When the heat goes to your head, between Berlin’s asphalt and concrete walls, it’s time for a trip to the edge of the city, to Spandau, for example. Here, on a small island, sits Biergarten Eiswerder. From a desire to create a space where people can come together, Johannes Hilliger and Josa Kölbel founded the Berlin Circus Festival in 2015, which now brings more than 10,000 visitors to Tempelhofer Feld each year. With that same idea in mind, they later opened the Biergarten Naumanns in Schöneberg. And now they’ve done the same at Biergarten Eiswerder, which opened in April 2026. Reach Eiswerder Island via the Große or Kleine Eiswerderbrücke. After a few minutes on foot from Haselhorst, or coming from the direction of the Citadel, a backdrop of former industrial architecture opens up, a site that has been developed into a hub for creative, media, and commercial activity. Between the water and red brick buildings lies a spacious beer garden. People sink into deck chairs, groups gather around beer tables, and small wooden huts form the bar and kitchen. A large tent provides shade on hot days and ensures a rainy spring or summer day won’t ruin your visit.
Beer is, of course, the main attraction here, but the alternatives are just as enticing. They even have non-alcoholic beer on tap. It quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary beer garden. Instead of fries and bratwurst, they serve Italian pinsa. My personal highlight was pinsa with marinated mushrooms and scamorza affumicata. The smoked cheese gives it exactly the right depth. Fresh olives, Italian pinsa, a good beer, and a view of the water, sometimes that’s all it takes to feel, for a moment, as if you are on vacation. Just in time for the start of the World Cup, you can follow the matches at the public screening on the large LED screen. The grounds also have a sandpit for children, as well as table tennis and boules. Whether as a stop before a concert at the Spandau Citadel, a refreshment after a bike ride, or a destination in its own right, Biergarten Eiswerder offers the right setting for all of it. So grab your bike, or take a walk along the water, and discover a little summer oasis on Spandauer See.
Text: Isabelle Marten / Photos: Mohit Almani
Biergarten Eiswerder, Eiswerderstr., 13585 Berlin–Spandau; map
@biergarten.eiswerder
