“Modern, complex, friendly”: These are Berlin’s new star restaurants
The Michelin Guide highlights the consistently high quality of Berlin's culinary scene – and honors three new restaurants with stars. We'll show you what to expect there.
Some lose, others win – and some are there for the first time: That's what it's like when the renowned Michelin Guide awards its stars once a year. And while the mood in the Lorenz Adlon dining room may be a bit subdued at the moment, as the hotel restaurant has now lost one of its two stars, champagne corks are popping in other Berlin restaurants.
The guide highlights the consistently high quality of the capital's gastronomic landscape; accordingly, many restaurants were able to defend their accolades, including Bonvivant and Irma la Douce with one star each, and Tim Raue and Restaurant Horváth with two stars each – Rutz also remains Berlin's only three-star restaurant.
But the joy is likely to be particularly great in three relatively new restaurants that were able to convince the guide with exciting, almost youthful concepts: We present to you the Berlin restaurants that were awarded a Michelin star for the first time on Tuesday.
1. Pars: “Friendly-neighborly address”At Pars on Grolmanstrasse, Alina Jakobsmeier had already set an impressive standard: The master pastry chef had been the restaurant's head chef since its opening at the end of 2022, and about six months later, Gault & Millau, the other major restaurant guide, recognized her as "a pioneer of a 'next generation' that will shape the German restaurant landscape in the future."
At the end of 2024, a surprise awaited a loyal group of guests who appreciate not only the refined dishes at Pars, but also the extremely attractive, creative ambience: Alina Jakobsmeier is leaving the restaurant; founder Kristiane Kegelmann—also a master pastry chef and artist, who also sells handmade, artistic chocolates under the name Pars—is looking for a new head chef.
She found him in Florian Sperlhofer, who first worked in China, then in outstanding European kitchens such as Restaurant Reinstoff, the Seehotel Traunsee, and with Tim Raue in Berlin. And lo and behold: Sperlhofer earned the first star for Pars, "a friendly, neighborly address," as the Michelin Guide calls it, where "skillfully balanced flavors and textures are convincing, for example, the smoked local eel with beetroot or the delicious pike-perch with Szeged cabbage."
An interesting wine pairing is offered with the menu. Tip: The chef makes fantastic chocolates herself, which you can also purchase. The seven-course menu for €135 or the four-course menu for €79 is accompanied by wines curated by sommelier Julia Giese—and the Pars chocolates are also sold in the dining room.
Pars Restaurant. Grolmanstraße 53–54, 10623 Berlin. Wed.–Sat. 2–4 pm and 7–11 pm. www.parspralinen.com
2. Matthias: “Modern and product-oriented implementation”Silvio Pfeufer has already played the star game once. With Einsunternull, the gourmet restaurant that the Lichtenberg native ran for three years on Hannoversche Straße. Shortly after opening in 2019, the restaurant, where Pfeufer cooked uncompromisingly regional dishes, was awarded a Michelin star, which the chef managed until Einsunternull's voluntary closure in 2022.
Pfeufer, who had trained under renowned gourmet chefs such as Jens Rittmeyer, Jan Hartwig, and Michael Kempf, followed with UUU, a Chinese-influenced pop-up that caused a stir in the Sprengelkiez district. Last year, the news broke: Silvio Pfeufer, together with restaurateur Janine Woltaire, is reopening a permanent restaurant, Matthias, named after his grandfather.
The cuisine there will stand for "freshness, clarity, and strong flavors," "with a modern, contemporary concept rooted in French cuisine." And once again, the prestigious recognition should come quickly: Having only opened in October, Matthias, which offers 6-course menus for a modest €135 per person and wines selected by sommelier Michael Stiel, has now been awarded its first star. "It's fantastic how, for example, with 'Scallop, Carrot, Trout Caviar,' they implement French roots in a modern and product-oriented way," says Michelin in its statement.
Matthias Restaurant. Kollwitzstraße 87, 10435 Berlin. Wed-Fri 7-11pm, Saturday 12:30-4pm and 7-11pm. www.matthiasrestaurant.com
3. Loumi: “Quite complex and expressive”What's remarkable about Loumi, now honored with a Michelin star, is that it's a self-taught chef: Karl-Louis Kömmler, not a trained chef, but an extremely ambitious master. He cooks "quite complex and expressive, making no compromises when it comes to product quality," according to the statement naming the star.
"The focus is on Japanese-Asian and French cuisine" – and this only since the end of 2023, so Loumi on Ritterstrasse is a relatively new restaurant. Kömmler opened his restaurant together with restaurateur Mical Rosenblat, who serves as sommelier and hostess.
What's exciting about the concept: A small four-course menu is served on Wednesdays and Thursdays for €85, while from Wednesday to Saturday, eight courses are served for €139 per person, plus a small à la carte selection. The Michelin Guide highlights a "fantastic" variation of "quail, Kampot pepper jus, Pertuis asparagus, anchovy, salted lemon & morel 'farci', brioche à la croissant"; the wine list is "somewhat smaller, but well-selected." The "puristic interior," which is nevertheless inviting and includes an open kitchen, is also well received.
Loumi. Ritterstraße 2, 10969 Berlin. Wed-Sat 7-11 pm. www.loumi-dining.com
Berliner-zeitung
