In this guide
💡 The Short Version: A currywurst is a pork sausage in curry-ketchup sauce, and Berlin’s two classic stands are Konnopke’s Imbiss under the U2 viaduct in Prenzlauer Berg, which has traded since 1930 and is closed on Sunday and Monday, and Curry 36 on Mehringdamm, open daily from 09:00 to 05:00. The döner in Berlin is Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap on Mehringdamm, with a frequent queue and take-away only, and Rüyam in Schöneberg. Or book a tour: the Döner Kebab Tour and Sights, including Gourmet Kebabad is from €45 for 3 hours.
📊 The evidence behind this guide. This pass read 20 currywurst list pages and 19 döner pages from English-language and German-language publishers, so the counts are small: three English and five German publishers wrote the currywurst lists, and four English and five German the döner lists. Berlin-only sites without a named newsroom and listing sites are not counted, and the English and German counts are shown apart.
⚠️ Konnopke’s is closed on Sunday and Monday. Its hours are Tuesday to Friday 11:00 to 18:00 and Saturday 12:00 to 19:00. Curry 36 and Mustafa’s are open every day.
The currywurst
A currywurst is a sausage sliced and covered in a curry-ketchup sauce, sold with chips or a bread roll. The question every stand asks is mit Darm oder ohne, with or without skin. Curry 36 explains it: the sausage invented in Berlin in the 1950s was a boiled sausage without a casing, and the crisper version in a pork casing came later. visitBerlin says the currywurst started its march out of a Berlin kiosk (visitBerlin).
A currywurst in a paper tray. Photo: Richard Mischau, Britta Mischau, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Konnopke’s Imbiss
Schönhauser Allee 44B, Prenzlauer Berg · U2 Eberswalder Straße · Tuesday to Friday 11:00 to 18:00, Saturday 12:00 to 19:00 · closed Sunday and Monday · Cited by 6 sources in the currywurst lists (2 English, 4 German) · konnopke-imbiss.de
Max Konnopke started selling sausages in Prenzlauer Berg on 4 October 1930, and in 1960, according to the stand, his family brought the first currywurst to East Berlin, skinless, with a sauce recipe the family still keeps secret. The sausage is still skinless. The third generation introduced slicing it onto a paper plate with extra curry powder and five degrees of heat.
Konnopke’s Imbiss beneath the U2 viaduct on Schönhauser Allee. Photo: Orderinchaos, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Curry 36
Mehringdamm 36, Kreuzberg · daily 09:00 to 05:00 · Cited by 5 sources in the currywurst lists (2 English, 3 German) · curry36.de
Curry 36 says its currywurst was born here in 1980, in a doorway on Mehringdamm with 1.12 metres of counter, and that the house number gave the stand its name. visitBerlin calls it the western counterpart to Konnopke’s. The sausages come from the Havelland organic manufactory, with or without a casing, with the stand’s own ketchup and curry-powder mix, and there is a vegan sausage and a vegan ketchup. Three more branches have their own hours: Zoologischer Garten daily 08:00 to 05:00, the Hauptbahnhof daily 08:00 to 22:00 and Warschauer Straße daily 09:00 to 23:00.
Witty’s
Wittenbergplatz, opposite KaDeWe · Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 00:00, Sunday 12:00 to 23:00 · Friedrichstraße, at the station · Cited by 3 sources in the currywurst lists (2 English, 1 German) · wittys-berlin.de
An organic currywurst stand, with a second stand directly at the Friedrichstraße S-Bahn and U-Bahn station that is open to 22:00 on Monday to Thursday, to 00:00 on Friday and Saturday and from 12:00 to 22:00 on Sunday.
Other stands
visitBerlin also names Curry 61 at Hackescher Markt (Oranienburger Straße 6), Curry at the Wall, five minutes from Checkpoint Charlie, with a chilli garlic paste and vegan options, Curry Baude in the listed station building at Gesundbrunnen (Badstraße 1), and Curry & Chili on Osloer Straße 109 in Wedding, with sauces at ten levels of heat. The lists also repeat Zur Bratpfanne (named by 6 publishers), Bier’s Kudamm 195 and Curry Wolf.
