Last updated on 06/29/2026
Beef roulade, veal cutlet and Koenigsberger Klopse no longer have to taste dusty at all. A young generation of Berlin cooks is reinterpreting German classics: seasonal, lighter and with plenty of attention to detail. The Michelin-starred Bieberbau in Wilmersdorf shows how creative German cuisine can be, while Kantine Kohlmann in Kreuzberg's Wrangelkiez casually shakes up familiar dishes. On Torstrasse in Mitte, Friedel Richter cooks unpretentiously and with a love of detail. We tried Klopse, checked the seasonality of the menus and looked at where tradition and modernity come together. Where does New German cuisine taste most exciting?
Ellen Mehrhoff-Roddewig
New German cuisine excites me because it rethinks the familiar in surprising ways. For this list I ate my way through modern interpretations of classics and paid attention to what makes good cooking: seasonal ingredients from the region, craftsmanship instead of gimmickry, a menu with a signature and restaurants where the atmosphere is just as coherent as the food on the plate.
Awarded a Michelin star and housed in a listed stucco house from 1894 in Wilmersdorf, Bieberbau stands for new German cuisine at the highest level. Head chef Stephan Garkisch consistently relies on seasonal, regional ingredients — many of them from his own herb garden in the Barnim Nature Park.
A listed power station as a backdrop for modern German cuisine: The Umspannwerk Ost in Friedrichshain combines industrial history with carefully crafted classic dishes. Seven-meter-high ceilings, an open kitchen, and a theater club in the basement make every evening more than just a dinner.
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The capital's restaurant Gendarmerie at Gendarmenmarkt in Mitte is Berlin's culinary declaration of love to itself: modern Berlin cuisine with French brasserie influences, served in a historic bank building with the world's largest wooden relief on the wall.
In Berlin-Mitte's Linienstraße, there's a restaurant that deceives: plain on the outside, full of character on the inside. The establishment features a daily changing menu with ingredients from Brandenburg farms and demonstrates what new German cuisine looks like when it truly means what it promises.
In the Scheunenviertel, between Hackescher Markt and Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, LUZII brings German tavern and country cuisine into the present: artisanal, seasonal, without nostalgic kitsch. Comfort food with real ambition, right in Berlin-Mitte.
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At Oranienburger Straße 38 in Mitte, acht&dreissig proves that German cuisine can do much more than just home cooking. Here, seasonal classics meet contemporary interpretation, served by a team with true top gastronomy DNA and a host with Vietnamese roots who redefines German cuisine.
Located in a historic half-timbered house directly on the Landwehr Canal in Kreuzberg, Rutz Zollhaus serves new German cuisine at a Michelin-star level: down-to-earth Berlin classics, consistently regionally sourced and meticulously reinterpreted.
In Berlin-Mitte, on the lively Torstraße, the family business Friedel Richter has been showcasing since 2014 what New German Cuisine truly means: regional, seasonal, and with a genuine signature. Everything is homemade, with ingredients sourced from Berlin gardens and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
In the listed courtyard of a former women's prison in Charlottenburg, Lovis serves new German cuisine at Michelin level. Head chef Sophia Rudolph consistently relies on seasonal, regional products and places vegetables at the center of her menu.
In Prenzlauer Berg, on Oderberger Straße, Otto is hidden behind a narrow facade: a 19-seat counter restaurant that proves with new German cuisine, consistent regionality, and natural wines that less is sometimes everything.
