I. About the restaurant
What is Nobelhart & Schmutzig?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig is a Michelin-starred restaurant in Berlin-Kreuzberg and one of Germany’s best-known restaurants internationally. Since 2018, it has appeared on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, reaching No. 17 in 2022. In 2024, it received the Sustainability Award in recognition of its long-standing commitment to sustainable gastronomy.
Founded in 2015 by Billy Wagner and Micha Schäfer, the restaurant has become one of the defining voices in modern German cuisine. Its influence extends well beyond its own kitchen, helping to reshape how Berlin and Brandenburg are understood as culinary regions.
More than a restaurant, Nobelhart & Schmutzig is a place where cooking, agriculture, food culture and social responsibility intersect. Everything begins with the people who produce its ingredients, the stories embedded in a landscape, and the belief that restaurants can play an active role in creating a more sustainable food culture.
Guests travel from around the world to experience Berlin and Brandenburg through its food, discovering a restaurant that offers a very different vision of what fine dining can be.
What type of cuisine does Nobelhart & Schmutzig serve?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig serves a contemporary regional cuisine rooted entirely in Berlin and Brandenburg. Since opening in 2015, it has helped redefine how modern German cuisine is understood both nationally and internationally.
Instead of building its menus around internationally recognised luxury ingredients or established fine dining traditions, Micha Schäfer’s kitchen starts with the produce, landscapes, farmers and artisans of the region itself. The result is a cuisine shaped by place rather than prestige.
This uncompromising regional philosophy has influenced a new generation of chefs and played a significant role in the development of Germany’s Nova Regio movement. Today, Nobelhart & Schmutzig is regarded internationally as one of the leading representatives of modern German regional cuisine.
Every menu offers a culinary expression of Berlin and Brandenburg: seasonal, contemporary and deeply connected to the people who grow, raise and produce its ingredients.
What does “vocally local” mean, and why does Nobelhart & Schmutzig focus on ingredients from Berlin and Brandenburg?
“Vocally local” is the guiding philosophy behind Nobelhart & Schmutzig. It means building the restaurant’s cuisine around the seasons, landscapes, farmers and producers of Berlin and Brandenburg—and nowhere else.
When the restaurant opened in 2015, it was founded on a simple idea: a region only becomes truly interesting as a culinary landscape when you choose to take it seriously. Rather than looking elsewhere for inspiration, Nobelhart & Schmutzig committed itself to exploring the food culture and agricultural diversity of the region surrounding Berlin.
That commitment shapes every menu. Instead of deciding what to cook and then sourcing the necessary ingredients, the process begins with what local farmers and producers have available. The seasons, harvests and rhythms of agriculture determine what is served.
It also means saying no to many ingredients traditionally associated with fine dining. Imported luxury products, exotic fruits and year-round staples have no place in the kitchen. Instead, the focus is on exceptional regional vegetables, grains, dairy products and meats.
“Vocally local” is more than a sourcing policy: an expression of the belief that great cuisine grows out of a deep relationship with a place, and that fine dining in Germany can confidently celebrate its own landscapes, traditions and agriculture.
What makes Nobelhart & Schmutzig different from other fine dining restaurants?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig approaches fine dining from a fundamentally different perspective. Rather than drawing on international luxury ingredients or global culinary trends, it focuses almost exclusively on the produce, farmers and culinary possibilities of Berlin and Brandenburg.
Unlike many other German fine dining restaurants, Nobelhart & Schmutzig has its reputation not by being “less German”, but by being more so. Instead of treating local cuisine as something quaint, backward or unserious, it deliberately places the traditions, ingredients and agricultural heritage of its own region at the centre of the dining experience.
The experience itself is equally distinctive. Guests are seated together around a single counter that surrounds the open kitchen rather than at separate tables. The work of cooking, plating and serving unfolds in front of them, conversations develop naturally with the team, and every menu becomes an opportunity to learn about the ingredients, the people behind them and the landscape that produced them.
Beyond its food, Nobelhart & Schmutzig has also become one of the restaurant industry’s most prominent advocates for sustainability and cultural change. For many years it has championed fair working conditions, responsible leadership, diversity, inclusion and a more sustainable food culture. These principles are reflected not only in its public initiatives, but in the way the restaurant is managed, how its team works together and how hospitality is understood.
