here's a great metric for how good a place is: i'm a non-smoker and HATE having my clothes reek of…read moresmoke the next day, but i still think some places are worth toughing it out. Lerchen+Eulen is one of these places. it's been one of my go-to spots in this neighborhood for years and i don't see that changing.
Svenja's review is right on: there are plenty of bars like this around Berlin --cozy secondhand furniture jumbled together like a bad Tetris game, warm low lighting, great coffee+alcohol-- but the specific details set it apart. the staff are amazingly friendly (seriously, i wonder where they find these saints!), their cakes are always delicious and the perfect balance to their coffee, and you can get whatever kind of seat your little heart desires: curling-up-with-book benchseats in the big windows, working-with-laptop table seats, barstools for hanging with the bartenders, cuddling-sofas, and outdoor tables in summer for people-watching.
it's a great spot for most times: earlier in the day, it's mellower and emptier (and less like a smokehouse), so is nice for working or catching up with friends. the wooden-tiled floors (very cool!) and brick archways, the old jazz and blues on the stereo, the old chairs and wooden tables decorated with fresh flowers and candles in big jars, make the space feel somehow a bit like a country inn during the day, a perfect pause from the bustle of the Markthalle next door. when Lerchen+Eulen fills with people at night, the dense layout and multiple rooms make for a wonderful coziness for huddling together...and Drinking (with a capital 'D'). Svenja's right, their Moscow Mules hold their own, but they're also one of the few bars in the area to serve the delicious local Potsdamer Stange beer from the Braumanufaktur.
all in all, a perfect addition to your full weekend ritual on Pücklerstrasse: stop by the Pony Hütchen for second-hand gear+furniture, then the Markthalle Neun for groceries+lunch, then to Lerchen+Eulen for all your caffeinated and alcoholic needs...