Fish restaurants and shops | Five Recommendations

(1) Fischschuppen

Although “Schuppen” means shack in German, this seafood eatery is anything but. It's more a combination of fish store and restaurant that boasts wooden walls, a huge aquarium and a hand-drawn nautical map that someone posted to the ceiling. The food itself is ambitious – the fresh tuna carpaccio, for example, is served with a refined lemon vinaigrette. At this Friedrichshain restaurant, seasoning is kept to a minimum to accentuate the different types of fish's individual tastes. All fish comes from certified sustainable fisheries. Merely the fried appetizers, like prawns in a homemade batter, might bear some fast food characteristics, but paired with the housemade aioli, they manage to surpass “shack” standards by far.

Boxhagener Str. 68, Friedrichshain, Tel. 0177-327 88 47,  www.facebook.com/pages/Fischschuppen/175021029250562; S-Bhf. Ostkreuz; Mon-Sat 10am-10.30pm, Sun 12pm-9.30pm; Food 4,20 bis 14,80 €, Softdrinks start at 1,10 €, beers (0,3 l) start at 1,80 €, wine (0,1 l) from 1,40 €, bottled wine (0,75 l) from 10,70 €

 

(2) Frischeparadies

“Paradise of Freshness” - The Charlottenburg eatery does its best to live up to its name. “None of our fish stay in the sales counter for more than 48 hours” says Thomas Warmer, who manages both Berlin stores. The fresh fish are distributed to a fixed number of private customers, restaurants and retailers, and the Charlottenburg store has an adjoining bistro, where head chef Regis Louviot, who was a sous chef for Christian Lohse for 15 years, and recently worked behind the stove at Fischers Fritz, is in charge of a daily alternating seafood menu.

Morsestr. 2, Charlottenburg, Tel. +49 30 390 81 50, www.frischeparadies.de; S-Bhf. Storkower Straße, Bus 101, 245, Tram 21; Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 8am-6pm, food served 11am-3.30pm; food from 10 to 20 €, soft drinks from 1,90 €, beer (0,3 l) from 2,80 €,  wine (0,2 l) from 3 €, bottled wine (0,75 l) from 4,99 € (+ 10 € corkage)

 

(3) Der Fischladen

Fish & Chips has been England's inofficial national dish since 1860. Michael Forcher has brought this island delicacy to continental Europe, namely smack in the middle of Prenzlauer Berg, where he serves Fish & Chips from his fish store on Schönhauser Allee. Fresh hake filet is fried in a batter clams.

Schönhauser Allee 128, Prenzlauer Berg, Tel. +49 30 40 00 56 12, www.derfischladen.com; U+S-Bhf. Schönhauser Allee, U-Bhf. Eberswalder Straße, Tram M1, M10, 12; Mon-Sat 10am-9pm; food 4,90 to 14,60 €, soft drinks from 2 €, beer (0,3 l) from 2,20 €, wine (0,2 l) from 2,90 €, bottled wine (0,75 l) from 12 €

 

(4) Berliner-Fischmarkt

“Everyone's always talking about regional produce, but we were the ones that started it!” claims Michael Moritz Fleck. For one thing, Fleck has been working with a local fishing cooperative for years. And if that isn't enough of a quality attribute, the fact that the KaDeWe is one of his regular customers and the “Feinschmecker” gourmet restaurant listed him as one of their top three in 2010 should convince any skeptic. “But that doesn't make us super fancy or exclusive” insists Fleck. That is why, instead of a highbrow restaurant, you'll find just a no-frills fish frying station at the Fischmarkt – it's located right next to a house-owned smokehouse and matjes herring production site.

Rothenbachstraße 48-50, Pankow, Tel. +49 30 47 03 58 48, www.berliner-fischmarkt.de; Bus X54, 155; Mon-Fri 8am-7pm, Sat 8am-2pm

 

(5) Balikci Ergun

A traditional fish restaurant and shop inside the S-bahn arches on Lüneburger Straße near Hauptbahnhof. Ergun Cetinbas runs the restaurant in Berlin, his brother catches the fish in Isanbul. Grilled gilthead seabrem, bluefish and tuna are Balikci classics, as are the roasted anchovies. Live music and the occasional belly dancing performance on weekends.

Lüneburger Straße/S-Bahn-Bogen 382, Tiergarten, Tel. +49 30 397 57 37; U+S-Bhf. Hauptbahnhof, S-Bhf. Bellevue, Bus 187; Mon 4pm-12am, Tue-Sun 3pm-12am