| Currywurst stand | English | German |
|---|---|---|
| Konnopke’s Imbiss | 2 | 4 |
| Curry Baude | 2 | 4 |
| Zur Bratpfanne | 2 | 4 |
| Curry 36 | 2 | 3 |
| Curry & Chili | 2 | 3 |
| Curry 61 | 1 | 2 |
| Witty’s | 2 | 1 |
| Bier’s Kudamm 195 | 1 | 2 |
| Curry Wolf | 1 | 2 |
The döner
visitBerlin says a Turkish guest worker invented the döner kebab in Berlin in the 1970s, and describes it as grilled meat from a skewer with fresh salad and a spicy sauce in a crisp flatbread. The shops the lists name most are vegetable-kebab shops: Gemüse is the German for vegetables. visitBerlin names Vöner in Friedrichshain as a vegan döner, and says almost every snack bar and street-food stall in Berlin sells a vegan or vegetarian alternative.
Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap
Mehringdamm 33, Kreuzberg · Monday to Thursday and Sunday 10:00 to 23:30, Friday 13:00 to 01:30, Saturday 10:00 to 01:30 · take-away only · Cited by 3 sources (0 English, 3 German) in the döner lists and 12 in all the lists · mustafas.de
The stand calls itself the original, and it has a frequent queue. It sells to take away only, and it is open late on Friday and Saturday nights.
A chicken döner with vegetables from Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap. Photo: Bodhisattwa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Rüyam Gemüse Kebab
Hauptstraße 36, Schöneberg · Cited by 5 sources (1 English, 4 German) in the döner lists
Opened on Hauptstraße in 2012 and moved in 2024 to No. 36, across the road, because the first shop was too small. TAG24 reported queues of up to 45 minutes at busy times, and a second branch is listed in Prenzlauer Berg.
| Döner shop | English | German |
|---|---|---|
| Rüyam Gemüse Kebab | 1 | 4 |
| Kebap with Attitude | 0 | 4 |
| Zagros Gemüsekebap | 0 | 4 |
| Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap | 0 | 3 |
| Doyum | 1 | 2 |
| Mir Döner (Hatay style) | 1 | 2 |
| Imren Grill | 1 | 1 |
| Mustafa Demir’s Retro Kebap | 1 | 1 |
| Hasir | 1 | 1 |
| Teras Döner | 0 | 2 |
Eat them with a guide
Berlin: Döner Kebab Tour & Sights, including Gourmet Kebab & Delicious Stopsad is from €45 for 3 hours. The food tours that stop at a currywurst or döner stall are in Berlin food tours.
Plan the rest
The markets, restaurants and cafés are in where to eat in Berlin. On Sundays, when Konnopke’s is shut, the Mauerpark flea market is open nearby, and the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße is a short ride from the stand. Berlin nightlife and clubs covers the late hours, and 3 days in Berlin fits a currywurst at Konnopke’s into a day that is not Sunday or Monday. Where to stay in Berlin compares the areas, with Kreuzberg for Mehringdamm and Prenzlauer Berg for Schönhauser Allee.
Common questions
What is a currywurst?
A pork sausage cut into rounds under a curry-ketchup sauce, eaten with chips or a bread roll. The question at every stand is whether you want it with or without skin: a natural casing or the older skinless sausage.
Is Konnopke's Imbiss open on Sunday?
No. The stand under the U2 viaduct on Schönhauser Allee is open Tuesday to Friday from 11:00 to 18:00 and on Saturday from 12:00 to 19:00, and closed on Sunday and Monday.
Where can I eat currywurst late at night in Berlin?
Curry 36 on Mehringdamm is open daily from 09:00 to 05:00, and its Zoologischer Garten branch daily from 08:00 to 05:00. The Warschauer Straße branch closes at 23:00 and the Hauptbahnhof one at 22:00.
When is Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap open?
Monday to Thursday and Sunday from 10:00 to 23:30, Friday from 13:00 to 01:30 and Saturday from 10:00 to 01:30. It sells take-away only, and there is often a queue.
Who invented the döner kebab?
visitBerlin says a Turkish guest worker invented the döner kebab in Berlin in the 1970s: grilled meat from a skewer with salad and sauce in a flatbread.
Is there a vegan currywurst or döner in Berlin?
Yes. Curry 36 makes a vegan currywurst from wheat and soy protein and a vegan ketchup, and visitBerlin names Vöner in Friedrichshain as a vegan döner.
