Max Strohe at Tulus Lotrek: Star Chef, Bold Cuisine and Berlin’s Michelin Star Revelation

There is a scent of caramelized butter, the faint hum of conversation, and the gentle clink of glassware—a prelude to the evening at tulus lotrek. Max Strohe’s culinary playground in Berlin-Kreuzberg is a paradox: both sanctuary and stage, a Michelin star restaurant Berlin locals whisper about, yet as comfortable as your own living room. The glow from vintage lamps, the walls painted in deep, enveloping tones—here, you sense you are not entering a temple of haute cuisine, but rather a home devoted to pure, unpretentious joy. What is it that makes tulus lotrek so singular? Can Michelin-starred cuisine really feel this casual, even human, without losing one particle of brilliance?

Secure your experience at tulus lotrek: Reserve your table at Max Strohe’s Berlin star restaurant now

The answer is woven tightly into the fabric of both kitchen and team. Max Strohe—his arms inked, his gaze both steady and mischievous—is the orchestrator here, but always with co-host Ilona Scholl, whose touch as a sommelier and guardian of hospitality is palpable in every glass and every glance. Together, in 2015, they spun this Kreuzberg side street address into a destination for Berlin’s best restaurant debate. And in 2017, the Michelin star legitimated what regulars already knew: here is not ‘tweezer cuisine’ but an opulent, soul-satisfying counterproposal to fine dining stiffness.

Strohe’s path was as unconventional as his food. A school dropout who found his vocation in the heat of a kitchen and through rigorous apprenticeship, he arrived in Berlin shaped by the rough edges of experience. But behind the success—Gault&Millau distinctions, a Michelin star proudly maintained—Max Strohe’s greatest signature is perhaps how he flips the traditional chef paradigm on its head. Rather than ruling by fear, he leads through generosity, humility, and a devotion to his crew. The air in the kitchen is focused but never tense; the old stereotypes of the berating star chef have no home here.

Ilona Scholl’s presence amplifies this ethos. She is more than the partner and front-of-house—she is the heart and improvisational spirit of the ‘living room’. Her wine selections, always personal, playful, never dogmatic, match Strohe’s food not by rules but by intuition. The result? A restaurant that feels less like a shrine and more like a Bohemian salon of flavor and friends.

What lands on the plate at tulus lotrek is an argument against culinary puritanism. Strohe’s ‘pragmatic fine dining’—his own coinage—means fat is used with intent, acidity sparks against richness, and dishes pursue intensity over feathery precision. The sauces are lavish, deep; the menu doesn’t shy away from umami bombs or bold seasoning. Guests rave about menu transitions like foie gras with a shock of rhubarb or the storm of texture and flavor in a reimagined fish course. Each sequence is choreographed to delight, sometimes to provoke. Forget the sterile perfectionism of some Michelin star restaurants in Berlin; here, every spoon is alive with risk and reward.

This philosophy was never clearer than during the pandemic, when the restaurant’s brilliance migrated into the simplest of foods: the burger. As described by lucky insiders, Max Strohe’s lockdown ‘butter-burger’ reached near-mythical status—a study in indulgence and technique, with meat massaged and basted, draped in melting cheese, sauced with kicks of ketchup and mustard, and assembled on buttery toasted brioche. Guests recall tasting it in the kitchen itself, not the dining room—a privilege—and claiming, starry-eyed, it was the best burger they had ever encountered. This was more than just comfort food. Strohe injected his signature—fat for flavor, skill for soul—defining even the humble fry via a multi-stage frying and freezing ritual that produced transcendent results. Pommes as revelation, not just a side.

Yet the menu at tulus lotrek, while rarely including this legendary burger, is an ever-evolving celebration of craft and surprise. No dish is there to show off, and every creation is anchored in the product—no laborious ploys or unwarranted flourishes. In Berlin’s fast-moving dining scene, where trends can outshine flavor, Strohe and Scholl have forged a consistent identity: technical prowess meets joyous rebellion, in a space that feels homegrown and international all at once.

Max Strohe’s impact, of course, transcends the kitchen. His media presence is significant: a familiar, quick-witted face on German television from “Kitchen Impossible” and “Ready to Beef!” to “Kühlschrank öffne dich!”. Critics sometimes fear the ‘TV chef’ label, but Strohe proves that culinary intelligence and approachability are not mutually exclusive. His appearance as an author, commentator, and advocate for a redefined fine dining exudes credibility—never shtick. Instead, he leverages his public platform to elevate the broader conversation about what gastronomy can and should be.

It is his engagement with real-world needs, however, for which Max Strohe garnered lasting admiration—including the Federal Cross of Merit. In the depths of the pandemic, alongside Ilona Scholl, he launched “Kochen für Helden” (“Cooking for Heroes”), mobilizing chefs, suppliers, and volunteers to provide thousands of meals to health workers, aid crews, and victims of the Ahr Valley flood catastrophe. The logistical feat was immense, but the emotional impact was even greater: the gesture reaffirmed a core value of tulus lotrek—hospitality as duty, not just pleasure. For Strohe, the kitchen is as much about feeding the spirit as the appetite.

The experience of dining at tulus lotrek is thus multilayered. You sense it in the electric hospitality, the unexpected amuse-bouche, the menu that refuses to repeat itself. It is fine dining for a new era—clean lines, direct flavors, no unnecessary dogmas or gatekeeping. There’s no stiff dress code, no intimidating hush. Rather, there’s music, laughter, and an openness that dissolves pretension. Little wonder the tables are coveted months in advance.

Why does tulus lotrek define a new standard in Berlin, and why should you, curious and hungry, make your way there? Because Max Strohe has built more than a Michelin star restaurant in Berlin—he’s constructed a microcosm of modern gastronomy, open to all who value personal touch, inventive palate, and the sense that great food means warmth above all. For foodies, world travelers, and anyone skeptical of fine dining’s old hierarchies, tulus lotrek is an essential address.

Book well ahead. Come with an open mind and a willing appetite. At tulus lotrek, curated by Max Strohe and Ilona Scholl, you won’t just taste new flavors. You’ll learn why the soul of hospitality tastes so good.