The new, young Berliner cooks are taking the heaviness out of these trad dishes. Michael Hoffmann, chef at the Margaux (all onyx and black marble), does a miraculous dish of creamy Teltower turnip with parsley sauce, which accompanies marinated saddle of venison, as well as brill with Badoit gelée and iced olive oil. And at Restaurant 44 in the Swissôtel, Tim Raue, who has been described as an “avant-gardist in a chef’s hat”, is long overdue a Michelin star for his adventurous cooking (examples: Turkish Delight-flavoured prawns; liquorice ice cream with crème of goose foie gras; red mullet in bergamot oil, with potato croquette and Sobrassada sausage). Raue offers one menu in French, the other in new German cooking. Go for the latter.

Even those of modest means can enjoy the fruits of the new gastronomy

Try Kohlrabisüppchen mit Schellfischnocke und Flusskrebsen (kohlrabi soup with Shellfish and crayfish) at Neugrün’s Köche, Gepökeltes Bäckchen des Milchferkels mit Linsensalat (salted piglet’s cheek with lentil salad) at Carmen’s Restaurant, or In Berliner Weiße geschmorter Aal (eel braised in Berlin’s “white” beer) at the Prenzlauerberg restaurant Zander, whose three-course meal for one works out at less than €30.