There’s good reason why Rogaki holds the title of the city’s most venerable meat institution. When Anthony Bourdain came here in 2008 for the Berlin episode of No Reservations, he declared it his best meal in Germany, hands-down. The renowned NYC chef of Les Halles fame actually giggled as he dug into a warm kopfkäse, that gelatinous slice of pork bits, pairing it with white asparagus, blood sausage and dried smoked fish.

Rogaki wears the kind of story that Bourdain reveres the most, you see: family-owned, full of history (founded in 1928, surviving the war), expertise perfected over time. The sumptuous array of fresh meats far outshine any in the city: wild terrain, birds, wurst, beef and 70 varieties of fish sourced locally. Today the establishment has also expanded to other comestibles like pasta, dessert and bread, but we say do what they do best and stick with the meat.