There is an almost metaphysical connection between the automobile and haute cuisine. Both disciplines thrive on precision, on the harmony of technology and emotion, on the pursuit of perfection in detail. An exceptional car, like a perfect plate, evokes something in us that goes beyond function and taste – it touches our imagination, our longing for movement, for horizons, for style.

In “The Cloud by Käfer”, the new fine dining restaurant in Munich’s BMW Welt, it is precisely this connection that can be experienced – as a concept, as a space and as a journey. Under the direction of head chef Jens Madsen, restaurant manager Mona Röthig and sommelier Luigi Pecchia, a culinary cosmos unfolds here that is as elegant as it is adventurous. It is a place where everything is in motion and yet seems to have slowed down completely – a tribute to the art of travel, in spirit, in taste, in design.

“Culinary Nomadism”

Already tested as a pop-up in April 2025, The Cloud by Käfer is now opening its doors permanently and inviting guests to its first culinary season: “Nomadic Earth”. What Madsen and his team serve is far more than a menu – it is a travel diary in eight courses. The idea of Culinary Nomadism combines ingredients and techniques from East and South Africa with the finest products from the Bavarian region: venison from the Poltinger Forest meets tiger nuts and habanero, chapati meets milk–fed veal. The cuisine is bold, but never loud. It tells stories – of origin, movement, memory.

Madsen knows how to anchor global flavors in the local. His dishes are like musical themes that take foreign harmonies and transform them into a new, surprisingly familiar melody. His culinary nomadism is not arbitrary, but a precise choreography of texture, temperature and timing.

But what would this journey be without the right vehicle? Or rather, without the right space. BMW Group Designworks, the BMW Group’s innovation studio, has teamed up with Käfer to create a multi–sensory experience that defines nothing less than a new dimension of fine dining in Munich.

The design, created by partners such as Occhio, Jakob Schlaepfer and the artist Oscar Zabala, is sensual, multi–layered and tech–savvy. Between fine fabrics, titanium stone and mirrors with one-way transparency, a world unfolds in which the visible and the invisible flirt with each other – just like driving a really good car.

A five–ton monolith made of titanium stone rises up between the kitchen and dining room – not just a design object, but a stage and control center. This is where the dishes are finalized before they are served to the tables by the trained service team. Behind a semi-transparent mirror, guests can see the controlled chaos of the kitchen – a dramaturgical trick that creates distance and yet allows closeness.

This tension between revelation and suggestion runs through the entire experience of The Cloud. It is a play of light and shadow, clarity and mystery – like a perfectly designed cockpit that invites the driver to take control without giving everything away.

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With The Cloud by Käfer, a restaurant has been created in Munich that not only sets standards with its cuisine, but also with the interplay of space, concept and staging. It is an experience for people who don’t just want to eat, but want to travel – through flavors, thoughts and atmospheres.

Anyone who understands fine dining as an evolutionary art form will find a place here that embodies this attitude to perfection. A restaurant like a Gran Turismo: powerful, aesthetic, flowing – and ready to shift the horizon.

Text: Secret Classics editorial team – July 2025
Photos: BMW Group / Käfer