What menus and dining options does Nobelhart & Schmutzig offer?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig offers several ways to experience its cuisine.
Its main offering is a seasonal tasting menu, available in either six or eight courses. Both follow the same philosophy: ingredients sourced from Berlin and Brandenburg, close collaboration with local farmers and producers, and menus that evolve naturally with the seasons.
Alongside the tasting menu, the restaurant presents the Heimat Series. Each edition centres on a single dish inspired by the childhood memories and idea of home of someone who now lives in Berlin. It offers guests a way to experience the restaurant’s philosophy without committing to a full fine dining menu.
Because both the tasting menus and the Heimat Series are developed around seasonal produce and individual projects, the dishes change throughout the year.
The restaurant also hosts regular special events, including four-hands dinners, guest chef collaborations and themed menus. Upcoming events are announced through the restaurant’s newsletter.
What is the Heimat Series?
The Heimat Series is an ongoing project that explores what the idea of home can mean in a city as diverse as Berlin, and how memory, identity and belonging can be expressed through food.
For each edition, Nobelhart & Schmutzig invites someone who presently lives in Berlin, whose roots may be in the city, or somewhere else entirely. Together, they recreate a dish from that person’s childhood, family or personal history, which is then served at the restaurant for a limited time.
The focus is never just the recipe itself, but the memories, experiences and cultural traditions it carries. The series approaches food as an expression of identity, belonging and lived experience.
Some dishes have their roots in Brandenburg or elsewhere in Germany. Others trace their origins to Iran, Sardinia, Vietnam or the many other places that have become part of Berlin’s cultural landscape. Together, they reflect the diversity that has long defined the city.
While Nobelhart & Schmutzig’s seasonal tasting menus explore the ingredients and producers of Berlin and Brandenburg, the Heimat Series explores the stories of the people who live there.
It also offers a more accessible introduction to the restaurant. Rather than experiencing Nobelhart & Schmutzig through a multi-course tasting menu, guests can encounter its philosophy, hospitality and culinary perspective through a single dish.
Over time, the Heimat Series is creating a culinary portrait of Berlin itself: a city shaped by migration, change and many different ideas of what home can be.
Why is Nobelhart & Schmutzig’s drinks programme so highly regarded?
At Nobelhart & Schmutzig, the drinks are every bit as important as the food. Together with his sommelier team, Billy Wagner has built one of Europe’s most celebrated drinks programmes, featuring around 1,600 wines, beers, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.
The collection spans a remarkable range of regions, traditions and producers. More important than its size, however, is the philosophy behind it: every bottle is chosen for its character, sense of place, craftsmanship and individuality.
Over the years, the programme has received numerous national and international awards, including the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, multiple honours from the Vinum Wine Guide, the Star Wine List Grand Prix and the title of Most Original Wine List in Europe at the Fine Wine World’s Best Wine Lists.
For many guests, the wine and drinks pairing is every bit as compelling as the food itself. The combination of a radically regional kitchen with an internationally acclaimed drinks programme has become one of the defining characteristics of Nobelhart & Schmutzig.
Can I visit Nobelhart & Schmutzig just for drinks?
Yes.
Every evening from 9:45 pm onwards, you’re welcome to visit Nobelhart & Schmutzig simply for a drink.
With around 1,600 bottles, the drinks programme is one of the largest and most highly awarded of its kind in Europe. Alongside wine, it includes sparkling wine, beer, spirits and an extensive selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
The sommelier team also regularly opens rare and exceptional bottles by the glass and introduces seasonal selections, meaning that even returning guests will often discover something new.
Many people visit Nobelhart & Schmutzig not only for the food, but simply to enjoy outstanding drinks in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
Can I eat vegetarian or vegan at Nobelhart & Schmutzig?
Vegetarian: Yes.
Vegan: No.
Nobelhart & Schmutzig offers vegetarian menus, but it does not offer a fully vegan menu.
This is not because the restaurant is opposed to a vegan lifestyle. On the contrary, it welcomes thoughtful conversations about animal welfare, sustainability and food quality. It simply arrives at different culinary and ethical conclusions.
