Ox & Klee

Ox & Klee occupies the middle Crane House in Cologne's Rheinauhafen — one of three identical glass-and-steel towers built on the converted harbour between 2006 and 2010 that have become the architectural symbol of the city's modernisation. The restaurant sits at ground level, behind a 12-metre-wide curtain wall facing the Rhine; the interior was designed by Richard May and Patricia Peschen in walnut, oak, and blackened steel, and holds 48 covers across widely spaced tables.

Daniel Gottschlich opened Ox & Klee in 2010 with a menu that famously began with sauerkraut and bratwurst. Fifteen years later, the restaurant holds two Michelin stars and the sauerkraut remains — but now served 'à la Gottschlich' as a refined sauerkraut consommé or within a multi-course 'Kraut' tasting menu that is the dish his peers point to when they explain what modern German cuisine can be. The 'Kopf' menu (literally 'head') is the chef's free creative track; the 'Mund' menu (mouth) is more traditionally-rooted.

The wine list runs to 800 references and is one of the most serious programmes in Germany. Riesling (Moselle, Rheingau, Nahe) is the anchor, with exceptional verticals of Egon Müller, Keller, and Dönnhoff; Burgundy coverage is deep and intelligently priced; German and Austrian natural-wine producers are well represented. Sommelier Stefan Vocke has run the room since opening.

The chef's table at the pass — six seats looking directly into the open kitchen — is the most sought-after reservation in the city and can be booked up to six weeks ahead. For a client dinner or a proposal, the corner table on the Rhine side (table 12) gives the best combination of privacy and view.

For a client dinner at the level of a board announcement or a deal close, Ox & Klee is the single best address in Cologne. The room reads as serious modern Germany — precise, confident, cosmopolitan — and the cooking has the weight of two Michelin stars earned on the hardest circuit in Europe. Request table 12 or the chef's table; give 48 hours' notice of any dietary constraint.