Stephanie King profiles some of Wedding’s best bars and pubs…

Since the fall of the wall, several of Berlin’s inner-city neighbourhoods have been labelled with varying degrees of ‘hotness’. Eastern neighbourhoods like Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg had their day early on, with Neukölln stealing some of Kreuzberg‘s thunder somewhat in recent times.

One district that has seems to have remained on the periphery of popularity forever, without quite making it into the mainstream, is Wedding. The phrase Der Wedding kommt (‘Wedding is coming’) is for a lot of people, particularly locals, a long-running gag—yet others are adamant that Wedding is destined to become the new Neukölln.

In reality, the district has been gentrifying, but gently and only in certain pockets (as opposed to the seemingly ‘wholesale’ takeover of Neukölln in the last five years). One great way of exploring the diverse community is through its pubs and bars, which run the gamut from whisky-filled Kneipes to artist-run back rooms.

In typical Wedding style, most are situated in the middle of a back street and unless you hear of them by word of mouth (or online blogs), you wouldn’t come across them. They’re spread out too, and its this relative sparsity that helps lend them such a comfortable feeling not only for the growing expat community, but also for Weddingers—and the occasional adventurous soul that decides to venture here or is just plain lost..

Offside

Around since 2000, this pub ticks all the boxes: darts, Guinness and whisky—720 bottles of the stuff, in fact, which reach the ceiling of the back wall and fill most other nooks and crannies. Although the selection is international, their main focus is Scottish whisky and the venue hosts beginner and advanced tasting sessions that explain the art of drinking whisky and the different distilleries of Scotland.

They also support local breweries by stocking bottles and tap beers, whisky and cherry brandy from Eschenbräu (see below) and liquor from Preussische Spirituosen Manufaktur – all of which are located in Wedding. At the other end of the scale they have a great selection of international craft beer including IPAs, porters, ales, and interesting ciders, including one that spends …