly with so much delicious food already on offer. 

  • Preußenpark, Wilmersdorf.