Bar Tausend
Bar Tausend hides behind a steel door under the Friedrichstraße S-Bahn tracks with no signage to help you find it. A doorman decides who gets in, which weeds out anyone not dressed or carrying themselves properly. Inside, the narrow, architecturally striking space packs in business types, artists, and anyone who passes the door test for cocktails that run €10-14 and live or DJ music from Wednesday onward.
What to Expect
A proper Berlin member-style bar that isn't a members club. The interior is long and dramatic, lit in warm tones, with a bar that takes cocktails seriously. Conversation flows early in the week; it gets louder and more dance-oriented by Friday.
Exclusive, architecturally dramatic, Berlin's best-hidden speakeasy energy
Live jazz midweek, DJ-driven electronic and house on weekends
Smart to dressed up. the door is selective
Upscale nightlife, cocktail connoisseurs, those who love hidden doors
Cash and card
Price Range
Entry €10 Thursday-Saturday; cocktails €10-14
Entry $11, cocktails $11-15
Hours
Wednesday from 8pm, Thursday-Saturday from 9pm
Insider Tip
Dress well. jeans and sneakers won't get you past the door on weekends. Wednesday is your best chance to get in without stress. The entrance is literally a steel door under the rail bridge with no sign.
Full Review
Bar Tausend hides behind a steel door under the Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn tracks, and finding it is the first test. No signage anywhere. A doorman who decides who enters based on appearance and capacity. The entrance is a metal door in a bridge support structure. If you did not know it was there, you would walk past it every day for a year without a second glance.
Inside, the room is long and dramatic, lit in warm tones that play off the vaulted ceiling of the railway arch. The bar takes cocktails seriously, with a menu balancing classics and house creations in the EUR 10 to 14 range. Wednesday nights feature live jazz, and weekends bring DJ-driven electronic and house sets. The crowd is well-dressed and skews toward Berlin's media and creative industries.
Bar Tausend occupies the high end of Berlin's nightlife spectrum, competing with spaces like the Regent Hotel bar and Buck and Breck. The difference is the setting: drinking cocktails under a railway bridge in a room that feels designed for a film set gives it an atmosphere that purpose-built venues struggle to match. Entry is EUR 10 Thursday through Saturday.
Dress well if you want to get in. Jeans and sneakers will not get past the door on weekends. Wednesday is your easiest entry point, both for the door policy and the live jazz programming. The cocktail menu changes with the seasons, and the bartenders know their craft well enough to go off-menu confidently if you describe what you want.
The Neighborhood
Bar Tausend is hidden beneath the S-Bahn tracks at Friedrichstrasse, sitting at the boundary between Mitte's gallery district and the government quarter. Its concealed entrance under the railway bridge and selective door make it one of Berlin's most exclusive nightlife spots.
Getting There
S-Bahn or U-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse station and walk south along the tracks for about two minutes. Look for the unmarked steel door on the east side of the railway bridge.
Address
Schiffbauerdamm 11
Where to stay in Berlin
Compare hotels near the nightlife districts. Free cancellation on most properties.
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