For Free - Berlin - page 100

NEED TO KNOW
Price Ranges
The following prices are per main course.
€ less than €8
€€ €8 to €18
€€€ more than €18
Opening Hours
Cafes 8am to 8pm
Restaurants 11am to 11pm
Fast-food joints 11am to midnight or later
Bills & Tipping
It's customary to add between 5% and 10% for good service.
Tip as you hand over the money, rather than leaving it on the table (as this is con-
sidered rude). For example, if your bill comes to €28 and you want to give a €2 tip, say
€30. If you have the exact amount and don't need change, just say ' Stimmt so ' (that's
fine).
Reservations
Reservations are essential at the top eateries and are recommended for midrange res-
taurants - especially for dinner and at weekends. Many restaurant websites now offer
an online booking function. Berliners tend to linger at the table, so if a place is full at
8pm it's likely that it will stay that way for a couple of hours.
Late-Night & Sunday Shopping
One handy feature of Berlin culture is the Spätkauf ( Späti in local vernacular), which
are small neighbourhood stores stocked with the basics and open from early evening
until 2am or later.
Some supermarkets stay open until midnight; a few are even 24 hours.
Shops and supermarkets in major train stations (Hauptbahnhof, Ostbahnhof, Friedrich-
strasse) are open late and on Sundays.