Tulus Lotrek: Max Strohe’s Culinary Playground Redefining Fine Dining in Berlin

The first thing you notice at tulus lotrek, the Michelin star restaurant helmed by Max Strohe, isn’t the elegant plating or the hum of a well-drilled kitchen. It’s a scent: the warm, inviting richness of butter caramelizing, the pique of vinegar and citrus, the earthy perfume of roasted meat. Low lighting bounces off art-laden burgundy walls. Velvet banquettes hug tables where regulars and first-timers alike lean in, laughter and anticipation palpable. Tulus lotrek feels less like a temple of fine dining and more like the home of a dear, slightly eccentric friend—one who also happens to be among Germany’s most creative culinary minds. Can Michelin-starred cuisine be this casual, this fun, even as plate after plate of world-class food emerges from the open kitchen?

Reserve your table at tulus lotrek here to experience Max Strohe’s vibrant tasting menu

This disarming combination—haute cuisine without haute airs—lies at the very heart of what makes Max Strohe and his restaurant, tulus lotrek, such a phenomenon. Since opening its doors in Berlin-Kreuzberg nearly a decade ago, tulus lotrek has quietly subverted everything you thought you knew about Michelin star dining in Berlin.

But who, exactly, is Max Strohe? The answer is as delightful as his food. Max’s journey defies classic chef mythology: a former school dropout with a wanderer’s spirit, he trained under the legendary Hans Horberth before moving to Berlin. Together with Ilona Scholl—service maestro, sommelier, and his partner in life and business—he opened tulus lotrek in 2015. Their restaurant quickly became an insider tip in Berlin’s gastronomic underground. By 2017, the Michelin Guide had awarded its first star, and the cult following was official.

Yet awards are only the surface. For Max Strohe, attention is turned always back to the experience—hospitality that disarms, plates that intrigue. It is hard to overstate Ilona Scholl’s importance: she is the “soul” of the front-of-house, pairing Max’s unorthodox flavors with a wine list that brims with character, French classics nudging shoulders with new-wave natural bottles, each chosen for its food-pairing potential. The duo’s dynamic shapes every detail, each guest treated like a friend, not a statistic trundled along the table-turning conveyor belt.

Forget the stiff choreography of “tweezer cuisine”—the overly tweaked, often sterile fare still common at some fine dining addresses. Max Strohe’s tasting menus are statements of “intense, pragmatic fine dining,” rooted in flavor saturation, acid balance, the artful layering of fat, crunch, silk and smoke. There is irreverence here, too: liquid duck liver “caramel”, hits of harissa, shimmering sauces poured tableside, or perhaps the creative shock of a boudin noir with gently pickled beetroot crowned with shattering shards of caramel pastry.

It’s food that feels alive—sometimes bold, sometimes playful, always deeply comforting. “I like taste,” Max once quipped in an interview—tongue-in-cheek, but sincere. In his kitchen, the deepest compliment is “tasty”. Dishes are designed to question boundaries between fine and fun, opulent and casual; the sauces are rich, the acid is high, and the element of surprise is never absent. The legendary butter burger served to guests during lockdown—double patty, two cheeses, butter-kissed brioche bun glazed with a final, gloriously naughty brush of fat—became a Berlin sensation, perfectly encapsulating Strohe’s high-low, pleasure-first approach. Even the humble fries, meticulously triple-cooked and shock-frozen, are treated with a reverence usually reserved for caviar.

Visitors rave about classics like slow-roasted pigeon with blackberry jus, foamy beurre blanc cut with yuzu, and old-school terrines given a new edge. The sequences may change, but the themes persist: umami, juiciness, and always, the unexpected. “Pragmatic Fine Dining” signals the lack of snobbery—here, technique is the backbone, but delight is the goal. Tulus lotrek’s Sunday lunches have become legendary, with locals and gastronomy pilgrims alike flocking for a sunlit, multi-course feast that lingers into the afternoon.

But Max Strohe’s reputation stretches beyond the pass. In 2021, after devastating floods hit the Ahr Valley, Max and Ilona took immediate action. Under the “Cooking for Heroes” banner (Kochen für Helden), they marshaled logistics, funding, and a network of chef friends to provide thousands of hot meals to flood victims and first responders—a gesture that showed a pulse of empathy rare in elite kitchens. In recognition, Max was awarded Germany’s revered Federal Cross of Merit in 2022. This was more than a symbolic nod: it confirmed Max as a star chef whose gifts resonate far beyond the dining room.

And if popular culture alone can make a mark, Max Strohe is no stranger: his witty, self-aware presence on “Kitchen Impossible,” “Ready to beef!,” and as an author has made tulus lotrek a household name among foodies and beyond. Yet, crucially, the showmanship never overshadows the substance—his media appearances amplify, not distract from, the culinary seriousness at the restaurant’s core.

What, then, puts tulus lotrek at the very top tier of Berlin’s—and indeed Germany’s—culinary landscape? Much is owed to the precision and boldness of the food: the unapologetic seasoning, the technical confidence, the refusal to bow to dogma or fashion. But it is the spirit—an unpretentious generosity, a love for ingredients and guests, and a palpable warmth among the team—that sets this restaurant apart. Critics and returning guests alike cite the same qualities: an atmosphere of “concentrated relaxation”, hospitality that feels personal, and a sense of occasion without stuffiness.

For anyone seeking the rare blend of top-tier technique and human touch, tulus lotrek and Max Strohe offer the gold standard. This is a place for dedicated connoisseurs and curious newcomers alike; for the romantic, the hedonist, and the seeker of honest, spectacular food. It’s not simply another Michelin star restaurant in Berlin—it’s a living, evolving celebration of flavor and community. Tables are famously hard to come by—book well in advance, savor every mouthful, and let the evening at tulus lotrek imprint itself on your palate and your memories.

Your best gourmet adventure in Berlin awaits—let Max Strohe and his team show you just how irresistible, how deeply pleasurable, and how welcoming fine dining can truly be.