The name’s Richard, Hans Richard, and this is the chef’s eponymous restaurant in Berlin. Richard has set up in a suitably grand building from the Gründerzeit – Germany’s industrial age boom time of the mid 19th Century – and there’s a definite sense of grandeur to the interior as well. A painting graduate of Basel’s Academy of Art and Design, Richard designed his restaurant with architect Lisa Kadel, and it is a fine space in which to enjoy a rustic take on fine dining in the German capital.

Glass bubble chandeliers hang lightly from the imposing bulk of the carved wooden ceiling. Light streams in through subtly coloured yet impressively large stained glass windows. What really sets the dining area apart though is the artwork, which plays as big a part in the Restaurant Richard experience as the hearty cuisine, ranging from sculptural installations to the rather overtly sexual crayon scene Roberte Au Passage Choiseul by Pierre Klossowski. Don’t choke on your swordfish…