This is not a restaurant review.
I don't think of myself as a particularly skilled food writer, but I do like photographing and writing about standout dishes at my favourite places around the world, and cataloguing what we ate where. Upon visiting the outstanding Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin, we were informed that phones weren't allowed, and I was (rather embarrassingly) told to put my camera away and enjoy the food (I later noticed the 'no cameras' sign outside the door; oops). So in keeping with the ethos of the restaurant, along with a couple of snaps before I was politely admonished, I will only say a few words about Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin: you must go.
I don't think of myself as a particularly skilled food writer, but I do like photographing and writing about standout dishes at my favourite places around the world, and cataloguing what we ate where. Upon visiting the outstanding Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin, we were informed that phones weren't allowed, and I was (rather embarrassingly) told to put my camera away and enjoy the food (I later noticed the 'no cameras' sign outside the door; oops). So in keeping with the ethos of the restaurant, along with a couple of snaps before I was politely admonished, I will only say a few words about Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin: you must go.
Billy Wagner, the charming owner, host and award-winning sommelier, fiercely champions local produce, regional wines and indigenous grapes - when I say fiercely, I mean they don't use lemons, black pepper, olive oil or chocolate - and the executive chef Micha Schäfer has eschewed a la carte, creating one simple ten course set menu.
Housed in a brutal 60s building near Checkpoint Charlie in Kreuzberg, you step inside a peculiar store front, ring a doorbell and enter through dark curtains. The space is urban and minimalistic yet relaxed and warm, with counter tables seating 26 guests wrapped around the central bar and open kitchen, with a cosy low ceiling and mellow lighting. Number 88 on The World's Best Restaurants list and with a Michelin star, it's fine dining but it's unconventional, unfussy, relaxed, casual, and a brilliant gastronomic experience.
Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Friedrichstraße 218, 10969 Berlin, Germany
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