Billy Wagner

Nobelhart & Schmutzig
Berlin, Germany

Nobelhart & Schmutzig first opened its doors on Friedrichstraße in February 2015, the brainchild of Billy Wagner (host) and Micha Schäfer (executive chef). The restaurant’s title breaks down into three different words – Noble, reflecting its intentions and uncompromising quality; Hard, because it ‘turns hard in the middle’ and Filthy because of owner Billy Wagner’s naughty sense of fun – and, of course, the extraordinary wine he serves.

The project aimed from the start to open Berlin’s eyes to the bountiful nature in and around the city through ‘vocally local’ support for the region’s food producers. The restaurant’s enviable haul of national and international accolades shows that Wagner and Schäfer were in the right place at the right time. And they still see themselves as following the right path.

Known as “the most political restaurant in Germany,” food is and has always been closely identified with questions of environment, economy, origin and identity.

2017 marked the co-founding of “Die Gemeinschaft” to close the gap between the people making food products and the people buying them commercially – including restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and kindergartens. It was tasked with changing the relationship between businesses that process foods and to encourage greater dialog among producers. This

Nobelhart & Schmutzig made the prestigious World’s 50 Best restaurants list in 2021.