The restaurant’s cooking is built around ingredients that it believes represent responsible agriculture at its best. That includes exceptional dairy products, eggs and other animal products from farmers and producers in Berlin and Brandenburg with whom the team has long-standing relationships and whose methods and practices they know, support and sometimes even help to shape.
Because these ingredients are fundamental to the way the kitchen cooks, creating a fully vegan menu would require compromises that would not reflect the restaurant’s culinary philosophy or its understanding of responsible agriculture.
Wherever possible, the team is, of course, happy to accommodate allergies and dietary intolerances
II Values & approach
Why is Nobelhart & Schmutzig sometimes described as “Germany’s most political restaurant”?
In 2018, a journalist described Nobelhart & Schmutzig as “Germany’s most political restaurant.” The label was never about party politics. It reflected the restaurant’s belief that food is inseparable from the way it is grown, the way people work, the way we consume and the kind of society we choose to build.
Since opening in 2015, Nobelhart & Schmutzig has been interested not only in what appears on the plate, but also in everything that makes that plate possible: farming, supply chains, working conditions, and the social and environmental consequences of the choices we make as producers, restaurateurs and diners.
That perspective has led the restaurant to advocate for regenerative agriculture, better working conditions across the hospitality industry, diversity, inclusion and the fight against discrimination. These are not separate causes or public campaigns, but part of the same philosophy that shapes its cooking.
For Nobelhart & Schmutzig, restaurants are more than places to eat. They are cultural institutions with the ability—and the responsibility—to influence how we think about food, work and the society around us. The conversation may begin with dinner, but it rarely ends there.
What role does sustainability play at Nobelhart & Schmutzig?
At Nobelhart & Schmutzig, sustainability is about far more than sourcing local ingredients or reducing food miles. It begins with long-term relationships: with farmers and producers, with employees, with guests and with the region the restaurant calls home.
That is why the kitchen works almost exclusively with ingredients from Berlin and Brandenburg, collaborates closely with small-scale farmers and artisan producers, and allows the seasons to determine what appears on the menu. The aim is not simply to buy locally, but to strengthen regional agriculture and give greater visibility to the people behind the food.
For the restaurant, sustainability also extends beyond the plate. It includes fair working conditions, long-term career prospects for employees and the belief that success in hospitality should never come at someone else’s expense.
This holistic approach has received international recognition. In 2024, following an independent audit by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Nobelhart & Schmutzig received the Sustainable Restaurant Award from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. In the same year, it was also awarded the highest possible rating—Three Sustainability Circles—by the 360° Eat Guide.
Sustainability is therefore not an additional pillar of the restaurant’s concept. It is the foundation on which every decision is made, from farming and sourcing to leadership, hospitality and the long-term stewardship of people and resources.
What does Nobelhart & Schmutzig mean by “values-led hospitality”?
For Nobelhart & Schmutzig, hospitality is about much more than good food and attentive service. Every decision a restaurant makes reflects a set of values: what it buys, who it works with, how people are treated, how guests are welcomed and how it responds to wider questions about food and society.
Those values are not something reserved for conversations about sustainability or diversity. They reveal themselves in everyday practice—in the way ingredients are sourced, teams are led, meals are cooked, guests are welcomed and colleagues treat one another.
That is why Nobelhart & Schmutzig does not see regional agriculture, fair working conditions, inclusion, hospitality and transparency as separate initiatives. They are different expressions of the same underlying philosophy. The food is where these values begin, and become visible.
For the restaurant, values-led hospitality means that what happens in the dining room reflects what happens behind the scenes. From the field to the plate, from the kitchen to the guest, every part of the restaurant should embody the same principles.
Why did Nobelhart & Schmutzig help found Die Gemeinschaft e.V.?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig sees itself not only as a restaurant, but as part of a broader movement working towards a more sustainable food culture.
With that goal in mind, the restaurant co-founded Die Gemeinschaft e.V. together with Restaurant Horváth in 2017. Today, the organisation brings together chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, artisan producers and many others working across the food system who share a commitment to regenerative agriculture, fair value creation and a new vision for food culture.
The organisation hosts symposia, educational programmes and farm visits that encourage collaboration, knowledge-sharing and stronger connections between agriculture, craftsmanship and gastronomy.
