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How to Read a German Menu Without Panicking

Writer: Yusuf Ucuz
Yusuf Ucuz
Mar 5
2 min read

Updated: Oct 29

You sit down at a Berlin restaurant, the waiter hands you a menu, and it's entirely in German. No English translation. No pictures. Just long compound words that look like someone fell asleep on a keyboard.


Don't panic. Most German menu items follow predictable patterns, and once you know a few key words, you can decode almost anything.


Menu Sections

German menus are usually organized into these sections:


  • Vorspeisen — Starters / appetizers

  • Hauptgerichte — Main courses

  • Beilagen — Side dishes

  • Nachspeisen / Desserts — Desserts

  • Getränke — Drinks


Meat and Protein

  • Schwein — Pork (the most common meat in German cuisine)

  • Rind — Beef

  • Hähnchen / Hühnchen — Chicken

  • Ente — Duck

  • Lachs — Salmon

  • Wurst — Sausage (Bratwurst = grilled, Currywurst = with curry sauce)


Common Dishes

  • Schnitzel — Breaded and fried cutlet (usually pork, sometimes chicken)

  • Schweinshaxe — Roasted pork knuckle (huge, crispy, delicious)

  • Kartoffelpuffer — Potato pancakes (often served with applesauce)

  • Bratkartoffeln — Fried potatoes (a classic side dish)

  • Flammkuchen — Thin-crust flatbread with crème fraîche, onions, and bacon

  • Eintopf — A thick one-pot stew (hearty, filling, usually cheap)


Drinks to Know

  • Apfelschorle — Apple juice mixed with sparkling water. Germany's unofficial national drink.

  • Weizenbier / Weißbier — Wheat beer (cloudy, slightly fruity)

  • Berliner Weiße — A sour wheat beer served with green (Waldmeister) or red (Himbeere) syrup. A Berlin original.

  • Spätburgunder — Pinot Noir (if you want red wine)


The Secret Weapon: Compound Words

German builds long words by combining smaller ones. Once you know this, menus become puzzles you can solve:


  • Kartoffelsuppe = Kartoffel (potato) + Suppe (soup) = potato soup

  • Rinderbraten = Rinder (beef) + Braten (roast) = beef roast

  • Apfelstrudel = Apfel (apple) + Strudel (pastry) = apple strudel


Once you start breaking words apart, German menus go from terrifying to manageable in about five minutes.


Eat Like a Local After My Tour

My walking tour, Berlin Then and Now, ends at Hackescher Markt, one of the best neighborhoods in Berlin for restaurants. Armed with this menu guide, you'll be ready to order like a pro.


Book your spot now. 11 stops, 800 years of history, and my restaurant picks for afterwards. About 2.5 hours, €15 per person.

 
 
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