Bar in Berlin, Germany
Hackbarth’s
100Pearl PointsAuguststraße bar, no fuss required.
About Hackbarth’s
Hackbarth's on Auguststraße is a long-standing Mitte neighbourhood bar — unpretentious, walk-in friendly, and best visited early in the evening before the room fills. It won't give you the curated depth of Berlin's cocktail specialists, but it delivers reliable drinks and genuine local character. A practical stop on any Mitte bar run.
Hackbarth's, Berlin: Quick Take
Hackbarth's sits on Auguststraße 49A in Berlin's Mitte district, right in the middle of one of the city's most concentrated stretches of bars and galleries. For explorers working through Berlin's bar scene, this is a neighbourhood worth knowing — and Hackbarth's has been part of its fabric long enough to carry some genuine local credibility.
The space itself is what you notice first. Compact, lived-in, and deliberately unpretentious, it reads as a neighbourhood bar in the leading sense: no performance, no gimmick, just a room that fits its street. If you're coming from somewhere like Buck & Breck — which runs a tightly curated, high-concept cocktail operation , Hackbarth's is the counterpoint. Less ceremony, more ease.
The bar's identity leans into spirits in a way that's characteristic of long-running Berlin neighbourhood bars: a solid selection without the exhaustive categorisation you'd find at a dedicated whiskey or gin venue. If you're after depth in a single spirit category, Stagger Lee offers a more focused programme. Hackbarth's is better framed as a place where the pour is reliable and the atmosphere does a lot of the work.
Timing matters here. Hackbarth's works leading earlier in the evening, when the Auguststraße crowd is still building and you can actually hold a conversation. Later on , particularly on weekends , the room fills and the noise climbs. This is not the place for a quiet drink after 10 PM on a Friday. Come Thursday or early Saturday evening for the right balance of energy and usability.
Booking is not required and walk-ins are the standard. The address puts you within easy reach of several other bars worth hitting on the same night , see our full Berlin bars guide for a mapped-out crawl of the neighbourhood. If you're building a wider Berlin trip, the Berlin restaurants guide and Berlin hotels guide are the logical next stops.
For Germany-wide bar comparisons, The Parlour in Frankfurt and Goldene Bar in Munich represent two different models of what a serious bar programme looks like , useful reference points if you're calibrating expectations before arriving in Berlin.
Practical Details
| Detail | Hackbarth's | Buck & Breck | Stagger Lee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking Required | No | Yes (recommended) | No |
| Walk-in Friendly | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Leading Time to Visit | Early evening, Thu/Sat | Any evening | Evening |
| Vibe | Neighbourhood, relaxed | High-concept, intimate | Focused, spirit-led |
| Good for Groups | Small groups | Pairs preferred | Small groups |
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the crowd like at Hackbarth's?
Hackbarth's draws a mixed, neighbourhood-leaning crowd typical of Auguststraße in Mitte, an area that pulls gallery-goers, locals, and visitors in roughly equal measure. It's not a tourist trap, but it's not a secret either. Expect a relaxed, conversational atmosphere rather than anything high-energy or sceney.
Do I need a reservation at Hackbarth's?
For most visits, walking in is fine — Hackbarth's functions as a drop-in bar on Auguststraße 49A rather than a reservation-first destination. Peak weekend evenings in Mitte can fill up fast given the density of foot traffic on that strip, so arriving early is the practical hedge. No booking infrastructure is publicly listed.
Is Hackbarth's good for groups?
Small to mid-size groups work well here given the bar's Mitte location and casual format. For larger parties of six or more, the same Auguststraße stretch offers alternatives with more defined group capacity, so it's worth a call ahead. Hackbarth's suits a group that wants to settle in, not one that needs a structured booking or dedicated space.
Is Hackbarth's good for a date?
Yes, for a low-pressure first or second date. Auguststraße's gallery-district context gives you something to do before or after, and Hackbarth's doesn't carry the performative weight of Berlin's more self-conscious bar scene. If you want something more atmospheric or cocktail-forward, Buck & Breck a short distance away sets a higher bar for date-night stagecraft.
Location
Auguststraße 49A, 10119 Berlin, Germany
Compare Hackbarth’s
| Venue | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Hackbarth’s | Easy |
| Buck & Breck | Unknown |
| Lebensstern | Unknown |
| Stagger Lee | Unknown |
| Velvet | Unknown |
| Wax On | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Also Consider
- Buck & Breck, Notable alternative
- Lebensstern, Notable alternative
- Stagger Lee, Notable alternative
- Velvet, Notable alternative
- Wax On, Notable alternative
How It Compares
Among Berlin's bar options in and around Mitte, Hackbarth's occupies the accessible, unfussy end of the spectrum. Buck & Breck is the right call if you want a technically ambitious cocktail programme in an intimate setting, but it requires more planning and delivers a very different experience. Hackbarth's is easier to walk into and carries less pressure, which makes it the better choice when you want a drink rather than an event.
Stagger Lee and Velvet both lean harder into specific identity, Stagger Lee through a focused spirits programme, Velvet through atmosphere and aesthetic. If you're an explorer who wants to understand Berlin's bar scene by category, use those two as your reference points for what a dedicated programme looks like, and use Hackbarth's as the neighbourhood baseline. Lebensstern sits closer to Hackbarth's in terms of approachability, though it pulls a different crowd given its location near KaDeWe.
For value and ease of access, Hackbarth's is hard to argue with as a first or last stop on a Mitte evening. It's not the place to benchmark serious cocktail craft, for that, Buck & Breck is the clear winner in Berlin. But if you want a room with genuine local character and no booking required, Hackbarth's earns its place on the list. See our full Berlin bars guide for context on where it fits across the whole city.
Explore Berlin
Save or rate Hackbarth’s on Pearl
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.