Weekend Apéritif in Berlin — A French Ritual on Grünberger Straße
Two hours before dinner the bistro opens for apéritif. The Plateau du Bistro for two, a Negroni Sbagliato, four bistro tables on the cobblestone outside under the green awning — a small French ritual most Berlin restaurants don't run. Here is why we do.
What an apéritif actually is
In France an apéritif is not a drink. It is the hour before dinner, taken slowly, with small plates and a glass. A glass of Crémant or a French Negroni, olives and charcuterie on a board, the room warming up, the kitchen still finishing the prep. It exists to ease the body and the conversation into dinner — and to make the table itself the destination.
Berlin is good at many drinking rituals — bar-crawl Friday, late-night Späti, Sunday brunch with sparkling wine — but the weekend French apéritif is rare. Most restaurants in Friedrichshain open at 17:00 or 18:00 for dinner. We open at 16:00 on Friday and Saturday specifically for the two hours before.
What is on the apéritif card
The headline plate is the Plateau du Bistro, €25 for two — olives, French charcuterie, aged cheese and a sliced baguette from KEIT bakery. It is built to be shared between two over the full two-hour window, ordered at the start, refreshed with a second glass of wine halfway through.
The cocktail list focuses on six French and classic apéritif drinks (€9–€12):
- Bistro Martini — gin, Noilly-Prat (€10)
- Daiquiri du Bistro — white rum, lime, sugar (€12)
- French Negroni — gin, Lillet Rouge, Campari (€10)
- Kir Royal — cassis liqueur, champagne (€12)
- Lillet Spritz — Lillet Rose, tonic (€9) — the lightest, the early-evening order
- Negroni Sbagliato — red vermouth, Campari, cassis, Crémant (€10) — the one most ordered since it appeared on the card
By the glass: house wine red or white (€5 glass / €13 carafe), Rosé d'Anjou “Les Roches Blanches” 2024 (€6), Crémant de Loire Brut “Cuvée Régent” 2023 (€7), Villa Noria “Les Colombiers” 2023 (€9), Chablis Baudoin Millet “Intensément” 2023 (€10), Domaine Dauvissat Pinot Noir 2023 (€10.5), Champagne Bauchet “Origine” nv (€12). All glasses are 12,5 cl.
From the kitchen there are the small plates: olives (€4), panisses with homemade truffle mayonnaise — crispy chickpea fritters, vegetarian — French onion soup with Comté, rösti with tuna tartare, beef tartare, the cheese plate. They are the same starters as on the dinner menu, available before dinner service formally begins.
The terrace
On warm evenings the four bistro tables outside come into use — under the green awning, on the cobblestone of Grünberger Straße, with the curtains of the front room behind. Walk-ins are welcome when seats are free; on Friday and Saturday evening proper we recommend booking through OpenTable a few days ahead.
Practical
- When: Friday and Saturday, 16:00 to 18:00
- Where: Grünberger Straße 40, 10245 Berlin Friedrichshain (7 minutes from Warschauer Straße S+U)
- Reservations: OpenTable — walk-ins welcome when seats are free; for Friday and Saturday evenings book a few days ahead
- Full apéritif menu: PDF (2 pages, EN + DE)
- Dinner menu starts at: 18:00 — the apéritif and the full menu overlap from 18:00 onward