Berlin
Head to a butcher's for Berlin's best budget meals
For our many German readers, the fact that almost every butcher's shop provides cheap, hearty snacks hardly counts as a tip at all: it's simply a local custom.
But for Berlin's tourists - particularly visiting carnivores - this source of tasty, traditional food will no doubt come as something of a revelation.
The offer varies from store to store, but most Fleischerei serve Berlin favourites such as piping hot Bouletten (rissoles), Leberkäse (a kind of meatloaf) and grilled sausages, along with soups and simple side-dishes like potato salad.
Perch at a counter to guzzle down your purchases, or haul them away for consumption elsewhere.
Some stores, however, are a tad more ambitious, providing proper, sit-down lunches at temptingly bargain prices.
Pop into any butcher's to see what's cooking - or if you need help assuaging those carnivorous cravings, here's our guide to Berlin's meatiest treats.
Fleischerei Neuling
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/atomhirsch/
This GDR-era butcher's store located on the Soviet-style Karl Marx Allee still retains its impressively retro East German signage (above).
Quite apart from providing great photo ops, however, Fleischerei Neuling's delicious lunch-time dishes include pork schnitzel with mushrooms and boiled potatoes, or chicken fricassee with salad and rice. And all for under 5 Euros.
Fleischerei Neuling: Karl-Marx-Allee 108, 10243 Berlin. Opening times: Mon-Fri, 7am-6.30pm; Sat, 8am-1pm. Main meals served at lunchtime only, but snacks available all day.
Fleischerei Domke
The meaty offerings at Fleischerei Domke attract constant crowds - helped, no doubt, by the store's location in one of the hippest areas of Friedrichshain.
But even if lunchtimes tend to get busy, unlike most other Berlin butchers, Fleischerei Domke serves main meals right until closing time.
Classics include goulash with red cabbage and potatoes, ham hock with sauerkraut, and thick, home-made soups.
Portion sizes (and prices) are hard to beat, and you can even bring your own booze to wash it all down.
Fleischerei Domke: Warschauer Straße 64, 10243 Berlin. Opening times: Mon-Fri, 6.30am-10pm; Sat, 7.30am-10pm; Sun, 10am-10pm.
Fleischerei Bauermeister
This century-old Charlottenburg butcher is renowned for its bio-grade products - quality meat which also finds its way into Bauermeister's reasonably priced midday meals.
Cutlets with red cabbage and potatoes, or lentil soups packed with slices of sausage are just a few of the culinary highlights on a regularly changing menu.
And once you've eaten, take time out to explore the surrounding area - a little-known enclave of pretty, 19th century streets that really do count as one of Charlottenburg's hidden gems.
Fleischerei Bauermeister: Danckelmannstraße 11, 14059 Berlin. Opening times: Mon-Fri, 8am-6.30pm; Sat, 8am-2pm. Main meals served at lunchtime only, but snacks available all day.
Fleischerei Gottschlich
Image credit: www.fleischerei-gottschlich.de
Looking for somewhere inexpensive to eat in (generally) pricey Prenzlauer Berg?
Fleischerei Gottschlich's lunch-time offers include goulash with noodles, bratwurst with sauerkraut and mash, and many other daily specials. Treat yourself to hearty, home-style cooking for prices around 5 Euros.
Fleischerei Gottschlich: Prenzlauer Allee 219, 10405 Berlin. Opening times: Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm; Sat 8am-1pm. Main meals served at lunchtime only, but hot snacks available all day.
See also:
XXXL schnitzel - at a bargain price
Cheap eats at student canteens
Berlin's oddest delicacy
Berlin's amazing booze supermarkets
Berlin's community kitchens
