Outdoor seating at Berlin bars will soon be open later

New rules mean bars, cafes and restaurants in Berlin will soon be able to leave outdoor seating open until later in the evening.

Later closing time for Berlin terraces

Berlin State Senator for Economy, Franziska Giffey (SPD), has announced that bars, cafes and restaurants in the capital will soon be able to leave terraces open until 11pm on weekdays and 12am on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays.

Until now, on any given day, establishments were permitted to leave terraces open until 10pm. These rules were outlined in the 1971 Federal Hospitality Act (Bundesgaststättegesetz), which Giffey has dubbed “no longer appropriate”.

“It is very important that there is a good framework within which restaurants can do their work,” Giffey continued. Similar rules are already in place in surrounding Brandenburg.

Berlin districts will decide where later closing times apply

But the new rules will not apply to all restaurants and bars in Berlin, only to those in yet-to-be-determined “nightlife areas” (Ausgehviertel). 

Under the new Berlin State Hospitality Act (Berliner Landesgaststättengesetzes), district authorities (Bezirksämter) will decide which neighbourhoods are “Ausgehviertel”, likely based on the concentration of bars and restaurants.

The new act will also change the rules around toilets. Going forward, the average-sized Berlin restaurant (50-150 square metres) must have four toilets, two of which must be women’s toilets. Men’s toilets will no longer be mandatory, meaning the remaining two toilets can be men's or gender-neutral.

There will also be fewer bureaucratic steps to opening a bar, cafe or restaurant. Giffey expects the new law to be passed in the Berlin Senate by the summer.