One more round: New law to extend Berlin's outdoor drinking hours
A new law will soon let Berliners linger outside bars past 10 p.m. On weekends, the neighbours won't even be able to complain until midnight.
Tuesday, March 10
If you enjoy sitting outside on warm nights, last call is getting later this summer. At Berlin bars and restaurants, customers usually have to move inside or keep near-silent when the clock strikes 10 p.m. — the hour that residents can legally start making noise complaints. But the Senate is set to pass a new law would extend that curfew, allowing al fresco festivities to stretch up an additional two hours on weekends.
"We want to follow the example of Brandenburg, which means: outdoor dining until 11 p.m. on weekdays in Berlin, and until midnight on Fridays, Saturdays, and the eve of public holidays," Berlin Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (SPD) told rbb. Giffey announced in January that these new rules would apply citywide, but the current draft in front of the Senate has narrowed that to certain (as yet to be defined) "nightlife districts" only.
"Outdoor dining until 11 p.m. on weekdays in Berlin, and until midnight on Fridays [and] Saturdays."
The regulations are part of the Berlin State Hospitality Act, intended to overhaul a federal law that is “no longer up to date.” And it will mean some further changes, too: there's a sped-up, digitised process for registering a new establishment, and the rules around toilets will be amended. The average Berlin restaurant of 50 square metres must have at least four bathrooms, and two must be reserved for women. Men’s toilets will no longer be mandatory; the remaining WC’s can be designated gender-neutral.
For Berlin’s 20,000-plus restaurants and bars, the law – now two years in discussion – represents some hope in the ongoing battle against neighbourhood noise complaints, a factor often cited by spots forced to shutter in recent years.
For Berliners, it could mean better viewing for the 2026 World Cup, which starts June 11. Even if the new law doesn’t go into effect by the time the first game kicks off, it’s likely that an exemption to the current 10 p.m. cutoff will be made. Cheers to that.