Süss. War Gestern

Süss. War Gestern is a Friedrichshain bar-club listed for gatherings of up to 50 people. Its defining feature is the shift in scale: what begins as a retro-styled drinking room can become a three-floor dance venue on club nights. The venue’s own name also belongs to its signature cocktail, a ginger, ginger ale and whiskey mix. Expect an intimate basecamp for a show or DJ night, with the décor doing as much scene-setting as the music.

A bar built for the late shift

A 2018 account dates Süss. War Gestern’s opening to 2009 and names the team behind Prenzlauer Berg bar Zur mir oder zur dir as its founders. Their Friedrichshain room combined domestic-looking details—sofas, lamps, games and vintage objects—with a club function, a format that gave the place a social, low-pressure start before the pace rose later in the evening.

By 2017, a VisitBerlin nightlife guide included Süss. War Gestern among smaller Friedrichshain venues where DJs played at weekends and the dancefloor opened late. The pattern remains visible in a documented June 13, 2026 night: JACKTHAT Records billed Skotsch, DJ Larry Ghetto, Tobi Soul and Denifitiv Manu for underground house across three floors, with the bar opening at 20:00 and the club programme following at 22:00.

What the room offers now

Programming is promoter-led and fluid: electro-lounge is a long-running house sound, while current listings include underground house, techno, tech house, retro-pop parties, poetry slam and comedy. The layout favors movement between rooms instead of a single concert-hall sightline; on larger nights, three floors come into play. Upstairs atmosphere centers on the bar, 1960s-style wallpaper and furniture, with high ceilings in the old-building space. It suits listeners who like a close, informal room before dancing, plus audiences open to genre shifts across the night.