One of the most “Berlin” hang-outs is sitting over a beer in a Späti. “Späti” is a shortcut for “Spätkauf” which means a late purchase and probably refers to the fact that these kiosks are usually open all night, way after all the supermarkets are closed. Yes, It is very common to sit in kiosks in Berlin, ones that have benches obviously, especially in the summertime when the weather is nice.

I had to try it at least once, right? So yesterday evening I met some friends and we sat in a fully packed Späti at Weinbergsweg, we drank beers and hanged till all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a full-on rain had started to pour. The place had an awning, but the rain didn’t care, and soon enough half of my clothes were completely wet. We had to recalculate our actions and decided to hop over to a burger joint nearby I had a really good memory of – “RosenBurger”.

From the outside, it looks exactly like any other cheap burger joint in Berlin, but it is actually one of the best burgers I had in the city. They have a big selection of toppings which are combined together to specific burgers, I went for just a plain cheeseburger, but my friends took a Gorgonzolaburger that came with bacon, gorgonzola cheese, and cheddar, a Brandenburger with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and jalapenos, and were very pleased with their choices. All of the burgers looked amazing. There was also a large selection of vegetarian and vegan burgers. Also, a nice choice of chicken burgers and some salat dishes as well.

The patty itself was in medium thickness, juicy and seasoned, though closer to the “under seasoned” part of the scale, it has a smoky aroma and a good char to it, Maillard reaction works well here. The plain cheeseburger comes with fresh lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheddar cheese that melted perctly and didn’t overpower the meatiness and smokiness, and house sauces. The bun was soft and hold everything together with resourcefulness and grit. I didn’t need to add anything.

Next to the burgers, we shared Frische Haus Pommes, sweet potato frites and onion rings. The Frische Haus Pommes were something between potato wedges and french fries, very crispy on the outside, hot, steamy, and soft on the inside, well-salted and overall, a very satisfying fries dish. The sweet potato fries were good as well but I’m myself less into this sweet taste alone, but they were well made also. Onion rings were ok but very heavy to my taste.

The burger prices range from 4€ to 6€ and can get to 9€ as a part of a menu (including fries and a soft drink). For me, the VFM is very high, cause you actually get a decently made burger. 

We sat there for a while (don’t do it), so we ended up ordering some Cheddar Poppers (3.9€) – deep fried battered grilled jalapenos filled with cheddar cheese that were exactly what you would expect them to be. But be careful – they’re hot! Not so spicy though.

Don’t be fooled by this place’s looks, it is actually good! Had a wonderful Friday night