For Nobelhart & Schmutzig, this work is a natural extension of what it means to run a restaurant. Caring about good ingredients also means caring about how they are produced, the conditions under which people work, and the kind of food culture we want to create for the future.
III. Berlin and international recognition
What makes Nobelhart & Schmutzig a distinctly Berlin restaurant?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig sees itself not simply as a restaurant, but as part of the cultural fabric of Berlin—a city that has long valued originality over convention and independence over conformity. Rather than following the established rules of fine dining, the restaurant has developed its own language over the years: in its cooking, its wine programme, its architecture and the way it welcomes guests.
More than anything, it reflects a quality that has defined many of Berlin’s most influential cultural institutions: the belief that ethics and pleasure, intellectual curiosity and hedonism, seriousness and celebration can all exist in the same space.
Many guests describe Nobelhart & Schmutzig as feeling like a Gesamtkunstwerk—a total work of art. The food, the internationally acclaimed drinks programme, the open kitchen, the shared counter and the dialogue between guests and the team all reinforce one another, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
The experience has never been only about eating and drinking. Nobelhart & Schmutzig sees hospitality as a cultural practice: a place where people gather, exchange ideas, debate, celebrate and discover new ways of thinking, with food and wine providing the common language.
How did Nobelhart & Schmutzig become internationally recognised?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig first attracted international attention by pursuing an idea that was once considered highly unconventional in German fine dining: building an entire restaurant around the produce, farmers and artisans of a single region, and demonstrating that exceptional local ingredients deserve the same place at the highest level of gastronomy as the classic luxuries of French haute cuisine.
Since opening in 2015, the restaurant has become one of Germany’s best-known culinary destinations. It was awarded a Michelin star within months of opening and has appeared on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list every year since 2018, reaching No. 17 in 2022. In 2024, it received the World’s 50 Best Sustainability Award in recognition of its leadership in sustainable hospitality.
The restaurant has also become known for its recognisable public voice. For many years, Nobelhart & Schmutzig has advocated for a more sustainable food culture, stronger support for small-scale agriculture, fair working conditions and a more responsible hospitality industry.
Today, it is regularly featured in international publications and welcomes journalists, chefs, restaurateurs and guests from around the world. Many come not simply to experience one of Germany’s leading restaurants, but to connect with a broader idea: that a restaurant can be a cultural institution, that food can shape how we think about agriculture, society and responsibility, and that world-class gastronomy begins not with luxury ingredients, but with a clear sense of place and purpose.
IV Experience
What can guests expect from a visit to Nobelhart & Schmutzig?
A meal at Nobelhart & Schmutzig feels different from a conventional fine dining experience. Instead of being seated at individual tables, every guest sits together around a single counter that surrounds the open kitchen. Nothing is hidden from view; the cooking unfolds in front of you.
Throughout the evening, guests naturally find themselves in conversation with the chefs, sommeliers and service team. The people behind the food and wine are as much a part of the experience as the dishes themselves. Many guests leave with the feeling that they have participated in something shared rather than simply dined in a restaurant.
Despite its Michelin star, Nobelhart & Schmutzig is not a place of formality or distance. The atmosphere is warm, relaxed and unmistakably Berlin: serious without taking itself too seriously, ambitious without pretension, attentive without stiffness.
A visit is about more than the food on the plate. It is an experience where cooking, wine, conversation and the people behind them come together—and it is this sense of connection that so many guests remember long after the meal has ended.
Why doesn’t Nobelhart & Schmutzig allow photography or video?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig asks guests not to take photographs or videos during their visit. There are, of course, exceptions—for example, if someone would like to take a picture of a particular bottle of wine or a memorable record.
The idea is simple: to create a place where people can spend a few hours fully present, without feeling the need to document or share every moment.
The policy is inspired by Berlin’s club culture of the early 1990s, where the absence of cameras was never intended as a restriction but as a form of freedom. A space without constant documentation allows people to relax, connect with one another and experience the moment without performing it for an audience.
Nobelhart & Schmutzig brings that same idea into the restaurant. The focus should remain on conversation, food and shared experience, while the privacy of every guest is respected.
