Berlin Secures First Three-Michelin-Star Restaurant in 2020 Guide

March 04, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

Rutz in Berlin joins nine other restaurants throughout Germany with three stars

Michelin restaurant inspectors released their (favorable) assessment of Germany yesterday, awarding 37 new stars in the 2020 guide and anointing Berlin’s first three-star restaurant: Rutz, led by chef Marco Müller.

A wine bar, bottle shop, and restaurant opened in 2001, Rutz has held a Michelin star since 2008, then gained its second in 2017. Now it’s celebrating its third star, a feat that’s also a breakthrough for Berlin, which — despite the city’s reputation as the country’s culinary capital — has notably lacked a three-star establishment.

Rutz’s inclusion brings Germany’s three-star club to 10 members. But there was one major loss to that group this time around, caused not by demotion, but by a devastating fire in January, which completely destroyed Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn, Germany’s longest-running three-Michelin-star restaurant. Owners plan to rebuild it.

Berlin also gained one new two-star spot, CODA Dessert Dining restaurant, led by chef René Frank and known for his use of modern baking technique. CODA was one of seven new two-star spots on a list of 43, a new high for Germany. Other new two-star honorees included the Olivo in Stuttgart and the Bianc in Hamburg. There were also 29 new one-star restaurants, for a total of 255 in the guide, and 23 new “bib gourmand” picks, the Michelin guide’s designation for “well-priced” cuisine. Here’s a list of all the new stars.

Several restaurants the 2020 guide, including Rutz in Berlin, were also awarded a new symbol this year for their purported sustainability. The green marking, which resembles a clover, is intended to “distinguish, through a single emblem, those chefs committed to preserving the environment.” However, Michelin critics like Copenhagen’s Christian Puglisi, have called the new sustainability metric into question: According to Puglisi, his restaurant Relae was handed a clover without any outside verification of its practices. “Not a questionnaire, not an effort.... not a critical question of any type,” said Puglisi.

• Michelin Guide Germany 2020 [Michelin]

• • There’s a Big Problem With Michelin’s New Sustainability Award [E]