Lutter & Wegner Christmas Cottage at Gendarmenmarkt

There are Christmas markets where you warm your hands over mulled wine – and then there is the Christmas Magic Gendarmenmarkt, where you feel as if Advent has dressed up especially for the evening. Lutter & Wegner, a long-established institution of Berlin indulgence, has been staging a culinary triad here for years, which has long since become a tradition. But in 2025, everything seems a little finer, brighter, more harmonious – like a Christmas carol you already know, but suddenly hear with strings playing in the background.

Act One: The Champagne & Delicatessen Cottage – where the festivities begin

Anyone strolling across the square inevitably ends up where the air takes on a salty breeze: at the new Champagne & Delicatessen Hütte. Under the warm glow of lights, fresh rock oysters are opened daily, as if Berlin had suddenly become a port city. Accompanied by Iranian Caviar Royal, fine seafood, and an assortment of champagnes that are not simply drunk but celebrated (our absolute favorite: Ruinart Blanc de Blancs).

It's a place where you can briefly forget about winter. The in-house Lutter & Wegner Premium Riesling sparkling wine with its special label sparkles like the freshly arrived holiday spirit, and you watch as people with thick scarves and sparkling eyes suddenly appear very elegant—oysters have that effect on you.

Act Two: The Christmas Cottage – where tradition fills the air

Credits Charlott Cobler

A few steps further on, things become more earthy, warmer, more down-to-earth: in the Christmas hut, an integral part of the market for two decades, the aroma of duck and game dishes hangs in the air. Coming from the champagne cottage, you feel as if you are entering the heart of the festive feast.

Oven-fresh duck, juicy sausage specialties, steaming Viennese-style pastries – it's the kind of cuisine you can only eat in winter because it makes you happy, even when you're already full. The atmosphere is quaint but not rustic; cozy but not dusty. A stopover that feels like the main course of life.

Finale: The restaurant – a warm glow

Those who can – and want to – continue onward will find themselves just a few steps away at the Lutter & Wegner restaurant on Charlottenstraße. Inside, the parquet floor creaks as it did in days gone by, and the fine dining menus serve as an elegant finale to an evening full of contrasts.

Winter dishes with seasonal accents, classics from over 200 years of house history, a wine and champagne list that makes guests whisper – the restaurant is not an epilogue, it is a performance. Many visitors start at the market, end up in the restaurant – and only realize over a digestif how magical this little tour is.

A winter gourmet tour – and a Berlin moment

What Lutter und Wegner have created this year is more than just a culinary offering. It is a Christmas gourmet tour that does not impose itself, but almost tells its own story: Oysters to start, duck for a stopover, fine dining for the finale – tradition and modernity, sparklingly intertwined.

In a city that likes to be loud and fast, this tour offers something rare: a few hours of winter elegance that feel like an unexpected gift.