The Best Currywurst Spots in Berlin (Vegan Options!)
Last updated: May 12, 2024
Berlin is the birthplace of Currywurst. In 1949, Herta Heuwer first coined the dish after combining ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and curry powder — which she obtained from British soldiers stationed in Berlin. She added a few other spices before combining the sauce with grilled pork sausage and setting up a stand in Berlin’s western Charlottenburg neighborhood. Her dish became popular with construction workers in the area, who would fuel up on Currywurst before continuing their work of rebuilding Berlin after World War II. This dish made of humble ingredients wound up becoming iconic and huge in Berlin’s traditional cuisine. At its height she sold 10,000 Currywurst servings per week and opened up an additional stand and restaurant.
Although none of Heuwer’s shops remain, this dish is still very much present in Berlin cuisine and is frequently enjoyed with fries and mayo. Heuwer never sold her original recipe and the secret died with her in 1999, but many places in Berlin do a decent enough job at recreating the dish. It’s a simple dish, but it can really hit the spot and there are a few places in Berlin I’ve had especially tasty Currywurst.
Impressively, these days many Currywurst shops also offer vegan sausage! Some also offer vegan mayo, and those that do should have it clearly labeled.
For your convenience, I include prices, but please bear with me because these prices are as of May 2024, and are unfortunately subject to change.
Ordering Currywurst
Before we fully dive in, let’s just go over how to customize your Currywurst real quick. I’ll give you the German vocab, but communicating in English should also be fine.
You’ll have to choose between ‘Mit Darm’ or ‘Ohne Darm’ to decide if you want your Wurst with or without casing. The taste is pretty similar, but with casing is a bit crispier. If you’re at a shop that offers vegan sausage and you’d like to opt for that you can simply say ‘Vegan.’
You can typically pick between enjoying it solo (Nur Currywurst), with fries (Currywurst mit Pommes), or with a bread roll (Currywurst mit Brötchen).
Then indicate if you want ketchup or mayo with your meal. If you want both you can order the German way and say “Rot-Weiß” (translates to red-white) when you order.
Currywurst Spots in Berlin:
Curry 36
Curry 36 on Mehringdamm in Kreuzberg is probably the most popular Currywurst spot in Berlin. A Currywurst mit Pommes (with fries) combo currently goes for about ~€5.20. They fry up a pretty good sausage and because they’re so popular dishes are always hot and fresh to order. They’ve got a few other locations in Berlin, including at Berlin Central Station, but I can only vouch for the quality of their OG spot on Mehringdamm. You can also try Sauerkraut or Kartoffelsalat (potato salad) for ~€2.20 each, plus they have vegan options.
Mehringdamm 36 | Kreuzberg
Hardenbergplatz 9 (Near S Zoologischer station) | Charlottenburg
Warschauer Straße 8 (Within S Warschauer station) | Friedrichshain
Europaplatz 1 (Within Berlin Central Station) | Mitte
Konnopke’s Imbiss
Located in Prenzlauer Berg, this snack institution has been living under the U2 train line for nearly 100 years. They’ve consistently sold Wurst during that time, except for during War shortages when potato pancakes had to suffice. Along with Currywurst you’ll find plenty of German street food including Bratwurst (grilled sausage), Bockwurst (white pepper sausage), Gurken (pickles), Kartoffelsalat, and vegan options. Currywurst and fries should be around €6.10. You can pick between three levels of reasonable spice for your Currywurst — Ketchup, Cayenne Pepper, or Red Tabasco Chili.
Schönhauser Allee 44b | Prenzlauer Berg
Curry 61
Curry 61 serves Krakauer im Brötchen (Polish sausage in a bread roll) that goes for ~€3.60 and Currywurst with fries for ~€5.20. Potato salad should be around €3.50. Their two locations are very central, both located in Mitte around Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt, making them easy to fit into your itinerary. My preferred location is their location on Oranienburger Straße, as it has more seating and is in a cuter area. Their vegan sausage is pretty good, plus they offer vegan mayo.
