Nobelhart & Schmutzig

Nobelhart & Schmutzig is a Michelin-starred restaurant on Friedrichstrasse in Kreuzberg and one of the most distinctive places to eat in Berlin. It describes its cooking as vocally local: the kitchen builds its menu around ingredients from Berlin, Brandenburg and the surrounding regions, and avoids products from far away, which means that the menu tracks the seasons of northern Germany closely.

The dining room is built around a large counter that seats up to 28 guests around the open kitchen, so you can watch the cooks at work throughout the evening. A large table at the back seats 15 more. The atmosphere is relaxed and conversational, and feels more like a gathering than a formal dining room. Dinner is a set menu of many small courses, with drinks pairings that also focus on regional producers. Check the website for the current menu and prices.

The restaurant suits curious diners who want to understand how a city's food can be rooted in its own region, and couples or friends looking for a memorable evening. Because the menu is fixed and the ingredients are local, people with complex dietary requirements should get in touch when booking to check what is possible.

Nobelhart & Schmutzig is open Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm, and on Sundays and Mondays by arrangement. Reservations are essential and should be made through the booking link on the restaurant's website, well in advance for weekends. Guests are seated together at the start of the evening, so arrive on time. Smart casual dress is fine.

The restaurant's approach goes further than many farm-to-table kitchens. Because ingredients come only from the region, familiar staples such as olive oil, black pepper or lemons may be missing from the menu, and the kitchen uses local alternatives instead. The result is food that tastes distinctly of the place and season, and an evening that often prompts conversation about where food comes from. Drinks follow the same philosophy, with wines and other drinks from regional producers, so it is worth taking the pairing to experience the full concept.

The restaurant is a few minutes' walk from Kochstrasse station on the U6, at the southern end of Friedrichstrasse. Checkpoint Charlie is a short walk north, and the Jewish Museum Berlin and Tim Raue's restaurant are also close by. The surrounding streets are quiet in the evening, so plan a taxi or U-Bahn ride for afterwards if you want to continue to a bar.