Opened in October, bar/club Larry sits in a confused part of town: the conflict between a fading Mitte underground and the new Berlin reality played out along the depressing Oranienburger Straße tourist strip.
The confusion is present in the crowd too – the hipster uniforms are there, but the faces are older and clearly nobody’s had to resort to flea market scavenging in a while.
This societal flux, together with the benches around the room, make Larry perfect for people watching: one highlight of a recent evening being the thirtysomething couple who resolutely slow-danced through every song the DJ played.
Like the venue, the drinks list is sparse and functional: there’s bottled beer (Pilsner Urquell, €3) and a selection of long drinks (€7 for a generous vodka tonic).
Enough to draw non-Mittites up from Sonnenallee? Maybe not, but with decent music and a gemütlich vibe (even a group of 10 can make this place feel like a party), Larry’s an up-market dive bar in the best way possible – and more down-to-earth than the shabby chic and overpriced King Size down the road. No, Mitte is not quite dead yet.