There’s no question that Thai Park is one of the most beloved food events Berlin has to offer. Starting out in the 1990s as a disorganised and spontaneous meetup among the city’s East Asian communities, the event evolved into a sprawling feast every weekend in Preußenpark.
But now, Thai Park has a new location on Fridays at Jules B-Part in Gleisdreieck. Read on for the what, where and how of this new spot.
What is Thai Bridge
Thai Bridge is Thai Park’s new location for their food market on Fridays. It will take place at Jules B-Part under the train tracks in Gleisdreieck. Jules B-Part hosts lots of events, so it’s a strictly official affair, which somewhat belies the origins of Thai Park.
When will it run?
Thai Bridge will take place (weather dependent) from April to October, and the hours will be 4-10pm.
How is it different from Thai Park?
There’s way fewer vendors than at Thai Park – only around 10 as opposed to Thai Park’s 60 – but there will be alcohol available because the venue is licensed. Another difference with Thai Park is that there will be live music, with DJs announced each week, so you can have a boogie in the sun at the same time. That is, if you’re not too deep in a pad thai food coma to move at all.
Is this going to replace Thai Park?
No, Thai Bridge is not a replacement for Thai Park. Thai Park will still be taking place at its original location in Preußenpark on Fridays (11am – 8pm), Saturdays and Sundays (10am – 8pm). On Fridays, the vendors will be split between the two locations.
What does this mean for the future of Thai Park?
Why the change of location in the first place? The new CDU/Green majority in the district council of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf are trying to kick them out of their original spot in Preußenpark. For now, the market still takes place there on Saturday and Sundays, but there is a risk that their days in Preußenpark are numbered.
Thai Park began as an adhoc picnic. What started as a weekend meeting for Berlin’s Asian residents, who met to chat and cook dishes from home, turned into an unofficial market. It was a huge open-air kitchen with up to 100 small stands, and ran uninterrupted from the mid 1990s until 2019. It represents all that is best about Berlin – a place where people from all over the world can meet and share food and talk together in the sunshine, in a spirit of diverse cultural exchange.
Post-pandemic: 2020-now
Things changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Complaints about noise and rubbish were causing trouble for the market with the local district council. An official redesign drastically reduced the number of stalls. The many colourful umbrellas and impromptu stalls have been replaced with professional stands, all clustered in the north-west corner of the park in a specially prepared area. The food is still incredibly good, but the original spirit of Thai Park has somewhat fallen prey to the gentrification monster. What once felt like a big family picnic, now more closely resembles the plethora of other food festivals that happen all summer in Berlin.
Support Thai Park
Despite Thai Park’s organisers doing their best to comply with new regulations, the local council has still decided that it wants them out. This is why they are now holding one day out of three in Gleisdreieck at Jules B-Part under the name Thai Bridge. We don’t know yet whether the move will be permanent or not.
You can sign their online petition for the preservation of the market in Preußenpark here, but in the meantime, head to either location to support this Berlin culinary and cultural institution.
- Thai Bridge, Jules B-Part, Luckenwalder Str. 6b, Kreuzberg, Fri 16-22.
- Thai Park, Preußenpark, Wilmersdor, 10-20.
- Find out more on their website
