Anthea Gerrie dines at Berlin’s secret speakeasy gourmet restaurant, the Michelin-starred Nobelhart & Schmutzig
Since this reporter first inveigled her way into Nobelhart & Schmutzig in 2019, when it was already a rising star in Berlin, this quirkiest of restaurants has retained its Michelin star and added another international accolade, entering the top tier of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. And the interesting thing is that it has managed to keep the interest of diners by reducing rather than expanding the number of dishes on its tasting menu, keeping prices down and curious appetites afloat.
What had nearly doubled in cost since my first visit to a €185, 10-course tasting menu, has now dropped dramatically to just €115 including water but excluding other drinks – and a more manageable six courses which somehow still warrant at least 2 1/2 hours to savour and properly enjoy, given that the conviviality of the place is a big part of the appeal. The beautiful, rustic serve ware with a distinctly Japanese vibe reflecting the origins of the maker is another
Charismatic but unpretentious owner Billy Wagner runs this Kreuzberg eatery close to Checkpoint Charlie like a speakeasy – no signage outside, though now a small notice in the curtained window on this grimy stretch of street does acknowledge its presence – and you have to book in advance and ring the bell of a firmly closed door to gain admission.
A warm welcome awaits, whether you come for the first sitting at 6pm or a later one which facilitates the lingering for which dining here promotes a desire. There are a few tables for intimate dinners, but the lucky are seated at a horseshoe-shaped counter surrounding the theatre of the open kitchen. It’s deep enough to accommodate not only food and drinks but also the interesting art books left around for solo diners, and made comfortable with sheepskin-lined high stools and a plinth on which to rest feet.
The menu is hyper-local, restricted to produce from the few miles surrounding Berlin as well as what can be grown in the city itself, no doubt one reason it won a 2024 Sustainability Award from the World’s 50 Best. It’s a policy pioneered 40 years ago by Alice Waters, the godmother of Californian cuisine, who had farmers grow exotic species just for Chez Panisse. I thought of her when tasting my first ever tiny Mexican dwarf cucumbers – exquisitely sweet and salt, and grown in the German capital, thousands of miles from where they originated.
They were one of three vegetable treats served with the first course – Brotzeit or “bread time”, the star of which was a beautifully nutty homemade rye sourdough loaf served with a ceremonial dispensing of butter aged for flavour in the restaurant cellar after being churned. We also got minimally enhanced red peppers and green beans dressed with marjoram.
Courses which followed included cubes of feta cheese, spaetzle scattered with dill blossoms and a sublime dish of saffron-scented zucchini served for an extra charge. Then came a main course of veal cooked two ways – a fillet and a more succulent cut which had been slow-cooked and garnished with a sumptuously rich caramelised roast onion. While there was Basque cheesecake for all with late summer berries, the greedy were ordering an extra dessert for a supplement – blueberries simmered down to a fabulous smooth compote, with a an exquisite sorbet beneath. There was a sticky hazelnut cookie at the door as a parting favour.
What you might drink with this feast is anyone’s guest – Wagner is a skilled sommelier with eclectic tastes, and has a multi-award-winning wine list thicker than most wedding albums with bottles starting at €45. But he likes to offer his own suggestions by the glass, while always pandering to customers’ tastes – he served us two styles of German red, which we particularly wanted to get to know better at the hands of an expert.
Two unusual aspects are that no fish is served – there is the Spree running through Berlin, of course, and other local rivers, but Wagner is iffy about the quality of what is available from them. And this must be the only restaurant whose menu comes with individual bylines for the chef who has produced each dish served – the team of 18, hosts and servers as well as cooks, get top billing on the card, ahead of the dishes, which change even more often than the season.
It’s not a cheap experience, and it’s not remotely Instagrammable, since Wagner bans customers from photographing their food and drink, urging “more social, less media” in his bid to train diners to hone their food memories unimpeded by the camera. But it’s a warm, sociable, satisfying evening in an edgy city which values its people and is happy to let outsiders into its coolth – even if they do need to be prepared to confront a locked door to gain admission.
Food image credit: Caroline Pringe.
Tell Me More About Dining At Nobelhart & Schmutzig
Nobelhart & Schmutzig 218 Friedrichstrasse, 10969 Berlin Germany
T: +49 302 594 0610
Open Tuesday through Saturday, 6pm-midnight(last orders at 9.30pm)
