BARS: Mein Haus Am See

Brunnenstraße 197-198 | 10119 Mitte

U Rosenthalerplatz

www.mein-haus-am-see.com

Mon-Sun 12:00-12:00

Choosing to not boast the name of the building on any of the signage, Mein Haus Am See is the physical embodiment of playing it cool. Mentioning only that is a cafe and bar, you can take it as either try hard or modest when realising that it also serves as a live music and performance venue, as well as an occasional art exhibition space. One trademark is the stall seating at the back, where steel stairs have been littered with cushions forming a creative and stylish interior space. These are great for twos and threes to enjoy a Weiss beer (3.60€) rather than sharing any of the tables for eight that dominate the main floor. There's also a smoking room with a glass partition, but finding a seat inside is usually a rarity.

Wallpaper-stripped and paint-peeled walls create a backdrop for the art on show, and despite looking as if the art has been lifted straight from your tumblr dashboard, these emphasise Mein Haus Am See's agenda to integrate the arts into their bar and cafe. Although, seeing as the hipster clientele have manipulated every visible logo to look like genitalia, perhaps the crowd it attracts are not as appreciative of art as the maybe first seem. 

BAR: B-Flat Jazz Bar

Rosenthaler Str 13 Mitte 10119

U Rosenthalerplatz

Mon-Sun 9.00-2.00

www.b-flat-berlin.de

If you're going to visit a jazz club in Berlin, make sure it's B-flat. This venue's intimate layout means that if you're sitting front row, your chair leg will be touching the stage, which is raised and can be easily viewed from anywhere you're seated in the club. Designed with acoustics in mind, the club has it's own grand piano and drum kit ready for those who perform at one of the many jam sessions they host. The yellow walls and huge windows looking onto Rosenthalerstr. at night provide the perfect urban backdrop for the afro-beats, cool jazz and other world styles that are experimented with. 

Cover charge for a table ranges between a relatively steep ten and twenty-five euros. On Wednesdays, however, the jam session is free making it the most popular night of the week. At only 2.20€ for a beer with a 0.30€ surcharge for the musicians, this is a very cheap night and excellent value considering the quality of the entertainment and warm and inviting atmosphere. There's no cooler way to spend a mid-week evening than drinking cheap beers and pretending you know enough about jazz to appreciate what's going on.