Europe’s latest vegan paradise is not where you’d expect

The meal in front of me perfectly suits this chilly night: a plate of agnolotti, fragrant with leek and caramelised onion, served in a pool of umami-laden onion consommé. However, more than just an elegant example of comfort food, this crowd-pleaser from the acclaimed Frea restaurant exemplifies Berlin dining on a plate: handmade, plant-centric and designed for maximum sustainability.

“Full taste, zero waste” is the motto of Frea’s founders, Jasmin and David Suchy, and the kitchen of this cosy diner seeks to make the most of every food scrap.

Food at Frea in Berlin is handmade, plant-centric and designed for maximum sustainability.

“We use them to make our fillings and broths, our sauces and creams,” David explains. Whatever can’t be used is turned into compost and returned to the farmers who supply the restaurant. The agnolotti, for instance, is stuffed with day-old, house-made sourdough.

If you love food that is good for the planet, Berlin is the place to go. The city has long been known for its embrace of alternative lifestyles, and that approach has filtered through to many of its best restaurants.

Take Nobelhart & Schmutzig, where chef Micha Schäfer embraces locavore dining through set menus that only use ingredients that grow naturally in the local area. That means more than just ditching bananas or pineapples – it also takes everyday spices such as cinnamon and black pepper off the menu.

At Café Botanico – cafe by day, restaurant by night – chefs source most of the ingredients for the Italian-inflected menu from an on-site, 1000-square-metre permaculture garden. Crunchy Jerusalem artichokes are served raw with soy ricotta, dukkah and orange, while salads are extravaganzas of oft-neglected greens, teaming purslane with Chinese mustard, lavender, lungwort, peppermint, ground ivy and chickweed.

Pioneering vegetarian restaurant Cookies Cream – founded in 2007, first awarded a Michelin star in 2018 – is still flourishing. The arrival experience is typically Berlin – walk down a dingy delivery dock before walking up the fire stairs to the restaurant – but the dining room is surprisingly light-filled. The menu is packed with winners, including a signature dish of onsen egg yolk with seaweed caviar, croutons, sour cream and chives.

When Berlin’s cutting-edge restaurateurs think about sustainability, their focus goes beyond what’s on the plate. At Happa, known for its vegan takes on traditional Bavarian food, the owners employ only female and non-binary staff.

At the Bonvivant Cocktail Bistro, another Michelin-starred establishment, vegetables feature not only on the plate but also in the glass, with cocktails built around ingredients such as beetroot and spirulina. Diners can check the restaurant’s green credentials in its seven-page sustainability report, which details everything from its choice of cleaning materials to its focus on the health of staff (through, among other measures, partnerships with local gyms and pools).

Planet-friendly cuisine isn’t just found in the city’s fine-diners. Berliners can enjoy vegetarian takes on just about any cuisine you can think of, from Middle Eastern (try Café Pilz for tahini-coated cauliflower while sipping Lebanese wine), kebabs (at Neukölln’s Nur Gemüse-Kebap) and even pizza: La Stella Nera’s vegan pizza offerings include the carciofina piccante with soy cheese, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and spicy house-smoked tofu.

Another local favourite, Momos, serves up organic veggie and vegan dumplings filled with sweet potato, aubergine, or a mix of broccoli, shiitake mushroom and smoked tofu.

One thing is certain: the city’s restaurants will keep dishing up more surprises. “For restaurateurs, the challenge is how can we keep doing what we are doing, how can we keep improving?” says Frea’s David Suchy, noting that no restaurant can rest on its laurels. “When I ask my head chef what’s the best dish on the menu, he always tells me, ‘The next one.’”

Get the best of Sunday Life magazine delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning. Sign up here for our free newsletter.