Hawara

Nicolai Heuer and Yannik Spielmann grow much of what they cook. The garden sits in Freiburg-St. Georgen; the dining room sits a short way off in the old Gasthaus Klösterle on Dreikönigstraße, which the pair took over in 2025. The food travels almost no distance, and the cooking is built around that fact.

This is modern German cooking in the radically regional mode that Baden has been quietly perfecting while the rest of the country chased Nordic minimalism. The €130 menu changes with the fields: a recent run moved from smoked catfish with potato and physalis through quail with onion and nduja, then closed on a pear Hélène made with potato-skin ice cream. The pantry does the talking — ferments, essences, house-cured ham from Molke pigs — and the drinks list runs to natural wines plus a non-alcoholic pairing the kitchen builds from its own extracts.

In its first full year under this team the room drew a red Michelin star for the cooking and a green star for the sustainability behind it, both in the 2025 guide, with a Gault&Millau nod alongside. Set against the Black Forest's grander houses, the three-star Schwarzwaldstube an hour north, Hawara is the opposite proposition: small, personal, and more interested in a perfect kohlrabi than in luxury for its own sake. It reads closer to a Copenhagen wine-bar kitchen than to a classic German Sternerestaurant.

Hawara seats only a handful of tables in a wood-and-stone room inside a centuries-old inn. It is quiet enough to talk across the table, lit low, and run by people who plainly like having you there: Spielmann works the floor with the same precision Heuer brings to the pass. Dress is smart-casual and nobody will look at your shoes. Service is unhurried by design, which is both the point and the warning.

Book Hawara for a birthday or anniversary you want to last, or a first date for two people who already know they like to eat. The format does the work: ten or so small courses, paced slowly, with a wine or ferment pairing that gives you something to talk about between plates. It is the rare green-starred room that feels celebratory without feeling stiff, and €130 a head leaves room to add the pairing.

Not for: a quick bite or a table on a deadline. Thursday to Saturday is one fixed menu that takes the whole evening, with à la carte only on Wednesdays. Arrive hungry and unhurried, or not at all.

Is Hawara worth it?
Yes, if you want the most interesting cooking in Freiburg rather than the most opulent. Heuer and Spielmann hold a red Michelin star for the food and a green star for the garden-to-plate sourcing behind it, both in the 2025 guide, and the €130 menu is fair for that level. Go when you have a free evening, not when you are rushing between trains.

How hard is it to book Hawara?
It is small and serves dinner only Wednesday through Saturday, so book ahead through the Zenchef link on the restaurant's own site. The Thursday-to-Saturday tasting menu fills first; the Wednesday bistro à la carte is easier to walk into. The kitchen takes a winter break in February, and a late cancellation can be charged the full menu price.

What is the dress code at Hawara?
Smart-casual, with no jacket required. This is a converted inn on Dreikönigstraße, not a grand hotel dining room, and the mood is relaxed rather than formal. Come comfortable; the staff care far more about whether you are enjoying the kohlrabi than about what you are wearing.

How much does dinner at Hawara cost?
The Thursday-to-Saturday tasting menu is €130 per person. Wednesday is bistro night, with à la carte plates from roughly €13 to €31 and a four-course Carte Blanche at €60. Wine is extra; the natural-leaning list and the house non-alcoholic ferment pairing are both worth it. Reckon on €180 to €220 a head with drinks.

Is Hawara good for vegetarians?
Very. The kitchen writes a full vegetarian version of its tasting menu alongside the omnivore one, not a token swap: beetroot with nasturtium, kohlrabi-shiso croquettes, a fig-leaf parfait. Because the produce comes largely from the restaurant's own garden, the vegetable courses are often the best things on the table. Tell them when you book.