Schönhauser Allee Arcaden

I'm not a mall person per se but the idea makes sense. Berlin weather can be unpredictable and rather depressing in the winter. Why not have all the essentials under one roof?

This shopping mall though overpromises and underdelivers. Located right next to the subway and city train stations, plus being on a very busy street, this mall could be your one-stop for everything.

In fact, it's just a collection of cheap and trashy stores, squeezed into a tiny mall that gets crowded easily. The highlights of this mall can be summarized as follows:

DEUTSCHE POST:
The notoriously unfriendly workers here do their best to scare people away. Unsuccessfully though, as the line is usually very long and you'll wait 20+ minutes just to send a package.

FOOD:
Surprisingly, there is a variety of food options (Doner Kebab, sushi, fried fish, (somewhat) Vietnamese, sandwiches, ice cream, fresh cut fruits). However, first you have to place your order over the counter with folks that either are bored out of their minds or are as grumpy as you can be. You would think that the sheer fact of having a job would cheer these people up but it definitely takes something else.

RANDOM SALES EVENTS:
Retail stores can rent out spaces in the middle of the pathway to offer their goods. Many sellers take advantage of that, and that means throughout the year you'll find crap that you don't need (homemade sewed sweaters, organic dog food, or jewelry imported from Cambodia), sold by miserable looking college kids.

This mall is unavoidable. Just be prepared.

A collection of stores, not too big it makes you dizzy, and not too small so you find nothing. My personal favorites is the electronics store (ofcourse, i am a guy!), and the bread shop in the first floor. They make lovely onion- or olive-flavored breads.

The Icrecream shop on the ground floor and the toy shop in the underground floor are frequently visited by me and my daughter, and always impress her with good taste and friendly staff.

A huge mall (not to big and not to small, just right) that has basically everything! From clothing shops like H&M, New Yorker, Promod and C&A to restaurants like Thang Long and Hakiki, bookstores and grocery shops, to crafts and jewelry shops like Brigitte Bijou and much more! Also what I liked that it was warm and cozy in the mall and not freezing or to hot like many malls I have been at. There isn't anything to complain about, the prices are just like any regular mall has and of course you can spend days there just looking around.

Very nice Shopping Center, when youre living in the area. Its small, but offers everything one needs. A couple of groceries stores, inclusive organic food, clothing shops, travel agencies, cosmetics, Fitness Studio, Book store, Electronics, food stalls and some gift and stationary shops.
Oh and in summer real nice ice cream..

A pretty good mall. You can get everything you need. Periodically there are quite informative installations about the Trabi or white asparagus or whatever. A couple drawbacks - no elevator to the gym and the mall is kinda ugly. But it's close by!

I agree this mall is growing with the city and not to the best.