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Why are German restaurants so expensive?
Seeing this makes me question where does these prices come from, as I highly doubt that rustic products like pork meat, potatoes to boil or Thuringer Bratwurste cost much to purchase, also assuming (maybe wrongly, happy to be corrected) that traditional German dishes don't require a high level of cooking technique which would justify such prices.
Is it because of taxes? Inflation? Or this has just always been like this? With all due respect to the German cuisine, I really don't get why a big filling plate of potatoes and wurste would cost 22 euros, which is more expensive than a regular meal in a Parisian bistro where everything is homemade (sauces and sides included + free water), and the service/atmosphere usually MUCH better and friendlier, not to mention the differences in cost of living for both cities which would explain such a price in Paris or Wien.. but not really in Berlin if we're honest.
yeah the vat thing hit hard but honestly the bigger issue is that most of these places are paying rent like they're a trendy cocktail bar. a spot on torstrasse or near hackescher markt is paying 3-4x what they would've 8 years ago, and they're not gonna eat that cost themselves. the food itself is cheap, the space isnt
also worth noting that a lot of these "traditional" places are actually run by people who bought into the concept as a business, not families who've been doing it for generations. so you're paying for the decor and the "experience" of eating in a fake rustic setting, not for grandma's recipe. the real deal is usually in the backstreets of wedding or neukolln where the rent is still reasonable and the owner actually cooks
if you want a proper meal under 15 euro, try max und moritz in kreuzberg or schleusenkrug in wedding. both are old school, no frills, and the portions are massive. the schnitzel at max und moritz is like 14.50 and comes with real kartoffelsalat, not that watery rewarmed stuff
tbh i think part of it is just that berlin has this weird thing where "traditional" food got rebranded as a premium experience. like you can go to a döner spot and get a huge meal for 8 euro but put a schnitzel on a wooden board and suddenly it's 22. the whole "rustic" aesthetic is a markup, not a discount
also keep in mind that a lot of these places use frozen or pre-prepared stuff anyway. i've worked in a few kitchens and the "homemade" thing is often just heating up a box from the cash & carry. so you're paying for the plate presentation and the waiter's rent, not the cooking
if you want something that actually tastes like someone cared, try Marjellchen in Charlottenburg. it's a bit out of the way but they do proper old-school german food, the owner is a bit eccentric but the portions are huge and the prices are fair. their roast pork is like 16 euro and comes with actual homemade gravy, not that instant powder stuff
i think the comparison to paris is actually the most telling part. in paris even the touristy bistros have a baseline quality because there's a whole culture around food being taken seriously, whereas in berlin a lot of these gaststatten are basically just serving what amounts to cafeteria food with a higher price tag because they can get away with it. the real issue is that berlin doesn't have the same food culture pressure, so the market doesn't punish mediocrity the same way
if you want to see what a proper gaststatte looks like when it's not just trading on nostalgia, go to loretta am see in wannsee. it's a bit of a trip but their käsespätzle is like 12 euro and they make it fresh, not from a bag. the atmosphere is actually nice too because it's by the lake, not some fake rustic basement with bad lighting
also worth mentioning that a lot of the cheap places people recommend are cash only, so check before you go. i learned that the hard way at max und moritz
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What is the correct spelling for a street name that appears differently on multiple signs in Charlottenburg?
Worth noting that Berlin street names have official umlaut and ß rules that trip people up, so a sign showing "Strasse" versus "Straße" is not actually a spelling error, just an older transcription. Same with "ue" versus "ü" (e.g. "Kantstrasse" vs "Kantstraße"), both are considered valid renderings and you'll see the ß version on the blue Schilder and the ss version on older plaques or in databases that predate Unicode. If the difference you're seeing is between those two forms, there's nothing to fix and both are technically correct.
if the signs u mean are the old enamel ones on the house facades those are often protected as Baudenkmal so nobody's allowed to correct them even if the spelling is outdated. the binding version is whatever is in the Berliner Strassenverzeichnis plus the entry in the Liegenschaftskataster, so if u tell me the street i can point u to the right Bezirksamt Mitte or Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf page. tbh the merged district thing is real but the facade signs are a separate story, theyre basically museum pieces at this point
honestly thats super common in Charlottenburg, the district offices were merged from older Bezirke and nobody ever fixed all the Schilder. if its a real street you can check the official strassenverzeichnis on berlin.de, that list is what the Burgeramt actually goes by. which street is it? some of the Kaiserdamm / Kantstrasse signs are notorious for this.