Germany’s large Turkish population (3.5 million) has profoundly shaped the country’s food culture — but the full range of Turkish cooking goes far beyond the döner kebab that originated in its current German form in Berlin in the 1970s. Lebanese and Greek restaurants have similarly developed genuine quality tiers that reward effort to find.
Turkish Food Beyond Döner
Genuine Turkish cooking encompasses a remarkable range — far beyond the kebab shop. Turkish bakeries (fırın) in Berlin’s Neukölln, Frankfurt’s Sachsenhausen, and Cologne’s Mülheim sell simit (sesame-coated ring bread), börek (layered pastry with spinach or cheese), poğaça (soft stuffed rolls), and Turkish pide (boat-shaped flatbread with various toppings). A morning simit with tea from a Turkish bakery is one of Germany’s best value breakfasts. Several Turkish restaurants in Berlin serve proper Anatolian regional cooking: meze spreads with labneh, muhammara, and ezme; gözleme; Anatolian lamb dishes; and proper künefe (shredded wheat pastry with white cheese, soaked in sugar syrup).
Lebanese Restaurants
Lebanese cuisine is one of the world’s great vegetarian-friendly traditions — hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, fattoush, kibbeh, and meze are all genuinely good at quality Lebanese restaurants in Germany. Berlin (particularly Charlottenburg) and Frankfurt have genuine Lebanese restaurants serving communities of Lebanese origin, not tourist adaptations. Proper Lebanese falafel (made fresh, not from frozen, with herbs and coriander) is one of the best cheap foods available in Germany when done well.
Greek Tavernas
Germany has a large Greek community (around 380,000) from the Gastarbeiter era — Greek workers who came in the 1960s and 1970s and settled. This has left behind a genuine Greek taverna culture particularly in Munich, Stuttgart, and Düsseldorf. A proper Greek taverna serves mezedes, fresh fish, lamb chops, and proper Greek salad (not the German adaptation with cucumber and pepper added) with good Greek wine. These are different from the tourist-oriented Greek restaurants found near every German city’s main square.
