The time: Sunday night "Tatort". The place: anywhere warm…read morethat will show it on the telly! The fortune: finding out that this local venue has a nice little base of regular, seasoned gatherers. In we went, down we sat, on we watched. It's a mismatched place with mismatched chairs all in mis-aligned rows. Classic Berlin dive. The smoke here lingers a bit thicker in the air, but not completely intolerable. Again, it just somehow adds to the place, unless you absolutely can't stand it (in which case, not for you!). It's shaped like an "L", with one stretch of the bar being turned into a rustic theater screening area of sorts, complete with deep velvet red curtains drawn aside to lovely effect. Like a lot of places in Berlin, the drinks are cheap and plenty, and the service is simple. We still had some time to kill before our film screening, so we stayed for a post-Tatort and chatted some more, which was easy enough despite the good mix of tunes being pumped out the speakers. Looking around, there was a lovely, lively mix of people just lounging and watching, groups laughing, couples kissing, happy loners reading, all talking and thinking and wondering, those thoughts melting into the night, drifting away with the beats on deck. My favorite part of the whole place? I loved going to the WC. First, it's nice to relieve yourself when you really have to go. Second, it's especially nice to do so in a large and spacious room, lit up by a mirror ball, with some of the most random images from pop culture staring back at you while you do your deed. A life-size image of Mr. Clean standing right next to the wash basin and Brigitte Bardot giving you a pouting reminder to use soap, s'il vous plaît mon cher. A sweet and relaxed place to hang, no matter what size, shape, or condition of the company you are in.