Reinstoff

With a dining room like a dark stage, the low-level lighting focuses on the tables, the company and the main act of the evening, Reinstoff's fabulous food. Hidden away north of the city centre in a red-brick Prussian-era factory, once you've found this place off Chausseestrasse you'll never want to leave. One Michelin star doesn't seem to be enough praise for the innovative menu – split into "nearby" and "faraway" food – the avant-garde cooking techniques and astounding presentation of the dishes, as well as the Spanish and German wines and excellent service. Despite its credentials, the atmosphere at Reinstoff is casual and relaxed.
• Schlegelstrasse 26c, Mitte, +49 30 3088 1214, reinstoff.eu. Open Tues-Sat from 7pm. Four-course menus from €64

Facil

Some of Germany's best gourmet food is prepared by chef Michael Kempf and his team on the fifth floor of The Mandala Hotel at Potsdamer Platz. The setting, in a beautiful space with a retractable glass roof, is magnificent and the service second to none, but it's the Michelin-starred food that really attract the guests. The set-dinner menu allows you to sample up to eight courses, such as Ammersee char or veal shank, while the lighter lunch menu – think grilled octopus, corn poularde and raspberry rhubarb dessert – is within reach of gastronauts on relatively frugal budgets.
• Potsdamer Strasse 3, Mandala Hotel, Tiergarten, +49 30 59 005 1234, facil.de. Open Mon-Fri noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm. Lunch menu €18 for one course, €28 for two or €39 for three; dinner €85 for four courses, €145 for eight

Fischers Fritz

As with The Regent hotel that it is housed in, Fishers Fritz is decorated in a classical style with surprising modern touches. Overlooking Berlin's most impressive square, the Gendarmenmarkt, it's a grand setting for chef Christian Lohse's French-influenced creations, which the French know are worth two Michelin stars. Fish is their business, and the seafood simply must be tried: the Breton lobster with sweetbread starter, the cod supreme or the sea bass in a salty crust, for example. The exquisite set menus are worth splashing out on, while landlubbers have a few meat options to choose from.
• Charlottenstrasse 49, Mitte, +49 30 2033 6363, fischersfritzberlin.com. Open Mon-Sun, 6.30am-11.30am, noon-2pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm. Menu €24 for one course, €35 for two or €47 for three

Ganymed Brasserie

One of the few riverside restaurants in Berlin, and in business at this location since 1931, Ganymed has a terrace that's great for watching boats sailing by on the Spree and spotting trains gliding across the railway bridge into busy Friedrichstrasse station. As tradition dictates, the brasserie-style French cuisine is varied, simple, regionally sourced where possible, and delicious. On the extensive menu there are mussels and biological salmon, Muscovy duck breast and lamb, snails and oysters, Alsatian Flammkuchen (pizza) and heartwarming sauerkraut dishes – all accompanied by good wine.
• Schiffbauerdamm 5, Mitte, +49 30 2859 9046, ganymed-brasserie.de. Open Mon-Sun noon-12pm. Mains from €15

Hartmanns

A little removed from Kreuzberg's tourist-jammed main streets, this old building on a tree-lined street is where Stefan Hartmann serves exquisite French food in a classy white interior. The regularly updated set menu, with three to seven courses, includes dishes like monkfish with artichoke, cod in tomato stock, seabass and a cheese platter; the á la carte menu additionally has a handful of starters and two main courses. The reasonable prices and the friendly and relaxed atmosphere make Hartmanns well worth the detour from Berlin's more upmarket areas. Drop by in winter for a romantic meal by the fireplace.
• Fichtestrasse 31, Kreuzberg, +49 30 6120 1003, hartmanns-restaurant.de. Open Mon-Sat 6pm-12pm. Mains from €32

Lorenz Adlon

One of the country's best hotels, the Adlon Kempinski, rebuilt in its original location near the Brandenburg Gate after wartime destruction, has a Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant with glamorous views. New chef Hendrik Otto – whose cuisine was awarded the coveted star earlier in his career as well – focuses on quality European cuisine: caviar on blinis, red mullet with sea urchin sauce, or rabbit with rosemary and garlic. Expensive, excellent and worth every single euro; be sure to ask for a table overlooking the Brandenburg Gate when you book.
• Unter den Linden 77, Mitte, +49 30 2261 1960, hotel-adlon.de. Open Tues-Sat 7pm-10.30pm. Mains from €48

Lutter and Wegner

Founded as a wine retailer in 1811, the renowned Lutter and Wegner is now housed in a beautiful, historical building with the three artfully decorated pillars dominating the dining room dedicated to "wein, weib und gesang" (wine, woman and song). Guests can relive Berlin's high society of old in a relaxed atmosphere here, with good art, food and wine to stimulate conversation. The Austrian-inspired menu consists of popular regional dishes; some visit just to taste the famous wiener schnitzel with potato salad or the Sauerbraten (roast beef). In summer there's a great terrace overlooking Berlin's grand Gendarmenmarkt square.
• Charlottenstrasse 56, Mitte, +49 30 202 9540, l-w-berlin.de. Open Mon-Sun 11am-3am. Mains from €30

Die Quadriga

Named after the imposing four-horse-chariot Quadriga of Victory statue at the top of the Brandenburg Gate, this Michelin-starred restaurant – with a restrained art deco interior – has a Scandinavian-oriented menu, which changes with the seasons. It features dishes such as asparagus and Bavarian lamb in summer, arctic raspberries and grouse in autumn, and reindeer and liquorice in winter. Finnish chef Sauli Kemppainen is well known for his New Nordic Cuisine, which unites classic central European food with modern Scandinavian style and ingredients. Unusually, but to great effect, the wine cellar features only German wines.
• Eislebener Strasse 14, Brandenburger Hof Hotel, Charlottenburg, +49 30 214 050, brandenburger-hof.com/die-quadriga. Open Tues-Sat 7pm-10.30pm. Mains from €30

Theodor Tucher

Situated right on the tourist conveyor belt between the Brandenburg Gate and Unter den Linden, the brewery restaurant, nicknamed "Tucher am Tor", gets plenty of foreign foot traffic, yet remains an excellent place to eat quality German food. Everything from herring, pike-perch fillet and rabbit in garlic cream to upmarket currywurst sausage is represented on the menu. The glam gold interior has huge windows, tall pillars, a private dining room and even a library for solo diners. In summer, enjoy great views of the busy square and the Gate from the terrace.
• Pariser Platz 6a, Mitte, +49 30 2248 9463, theodortucher.de. Open Mon-Thurs and Sun 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11.30pm. Mains from €20

Weinbar Rutz

Rutz is an upmarket wine bar, shop and restaurant, proudly sporting a Michelin star, and well worth an extended visit. Downstairs in the bar a wall of wine meets new arrivals, while food is served in modern surroundings on the first floor. Chef Marco Müller – who heads out into the countryside to source his regional produce and meat – excels at creating German and European dishes with a modern twist: Bison hip with aniseed, or teppanyaki red mullet, for example. There's a two-person set menu as well.
• Chausseestrasse 8, Mitte, +49 30 2462 8760, weinbar-rutz.de. Open Tues-Sat, wine bar from 4pm-11pm, restaurant from 6.30pm-10.30pm. Mains from €25

• Jeroen van Marle writes for inyourpocket.com