Nobelhart & Schmutzig — Restaurant in Berlin

Yes, Nobelhart & Schmutzig has a Michelin star. And yes, it made its way into the “top 50 restaurants” of the planet. However, after a six course dinner, I wasn’t convinced that it lived up to its reputation and its very high prices. N&S likes to emphasise that they source everything locally. And they make sure that you are very, very aware of this. Each course is introduced at length. Honestly, a bit of info can be nice, but I don’t need to know the name and place of work of the guy who raised the guinea fowl which somehow ended up on my plate. I honestly don’t care. If I did, I would ask. The proof should be in the pudding. Let the food speak for itself. And this is - unfortunately - where N&S didn’t quite deliver. A little side note on “ambiance”: The restaurant likes to play music at a rather high volume. Sells more drinks, I guess. Yet, for me it got a bit in the way. Also, the place smells, well, like a kitchen where things are fried. Because you sit right next to the kitchen, and ventilation can be tricky. Which not only impacted the way I tried to enjoy my food, it also left a lasting stench in my clothes. Back to food and drinks: As my partner put it bluntly yet accurately, you end up having “your grandmother’s cooking at a very high price.” The first course, “Brotzeit”, was exactly what it said on the menu: bread, self-made butter (so what?) and a couple of vegetables. Nothing special, really. Followed by grilled white asparagus in a béchamel sauce. Nicely done, yet again nothing to write home about. Third: “Käsespätzle” - kind of the German equivalent of mac & cheese. Again, well prepared, however, it is not exactly a high bar to get this right. Fourth: asparagus (again), this time green with lots of herbs and a (truly fantastic) parsley cream. For me, this was the best course of the evening. Fifth, pieces of the aforementioned guinea fowl with mashed potatoes, some salad and an egg yolk sauce. For me the disappointment of the evening. The little meat I had on my plate was ok, however, the potatoes were mostly tasteless, and I found the texture of the salad in this combination irritating. Desert consisted of a piece of strawberry roll (with verbena cream, interesting), some strawberry sorbet (fine, yet lacking sparkle) and a dash of double cream. All of this for €160 (including tap water) per person left me wanting. And a bit hungry. On the drinks side, N&S showed some potential, yet could still not live up to its high prices. The sommelier was mostly friendly, yet always a bit hectic, spoke too quickly with a weird focus on the tiniest details of the wines served. He sometimes just forgot his clients and their tastes. One can get individual glasses of (few) wines to accompany the menu, however, you’ll have to pay: €25 for only 0.1l (!) of a wine listed in the wine menu for €120 a bottle. You do the math. The sommelier poured out small tasting shots of (the few paired) wines. However, he didn’t quite accept a “no” from us when we didn’t like the wine in question, giving us push-back. Sorry, it’s our taste, and no, we don’t have to defend it. In one case, a red wine had bits of depot floating around in the tasting glass, and he dismissed it as “normal”. Only for us to discover he later decanted that same wine for other patrons a few seats over. Which would have been the professional thing to do in the first place. Staff were mostly nice, friendly and helpful. Although points have to be deducted for a comment about the single (!) knife each guest gets for the evening: “Yeah, if you take that one home, we charge you €400.” Neither do I understand the note in the drinks menu to charge patrons €30 for each glass broken. Is there a massive wave of glass-smashing going on in Berlin’s restaurants? Doubt it. Overall, we ended up paying almost as much for our (non-excessive) drinks as we did for our food. Which in our opinion was too much for the kind of food and drinks served. Your mileage may vary. We...

I am going to be quite direct and honest here.

This restaurant has a very nice ambience and atmosphere, but they're pretty much the only things I really enjoyed about it.

Some of the staff were lovely and personable, others were uptight and cold. For those who were pretentious and snippy, a definite attitude adjustment is overdue. One in particular was quite rude to my wife in terms of tone; she spoke to her in a very condescending manner, especially at the beginning of the meal. We tried not to think much of it because she didn't say anything outrageous, but her poor attitude definitely sticks in our memory.

My wife and I ordered water and only intended on ordering water, both because we did not want to drink alcohol and because we weren't there for the drinks, frankly. The staff asked us no less than 5 times if we were sure we didn't want anything else to drink. After the first 2 times, I thought they were being attentive. After that, I realized it was because the price of paying for one person's drink pairings can end up costing the same price as the meal. This type of repeated asking is very unbecoming of a Michelin star establishment, period.

Which brings me to the food... We were both flabbergasted at the end of the meal by the lack of flavor and passion. The appetizer course and desserts were lovely, and we appreciated the locally-sourced ingredients. However, no amount of verbal fluff and interesting context can replace the need for exceptionality in flavor at such a restaurant. My wife was served a vegetarian beetroot course that was quite inedible -- neither of us could finish it and it was a very small portion. The chicken from my set was a bit dry, and the sauce and greens it was served with did absolutely nothing to make the dish -- I could tell the chicken was free range and that it was organic, but that's all that was positively noteworthy about it. Moreover, the final course was a single "parting provision" bite-sized dessert you take from a communal plate on the way out of the restaurant. It tasted nice, but I was pretty taken aback that this counted as the eighth course... That's not a course.

I don't mean this hatefully or with malice, but I truly don't understand what about this restaurant constitutes a Michelin star, and now I'm questioning the entire Michelin star system. I'm sorry, but this was an expensive disappointment for us. I simply would not recommend this place (especially considering the price) and would encourage excited diners who want excellent, tasty food to seek...

My children and I do not casually seek out expensive restaurants, but instead we look for unique experiences. Nobelhart & Schmutzig came up on every list of dining experiences in Berlin, we wanted a dinner to celebrate an accomplishment, and we were astonished by the finesse put into the energy of every staff person and every moment we experienced. In addition, this restaurant is wheelchair accessible (for power wheelchairs or manual) and the bathrooms are fully accessible. Amazing. Don't miss this.

The experience begins as each guest selects a window of time to arrive thus getting a personal welcome and seating. We happened to unwittingly choose the first window and were delighted to watch the slow procession as the space filled with anticipation.

The wine book is a hefty selection that offers beauty for your mouth - don't be intimidated by the choices - you can choose a wine pairing with your choice of dishes and limit it to the dishes (or dish) you request. They'll help you with that decision if you like. During the course of the evening, wait staff appear with an assembly of food (and utensils if they are needed by the dish) slip them on the table with a cheery smile, announce the origin of the ingredients, and slip away as quickly. This restaurant maximizes the diner's experience with food and company.

In keeping with that, no cell phones or photography are allowed, and your senses will be filled with the visuals of a table of mouth watering food (each dish pleased more than the last), company, and the fine staff of this restaurant who work intensely to make it look like child's play to offer a Michelin star experience.

I'm not sure how much I should give away about the food, all I can say is that each dish was a superb surprise to the eye, heart, and mouth. The flavors, textures, and presentation were bliss. Ten courses were perfectly proportioned not to over fill us, and each dish was hard to part from until the next dish comforted us with new flavors. Our particular dinner borrowed a theme of fall vegetables and dishes, and we marveled at how unique cuts, pairings, and sauce applications captured our attentions and senses. The fact that all the dishes are locally sourced and a little lift given to each local producer made our hearts as full as our mouths.

The door cracked us up.

You won't want...