How to Read a German Menu Without Panicking

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 Our Tour

Our free walking tour 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 free spot now. 12 stops, 800 years of history, and great restaurant tips at the end. Tip-based, always.