In an age of constant distraction, the restaurant considers time, attention and genuine presence among life’s greatest luxuries.
Who is Nobelhart & Schmutzig for?
Nobelhart & Schmutzig appeals to people who are drawn to places with a strong sense of identity. Guests come not only for exceptional regional cooking and an internationally recognised wine programme, but because they are curious about the relationship between food, culture and society.
Many have interests that extend beyond restaurants—to art, music, literature, architecture or Berlin’s club culture. They appreciate places with a point of view, where quality is measured by substance rather than status.
It is a restaurant for people who enjoy great food, remarkable wine and thoughtful conversation in equal measure. For those who see no contradiction between a memorable bottle of wine, a political discussion, a concert or a long evening around the table with friends.
The shared counter, open kitchen and direct interaction with the team also make Nobelhart & Schmutzig an unusually welcoming place to dine alone. Encounters happen naturally, but never feel expected or obligatory.
For visitors who want to experience Berlin rather than simply see it, Nobelhart & Schmutzig offers something distinctly of the city itself: curious, generous, uncompromising and quietly provocative.
Is Nobelhart & Schmutzig a good place for a first date?
Many guests would answer with an unequivocal yes.
Unlike traditional restaurants with private tables and formal surroundings, Nobelhart & Schmutzig brings everyone together around a shared counter facing the open kitchen. The food, wine, producers and stories behind the menu naturally become part of the conversation, making it remarkably easy to discover things together.
The restaurant itself also helps carry the evening. No one has to sustain the conversation alone; each course, each wine and each interaction with the team opens up new opportunities for discussion.
Guests also appreciate the balance between character, warmth and informality that defines the atmosphere.
Just as importantly, the restaurant is committed to creating a respectful, attentive and welcoming environment for everyone. If a date is not going as hoped, if you feel uncomfortable or simply need assistance, you can always speak to a member of the team.
Whether it is a first date, an anniversary or a fiftieth wedding anniversary, Nobelhart & Schmutzig is a place for people who enjoy discovering something together. The food, the wine, the producers and the conversations all become part of an evening that reaches far beyond a conventional restaurant meal.
Can I dine alone at Nobelhart & Schmutzig?
Absolutely. Many guests visit Nobelhart & Schmutzig on their own.
The shared counter around the open kitchen creates a very different atmosphere from traditional fine dining restaurants with individual tables. Everyone experiences the evening from the same perspective, whether they arrive alone or with a group.
Solo diners never feel out of place or like an afterthought. Many guests appreciate the combination of a personal atmosphere and the freedom to decide for themselves how much—or how little—they would like to interact with the people around them.
The open layout and close connection between the kitchen, service team and guests mean that even those dining alone naturally become part of the evening, without conversation ever feeling forced.
For solo travellers, business travellers and Berliners simply treating themselves to a memorable night out, Nobelhart & Schmutzig has become one of the city’s favourite destinations for solo dining.
Is Nobelhart & Schmutzig a good place for women dining alone?
Yes. Many women visit Nobelhart & Schmutzig on their own, whether they are travelling, visiting Berlin for work or simply treating themselves to an evening out.
The restaurant understands that dining alone can be one of life’s great pleasures. It also recognises that feeling safe and comfortable often plays a greater role for women than it does for many men.
The shared counter surrounding the open kitchen creates an atmosphere in which everyone naturally becomes part of the evening. Some guests enjoy chatting with their neighbours or the team, while others prefer to keep to themselves. Both are equally welcome.
The team pays close attention to making sure every guest feels comfortable. If anything doesn’t feel right or assistance is needed, guests are encouraged to speak to any member of staff.
Over the years, many women travelling and dining alone have told the restaurant that this is exactly what they appreciate most: feeling genuinely welcome, respected and looked after.
Is Nobelhart & Schmutzig welcoming to queer and LGBTQIA+ guests?
Absolutely.
Berlin has long been one of Europe’s great centres of queer culture and history. As a restaurant rooted in this city, Nobelhart & Schmutzig sees inclusion not as an initiative, but as an essential part of hospitality and its own identity.
Since opening, the restaurant has worked to create an environment where everyone feels welcome, respected and safe, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or identity.