Oranienburger Straße 6 | Mitte
Alexanderplatz 2 | Mitte
Curry Baude
If you find yourself at Gesundbrunnen station (which you might as there’s a direct train to the central station and airport from here), Curry Baude is a pretty solid Currywurst stand. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of spot, but you’ll find it on the corner of Badstraße and Behmstraße, near the northwest exit of the U8. The food here is quite fairly priced: Currywurst with fries and a soft drink will set you back just €6.30, while Kartoffelpuffer (fried potato pancakes) with apple sauce cost €3, and Bratwurst is priced at €2.70. The quality is also top notch, their trained butcher Reina Lehmann has been frying his curry sausages here for 30+ years. No vegan Wurst.
Badstraße 1-5 (Near U8 Gesundbrunnen exit) | Gesundbrunnen
Curry & Chili
Located in Gesundbrunnen, Curry & Chili has likely the most unique Currywurst in the city. They’ve been around since the early 2000’s and are experts in all things spice and sausage. You can choose to enjoy your Currywurst the classic way or with chili pepper, but to get the full experience pick from one of their ten hot sauces, which range on a Scoville scale from 11,000 to 7,000,000+. I’ve tried their Level 2 (Habanero BBQ) and Level 4 (Garlic Bomb). Both were really tasty and a perfect level of spicy! Garlic Bomb ranks at 180,000 on the Scoville scale, so I can’t imagine what Level 10 tastes like! I don’t think I could comfortably go past Level 5 (even that might be pushing it a little). If you try all of their hot sauces within a six month period you can end up on their Wall of Fame. Someone (not me) needs to film a Berlin version of Hot Ones with these hot sauces, Currywurst edition! I would watch the heck out of that.
Currywurst and fries go for €6 here, but you have to pay €1 extra if you want to get it with Level 8 spice or higher. The quality itself is also very good, their ketchup is homemade and their mayo is hand-mixed. They fry up a pretty mean sausage and their fries are thinner cut, making for a super crispy bite. Plus, vegan options.
Prinzenallee/Osloer Straße (At M13/50 tram stop) | Gesundbrunnen
Zur Bratpfanne
Zur Bratpfanne stands as one of Berlin's most enduring currywurst establishments, with a legacy spanning over seven decades. Their ketchup is crafted in-house, naturally using a secret recipe. This snack bar is also home to Boulette, Bratwurst, and burgers. To make their Boulette they pan-fry a large flat meatball then chop it up, add ketchup and curry, and serve it with a heaping scoop of spiced grilled onions. Yum!
A Currywurst and fries plate ranges from ~€5.50 to €8 depending on preferred fries portion size. Currywurst with casing is their most popular menu item and has been for many years. No vegan Wurst options.
Schloßstraße | Steglitz
33, Königsberger Straße 30 | Lichterfelde
Ketels Curry
Ketels Curry serves up some of the best neighborhood Currywurst und Pommes in the city. Their Currywurst is of excellent quality and topped with curry powder and green onion. Try it with aioli instead of mayo for a garlicky kick. Their Bratwurst is also seriously crispy and grilled to perfection — be sure to get it served topped with Sauerkraut, mustard, and in a Brötchen if you try it. Try their Brat for €3 to €4 depending on if you’d like to try sausage with herb, garlic, or wild game. Currywurst and fries ranges from €6 to just under €8, based on fries portion size and the kind of sausage you’d like (regular, vegan, or beef).
Kottbusser Damm 1 | Kreuzberg
Wurstpate
Wurstpate’s Currywurst and fries combo should be around €5.20. They have a pretty solid take! You’ll also find hot dogs, plus Ketwurst, which is essentially a type of boiled sausage (comparable to a large hot dog) that is dipped in ketchup and served in a mostly enclosed bun. It was invented and popularized during the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to fulfill the purpose of having a quick and ready made take-away food for people visiting the city’s TV Tower. It’s not an attractive dish…nor is it even necessarily tasty per se, but it’s just under €2 so could be worth it for a bite of history I guess. Vegan options available.
Köpenicker Straße 58 | Mitte
Wursthain
On Warschauer Straße, you’ll find Wursthain, a popular snack stall located in a more lively area of Friedrichshain. The Currywurst is flavorful, the fries are very crispy, and there are a number of simple sides you can add for around €2 like Gurkensalat, Kartoffelsalat, and Sauerkraut. A drink, fries, and Currywurst combo should be just under €8. They have recently introduced vegan options.
Warschauer Straße 54 | Friedrichshain