Find the Best Restaurants in Berlin

There is a particular kind of optimism that settles over Berlin in spring, and it has very little to do with the weather finally becoming bearable. It has to do with new restaurants and the city recalibrating itself to what places are hot and which are not. This spring is no different. We flagged a few places months ago, when they were still in that pre-opening purgatory of permits and pending menus, and if you're wondering what restaurants actually met our expectations and what the hottest tables in Berlin are right now, this is the answer. Behold three restaurants you should have on your to-eat list right now.

The space on the corner of Akazienkiez that housed Björn Swanson's Faelt has found its second life. Barlevain is the first restaurant from Maximilian Hühnergart and Ana Hernández Götz, a couple not unknown to the Berlin scene: Ana ran front of house and wines at Tulus Lotrek, Max cooked at Facil and spent time as sous-chef at Barra. Together they have opened something that feels both refreshingly unpretentious and quietly accomplished. The menu is deliberately condensed and nothing needs explaining or excusing. Max is simply cooking what he knows, using the flavors he grew up with, and the intelligence of that restraint is what makes the food interesting. The KYS oysters with a homemade tomato hot sauce taste like a gourmet, salty-sea version of your Stammkneipe's Mexikaner (that's a good thing, btw), the house terrine is executed with remarkable competence, and the grilled pork neck skewer is based on Max's Saxonian mother's recipe, pork marinated in nothing more than onion, pepper, and salt, served with pickled onions and it is a million times lighter and tastier than you expect. Cavatelli in onion jus with Bärlauch, a whole plaice with a smashing Frankfurt apple wine beurre blanc, rhubarb with vanilla custard. Proper, no-bullshit cooking with lots of love and a beverage program to match (try the German vermouth).

What is even more interesting: the food at Barlevain quietly says a lot about where the new generation of German chefs is heading. It's a restaurant that feels distinctively German without performing Germanness in its classical form, and without serving a single dish that is quintessentially German — something which is far harder to pull off than it sounds. Go.

If you followed our Japanese restaurant coverage from earlier this year, you know that Shiori took the top spot as the best Japanese restaurant in Berlin without much of a contest. Nichi Getsu is the new sushi restaurant from the same team, anticipated in proportion to the reputation this crew has built in the scene.

Rudolfskiez is the slightly odd and disorienting pocket of Friedrichshain just behind Warschauer Straße that has long been a blank on the city's culinary map. Nichi Getsu is about to change that with its recent opening in one of the most beautiful buildings in the whole Kiez. The outspoken mission: to offer one of the best counter-style sushi experiences in Berlin. Currently the restaurant is running a soft opening with a lunch-only format. You have the choice between thick, luscious futomaki rolls to take away, and a stunning sit-down chirashi don menu, which includes a starter, a bowl of exceptional seafood chirashi on sushi rice, miso soup, and dessert to round it off. Even in this preliminary format, it is one of the finest sushi lunches available in Berlin right now. The fish quality is outstanding, the craftsmanship meticulous, the sushi rice so well-seasoned it puts the competition to shame, and nothing feels rushed or approximate. All of this is preparation for an Edomae omakase menu launching in June. Better make the trip to Rudolfskiez before the word spreads too far.

This is the one all of cool Berlin is talking about, and for once the conversation is mighty justified. The crew behind Pinci secured one of the last remaining spots on Paul-Lincke-Ufer (next to Spindler) and turned it into something genuinely spectacular: a restaurant drenched from floor to ceiling in bright orange, cunningly decorated with extravagant furniture, tiny tables, and polished metal bars for you to take a seat and people-watch. The design alone makes this one of the coolest openings in a while, but the energy of the people in it — from the vibrant crew to the exorbitantly good-looking guests — takes this place to ungodly coolness levels.

Breda is Pinci on fancy crack. Think all the vibe, but a food menu that convinces on all fronts. The owners are calling it a trattoria, and it is a step up from Pinci in register and ambition, while retaining the warmth of one of the most popular restaurants in Berlin. The veal tartare, hand-cut and served with herbs and grated bottarga, is exactly what tartare should be: light, airy, and built around depth of flavor rather than richness. The cavatelli with white ragù is one of the best plates of pasta I've had in a very long time. The tuna belly, briefly seared and served on a sauce au poivre, might raise initial fears of feasibility, but as soon as you put one of those lush, cream-sauce-coated tuna pieces in your mouth, all doubts are erased. We visited Breda on the fifth day of service and it ran like a restaurant that had been open for months, which says a lot about how utterly professional this crew is. The team is strong, the room is full, and it is going to stay that way. This is the hottest opening of the summer and it will be a difficult table to secure. You can reserve. Do so. Weeks in advance.

Three openings, three very different registers, all worth your time. Tag us when you've been.