Rutz — Restaurant in Berlin

TL;DR: Disappointing.

The menu is called an "inspirations menu", but at least for me, each dish at best had components that hit that note, never the whole dish. Whole evening was heavy on fermented things, so if you like that, your mileage will vary. The only two things out of the whole menu and non-alcoholic pairing I would pay to have again are the blood sausage bread roll, and the citrus-y drink somewhere in the middle of the menu. I want to make it very clear that this is based on a specific menu, specific taste (mine), and specific day.

3-star restaurants should be - according to Michelin - "worthy of a trip in itself". For me, if I lived near there, for that kind of money (500 EUR, without tip), I would rather eat really nice Ramen at Takumi NINE 100m across the street nearly every day of the month (depending on the Ramen it's 1/20 - 1/30 of the price).

Also, they ran into one of my personal pet peeves: if you do lay out straight edge knives, do make sure they are sharp! The one I had at least was not. Yes, I know it's difficult, because depending on the care of the customer (and your tableware) you basically have to sharpen those things every other day. I would rather have micro-serrations, than a dull straight edge.

Atmosphere & other patrons were okay, mostly nice & quiet, except for the Russian person on the phone two tables down from me. 🤷🏻

Servers/Hosts were professionaly friendly and seemed to enjoy their job. Twice however, they did arrive prematurely to clear the dish - while I was still chewing on the last bite.

Unfortunately for the review of this restaurant I have eaten at a very good 2-star restaurant in the last month (Dede in Ireland), and - at least for me - they win in about every metric I care about. So probably I should be mostly disappointed in Michelin for setting high expectations, but apparently having very different standards in Germany vs Ireland.

All in all, I had an okay meal, I did finish every dish, some parts were quite interesting, but considering this is a 3-star Michelin restaurant (and somewhat expensive), that can not have been the goal. I left disappointed and had a chocolate Franzbrötchen at home to pick me up (thanks for coming to Berlin, Bäckerei Junge).

To end on a positive note, if you think fine dining is all small portions & foams, at least there were no foams to be had...

This is a fair and honest review of my experience at Rutz, in December past. When I arrived there, it was the 2nd 3 star Michelin restaurant I have visited, but I had my fair share of 2 and 1 star Michelin retaurants. I understand that Michelin inspectors do NOT consider the interior design, comfort, or upscale touches of the restaurants in their judgement; neither the seating, cutlery or the table settings. This is utterly wrong, if you ask me - I do not pay 1,000€+ per menu with wine pairing for two, just to have - even an- exceptional dinner. Now, 1st issue: a shabby county railway station would look more appealing and welcoming than Rutz, period. A Brauhaus is already an upper class, in interior design and comfort (gemütlichkeit). Poor furniture (they might call it minimalistic), no table cloth (at 3 stars!), just a place mat, small venue, dark, no view, etc. I repeat, it is not OK to judge the restaurants without taking into account the interior! The Steirereck in Vienna, 2 star, is a model on how a Michelin star restaurant should look like, from 2 stars up. I won't agree that - leaving the price matter aside- one goes to a such a venue JUST for the taste of food! Is is just as going to listen to the Berliner Philharmoniker in a park, under heavy rain, no comfort, no acoustics - compared to the venue where the concerts took place... OK, this matter set aside, something even more disturbing: very poor service for this level! No proper greeting at the entrance, no staff to chit-chat and take your coat, etc. Le coup de grace: one server was clumsy, spilling water on the table (plastic mats!), while pouring from the bottle. Another one noticed and came and cleaned the table... Finally, as per the food, the aspect and presentation were great, like a micro-system from the forest, or the garden, a wonder in its right. The taste, on the other side - was not up to par - I compare the set with the Amador Vienna, the other 3 star restaurant we have visited - indeed, taste is very subjective, but Amador bouquet of taste is close to genius, while at Rutz it is more like a hard working student, who was not touched by the "holy gastronomy spirit".

All in all, I do not advise to visit, truly overrated. Try other 1 and 2 Michelin starred restaurants in Berlin, you will have more rewarding...

Rutz is very good; but it isn't good enough. There's no denying the attention paid to service, sustainability, the quality of ingredients, and the creativity of their preparation. You'll likely see dishes here either completely new or reminiscent of other 3-star Michelin restaurants in Europe, and much effort is paid to keeping the list of ingredients short, simple, and rustic. Unfortunately, Rutz has passed the threshold of what haute cuisine can reasonably cost. The menu and wine tasting, even if you don't go for the add ons, surpasses 500€ per person; things as simple as still water get tacked on for an additional 25€. While the dishes at Rutz were tasty, and the effort in their culinary efforts is second to none, even those who enjoy exploring fine dining can't justify this kind of expense anymore. The service (solid, but not exceptional; multiple waters and the sommelier spoke varying fluencies of English) and atmosphere (quiet and spacious, but wholly uninspired from a decor standpoint, no different than any local fine restaurant) fail to make a case for why Rutz should continue to demand such a high price. Even if you're a person to whom money is no object in the pursuit of excellent food, you'd likely leave Rutz feeling as I did; impressed, satiated, but thoroughly unconvinced of...