Tim Raue, a top, idiosyncratic restaurant in Berlin

It`s different from the typical area where you`d expect to find a 2-star restaurant and, badly, despite any objections to the World`s 50Best, world-class. The majority of tourists, who don`t seem to understand the historical significance of the spot and probably don`t even care, line up to take pictures in front of the former American outpost, enter the shops selling souvenirs of pieces of the wall and stop at the adjacent McDonald`s for a quick snack. Unfortunately, Mommos, the ancient Greek god of irony and sarcasm, didn`t do me the favour of McDonald`s being on the other side of the former wall by gifting me a historic photo in my phone album.

Berlin-born Tim Raue, deeply influenced by his travels through Southeast and East Asia at an early age, has shaped in his 50s a cuisine so personal and unique that I can almost guarantee there is no other like it in the world. How many times does one have the opportunity to taste on the same menu sweet-eating perch with Japanese seasoned rice in a rich, ultra-creamy beurre blanc sauce with a base of sour sauerkraut embroidered with umami next to a pork shank croquette, in Grandma Gerda`s traditional recipe, with spicy sweet Japanese aromatic mustard cream, ethereal hot ginger with the flavours melding on a delicate dashi gel? With years of experience and a few gallons in his lapel, the chef has found his style by bridging the flavours of Germany with the aromas and spices of the East.

The open, bright room, which is simple, high-ceilinged and with tables placed around the perimeter, creates a unique sense of camaraderie with the diners` orientation towards the centre of the room where the professional but heavy staff moves. In the innermost reaches of the restaurant, countless, colourful Asian-styled, traditional or more pop-inspired baubles adorn the walls and the basement, where the private dining table is located. It`s hard to miss that the decor reflects the menu`s funky marriage of German and East Asian.

Tim Raue serves lunch and dinner and offers a total of 5 menus, 2 of which are vegan. The best option is to visit during lunch service, judging by my experience, during which I was given all five options. In short, what you are essentially asked to decide is the percentage of Asian ingredients in your dishes, with the two main menus being either predominantly Asian-inspired, expressing the chef`s younger years and his early culinary steps, or enriched with German recipes reflecting his later period with the chef`s creativity being undeniable from the first bite and leaving you dumbfounded. The different tastes of the other customers made it a little bit possible to add dishes such as duck and lobster. I saw close to 30 dishes parading in front of me. Among others, the explosively flavoured, refreshing trout tartare with caviar, spiced cucumber and oyster mousse, dill jelly and jalapeno puree with flavourful depth, impeccable balance and complex textures, despite the few bites due to the small size, as much as you chewed. Technically impeccable pulled chicken fricassee in European flavours with black truffle, carrots and peas and a two-stage dish with delicious borscht with wagyu broth, chewy animal tongue, sour cream, Thai green pepper and blackberry vinegar and bresa cheeks that had no reason to be wagyu, since the breed`s great asset, the animal`s excellent fat and tenderness, is lost in the long cooking process. A good scallop, with plenty of collagen, from a properly raised animal of any other breed would have the same, if not better, effect. I still don`t understand the wagyu mania in any dish beyond a nicely seared steak or katsu sando but o tempora o mores.

Beyond that, however, all the creations are moving at a high level, with the ingredients being top-notch, the techniques impeccable, and the flavours blending harmoniously. All sound and work in complementary ways to bring out the result and the chef`s ideas in highly personal and interesting creations in a one-of-a-kind cuisine that excites the result and is worth the detour, either on one side of the wall or on the other.

Info: https://tim-raue.com/en/