Germany: Announcement of the 2022 Winners

Gault&Millau Names Germany’s Best Restaurants for 2022—and Dylan Watson-Brawn Named Chef of the Year

At an exclusive event held today at Rutz restaurant in Berlin, the country’s finest culinary destinations were honored.

With over 1,000 recommendations across the country spread over more than 800 pages, the 2022 edition of Gault & Millau—released today— showcases Germany’s best restaurants, numerous other excellent spots for an exciting culinary experience, and approximately 100 new entries. “The gastronomic landscape in Germany is thriving and flourishing; it is evolving, and diversity and quality are on the rise despite all the crises!” says Editor-in-Chief Dr. Christoph Wirtz.

In 2022, for the first time under the new publisher Henris Edition, Gault&Millau will guide you through Germany’s high-quality gastronomy as a critical and independent guide and, in addition to the country’s best restaurants, will also present a wide range of excellent recommendations with a Gault&Millau toque that reliably enriches everyday culinary life: favorite spots—from small bistros to traditional country inns, from the simple osteria to the no-frills DimSumBude that’s part of everyday culinary life.

The 2022 Chef of the Year is Dylan Watson-Brawn, whose Berlin restaurant “ernst”—now in its fifth year—has, in the editors’ opinion, achieved a maturity of craftsmanship and concept, coupled with a consistently well-thought-out individuality, which is extremely rare not only in this country: “The focus is on micro-seasonality, Japanese techniques, and flavor profiles; uncompromising attention to the quality of ingredients; minimalist aesthetics; and constant dynamism.” Dylan Watson-Brawn’s cuisine is as delicate as a watercolor painting and yet full of substance, revolutionary independence, and technical mastery. He possesses something that is still a rarity in haute cuisine: a clear and unmistakable vision.

The editors named Hermann Bareiss, whose restaurant “Bareiss” in the Mitteltal valley of Baiersbronn—which opened its doors in 1982—exactly forty years ago— —exactly forty years ago—is a place “to celebrate great classical gastronomy at a consistently high level,” like few others.

Other awards from the guide go to:

• Eric Huber (Erno’s Bistro, Frankfurt) as Host of the Year

• Viktor Gerhardinger (Tian, Munich), Rising Star of the Year

• Adrian Kuhlemann (Kuhlemann, Neustadt/Waldnaab) as Discovery of the Year

• Christophe Meyer (Le Pavillon, Bad Peterstal-Griesbach) as Sommelier of the Year

• Larissa Metz (Restaurant préféré, Mainz) as Pastry Chef of the Year

In addition, Gault&Millau is selecting a “Producer of the Year” for the first time this year: raw-milk hard-cheese affineur Thomas Breckle (“Jamei Laibspeis”) from Kempten in the Allgäu.

Gault&Millau is making a significant change to its restaurant rating system by no longer awarding points in the future: “We believe that school-style grades are not really suited to evaluating cultural matters—and this undoubtedly includes gastronomy—and that the scientific measurability and unambiguity they imply are problematic in many respects,” explain the editors. With the “toques” system—the classic chef’s hat—the guide has always had a proven classification system that distinguishes the broad spectrum of our gastronomy, from the world’s best restaurants to excellent recommendations. In the future, restaurants that are exceptional in their category will also be color-coded—highlighted in red.

New additions to the group of restaurants in Germany with five toques: the “Haerlin” restaurant in Hamburg and the “Schanz” restaurant in Piesport.

Awarded five red toques for the first time, the “Vendôme” restaurant in Bergisch Gladbach, “Victor’s FINE DINING by Christian Bau” in Perl, and the “Waldhotel Sonnora” form the top trio of German fine dining according to the Gault & Millau reviewers.