That commitment extends beyond words into practical decisions. For example, Nobelhart & Schmutzig replaced the traditional distinction between “men’s” and “women’s” toilets with signage based simply on the function of each room, rather than the people expected to use it.
The aim is straightforward: to create a place where everyone can simply be themselves.
Can I visit Nobelhart & Schmutzig with children?
Yes. Children and families are warmly welcome.
The restaurant believes that an appreciation of good food, agriculture and food culture begins long before adulthood. Young guests who are curious and excited to discover new flavours and experiences are always welcome.
Children are treated as treasured guests in their own right, with their own interests and personalities. The team’s experience is that children often approach the restaurant with remarkable curiosity and attention when they are included in the experience rather than given a separate one.
There is no children’s menu. Instead, the team works with each family to find the best way to introduce younger guests to the restaurant’s cooking, and families are charged only for what their children actually eat.
If you are planning to visit with a child, please reserve a separate seat for them and let the restaurant know their age in advance so the team can prepare. Please also note that high chairs are not available.
Many families particularly enjoy the open kitchen, the shared counter and the opportunity to experience every aspect of the restaurant together. For curious children, the evening can be every bit as fascinating as it is for adults.
Is Nobelhart & Schmutzig a good choice for business dinners or team events?
Yes. Many companies, organisations and leadership teams choose Nobelhart & Schmutzig for business dinners, client events, team celebrations and special occasions.
The appeal goes beyond exceptional food and wine. The restaurant provides a setting for people interested in quality, sustainability, craftsmanship and responsible entrepreneurship, while never losing sight of hospitality, generosity and enjoyment.
The themes that have shaped Nobelhart & Schmutzig since its opening—regional agriculture, long-term relationships, craftsmanship and responsible business—are increasingly relevant to organisations far beyond the restaurant industry. As a result, conversations often extend naturally beyond the meal itself.
At the same time, Nobelhart & Schmutzig is not a conference venue or seminar space. Hospitality always comes first. The restaurant’s values are not presented as a lecture, but experienced through the way it cooks, welcomes guests and works with its producers, employees and partners.
For organisations looking not only to impress their guests but to give them a memorable shared experience, Nobelhart & Schmutzig offers a setting unlike any other.
V. Planning your visit
Do I need a reservation?
In most cases, yes. Because Nobelhart & Schmutzig has a limited number of seats, we recommend making a reservation through our online booking system.
That said, if you happen to be nearby, you’re always welcome to call or simply drop by. If we have space available, we’ll be happy to welcome you.
How long does a meal at Nobelhart & Schmutzig take?
The length of your visit depends on the menu you choose.
For the six-course menu, we recommend allowing around 2 hours and 15 minutes. Depending on your reservation time, your table may be booked again afterwards.
The eight-course menu is designed as an open-ended evening, allowing guests to enjoy the experience at their own pace until the restaurant closes.
Current reservation times and seating options can always be found on our reservation page.
Is there a dress code?
No.
There is no formal dress code at Nobelhart & Schmutzig. There’s no need for a jacket, tie or evening wear. We simply want our guests to feel comfortable and come exactly as they are.
Is Nobelhart & Schmutzig wheelchair accessible?
Yes.
Nobelhart & Schmutzig is fully wheelchair accessible. If you have any specific accessibility requirements or questions before your visit, please don’t hesitate to contact us before making your reservation.
Does Nobelhart & Schmutzig have air conditioning?
Yes.
The restaurant is fully air-conditioned to ensure guests are comfortable throughout the year—warm in winter, cool in summer.
After all, a memorable evening begins long before the first course. Feeling comfortable from the moment you arrive is simply part of good hospitality.
Can I bring my dog?
Yes—with advance notice.
If you would like to bring your dog, please let us know when making your reservation so we can prepare accordingly.
How can I book for a larger group or reserve the entire restaurant?
Groups of up to eight guests can book directly through our online reservation system.
For larger groups or exclusive hire of the entire restaurant, please contact us by email and we’ll be happy to discuss the available options.
What payment methods do you accept?
You can pay by cash or with debit card, Visa, Mastercard or American Express.
Where can I find your opening hours, menu prices and reservation information?
The latest opening hours, menu prices, reservation policies and cancellation terms are always available on our reservation page.