Lidl — Supermarket in Friedrichshain, Berlin

This is a Lidl branch on Warschauer Platz in Friedrichshain, and it reads as a small store doing a busy job for the neighbourhood around Frankfurter Tor station. You come down to it and find a compact sales floor rather than a big hall, which is why the layout is easy to cross in a couple of minutes.

The produce is what you notice first. Fresh fruit and vegetables sit out well presented, and that is the reason to stop in rather than a bag of crisps elsewhere. The bakery counter runs alongside it, with baked goods fresh and a range wide enough to pick a pretzel or a roll on your way to the platform. Chilled drinks, snacks and ready-to-eat items fill the fridges for a concert or a longer train ride, and a ginger and turmeric shot is the odd thing you will not find in every shop. Seasoned chicken wings get a mention as a hot counter pick.

How it works is simple: you walk the aisles, then pay at the self-checkout lanes, which is what keeps the queue short when you have a train to catch. Household goods, clothing and tools sit alongside the food, so a quick grocery run can turn into browsing the non-food offers.

Spend is modest, around €10 to €30 for a basket, and the Lidl Plus app takes money off the total at the till. Prices on the range are the draw, and the produce and bakery are where that shows most.

One thing to know: the self-checkout lanes are the main way through, and the store pushes card payment, so cash can mean a longer wait. That friction aside, this branch suits anyone passing through Friedrichshain who wants fresh food fast.