Baby It's Cold Outside: Eight Tips for Gemutlich Glamour in Berlin

This little spot is more like someone's front room than an exclusive hang out, but if you turn up early in the evening you'll end up wandering the street wondering where … the damn place is. It's shuttered up till at least 8 p.m. each night and easy to stroll right past. Inside, there are white leather banquettes, a big old dark-wood bar, friendly staff, and some nice vino. I'm too scared to try their Spanish whisky (I'll stick to scotch), but US expats who miss their sports bars should come here for the corn nuts. [link]

Red is the color of Berlin winter nights-- scarlet retro lampshades and wine-colored walls that make the dark cozy and warm the skin. Würgeengel takes that to the max … and throws in a 1920s chandelier as a show piece. There's good tapas to be washed down with cocktails or a claret to match the décor. [link]

This tiny café and bar has been key to the Kastanianallee scene for years now -- no mean feat in a place where attention spans are short. It's housed in one of the few … unrestored altbaus left on the street, with a crumbling façade, and a dark and intimate interior, in spite of the big windows. The wine and beer list is pretty short, but it doesn't keep the locals away -- this seems to be a favorite spot for thirty-something guys with notepads and thoughtful demeanors. [link]

Poulette's a cute, smallish brasserie just off Kollwitzplatz with good French food at OK prices. The walls and exterior are covered with hand-painted multi-colored flower … murals, staving off the grey streetscape outside. It's hard to forget the crème brûlée here, which is heated by the waiter at your table with a giant, smoking metal brand. [link]

This café/bar/restaurant has a broken down, faded grandeur, with battered armchairs, worn velveteen cushions, and huge, age-spotted mirrors. They do a mean schnitzel, … but the main USP is hot sea-buckthorn juice -- a sharp, dry-tasting dose of vitamin C sweetened with honey. Liquid sunshine. [link]

You've only got a couple of weeks to catch the René Lalique exhibition at the Bröhan. The master glassworker of the Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements is perfectly at … home among the museum's own collection of paintings, ceramics, and furniture from the same period. [link]

Berlin's burlesque and swing scene is exploding, and Bohème Sauvage is one of the best club nights in town. It's taking over the cellar-like Bassy Club (think 1920s … speakeasy) on the 29th for a mafia-themed party with a strict dress code -- vintage/faux-vintage, or else. I once showed up wearing Uggs (it was minus something big outside, OK? That's my excuse) and had to show them the dancing shoes I had in my bag before they'd even let me in the door. Be prepared. [link]

Yes, Dov Charney is awful and the new "California Vintage" boutique flogging thrift-store clothes for not-very-sexy prices on Alte Schönhauser Allee is a waste of space, … but sadly, AA is the only place in town where I've found thick, thigh-length black socks. And there's no other way to keep warm and retain a molecule of glamour. [link]