Fahimi Bar

The brutalist (and, for Berliners, somewhat iconic) shopping and housing complex that dominates the north side of Kottbusser Tor might not be the first place you’d expect to find a low-key lounge bar. The entrance is an unmarked door covered with stickers and graffiti that looks as though it should lead to a housing project; and the harshly-lit concrete staircase does little to ease the feeling that you are, in fact, venturing somewhere you shouldn’t. But up the stairs and through the door on the first floor is an elegant room with a well-stocked bar—featuring a reasonable selection of cocktails and highballs in addition to beer—and a relaxed atmosphere worlds away from the chaos of the street below. In addition to basic drinking and socializing, Fahimi Bar also has pub quizzes, piano evenings and the occasional reading.