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A reception counter, behind it a middle-aged man with glasses and face mask.

Anyone who has climbed the stairs of the "Fischereihafen Restaurant" wants to walk past it and take a seat in the cozy living room atmosphere.

But because of Corona, the counter is over.

Instead of dining in Hamburg's most famous fish restaurant as usual, guests pick up their dishes in boxes for at home due to the corona.

The anniversary lobster menu is currently in fashion, with around 750 folded cardboard boxes between the tables.

“That is roughly our weekly requirement,” says owner Dirk Kowalke.

2021: Architect Hadi Teherani (left) and his colleague Christian Bergmann

Source: Bertold Fabricius

The next moment, star architect Hadi Teherani comes by and picks up his Hummer to go.

“The best quality is still available here,” he enthuses.

With quality, personal presence, a good price-performance ratio and a family atmosphere 40 years ago, Rüdiger Kowalke set the standards for his “Fischereihafen Restaurant” that still apply today - even two years after his death.

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A look back: January 1981, Rüdiger Kowalke opened his restaurant on Große Elbstraße.

Not exactly the hippest address at the time, which until then stood for street prostitutes and the fish industry.

But Kowalke was not deterred, he was already known in the opening year when the conductor, composer and pianist Leonard Bernstein (“West Side Story”) called and ordered a midnight snack for himself and the Vienna Philharmonic.

The around 125-strong ensemble actually came by, press photographers were also on site, and Kowalke made the headlines.

Early 1980s: Rüdiger Kowalke welcomes Princess Diana

Source: Pressebild.de/Bertold Fabricius

From then on, starlets from the film scene, politicians, mayors and heads of state came to see him.

This is documented in two thick guest books, each weighing more than a kilogram.

Lady Di and Prince Charles, Plácido Domingo, John Malkovich and Franz Beckenbauer were immortalized in it.

Late 1980s: Opera singers Plácido Domingo and Rüdiger Kowalke (r.)

Source: Pressebild.de/Bertold Fabricius

There are umpteen photographs of celebrity guests hanging in the Oyster Bar, including one of Muhammad Ali.

“It was created when he was actually about to drive again,” remembers Dirk Kowalke.

At the time he knocked on the window of the Maybach in which the boxer was sitting and asked for a souvenir photo.

Ali got out of the car without any ado, showed a few magic tricks (he conjured up a red cloth from his sleeve, for example) and only after he had made a simulation fight with Kowalke, the trigger was pressed.

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Stories like this are plentiful.

Danny DeVito discovered the caraway schnapps Helbing for himself and Angela Merkel even had a fish recipe sent to the Chancellery and thanked her personally with a letter upon receipt.

2007: Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dirk Kowalke

Source: Michael Holz Studio

The first floor of the red brick building has become an institution.

“But we're not just a celebrity bar, every guest is a king”, says Dirk Kowalke, who took over the business in 1997 and has worked side by side with his father Rüdiger ever since.

Susanne Kowalke (Rüdiger's second wife) has also been looking after the guests since the late 1990s.

And since the family has always been above all else with the Kowalkes, Susanne's son Benjamin Kast has been on board as Dirk Kowalke's right-hand man for ten years.

“My father Rüdiger always accompanies you mentally and will remain a role model,” says Dirk Kowalke.

The son does not claim the title of "Fish Pope", as Rüdiger Kowalke was called beyond Hamburg's borders.

"This Pope only existed once."

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What the three maintain, however, is the love for the restaurant, which, just like in a relationship, needs to be cultivated.

That also means questioning things so that the restaurant does not develop a patina.

They are currently using the Corona period to continue to position themselves well for the coming years.

They are renovating the areas behind the scenes, such as the kitchen hoods or the air conditioning.

Benjamin Kast and Dirk Kowalke speculate with a smile on their family ties what it might look like in another 40 years.

“Maybe then my children Fiona and Konstantin will be here in the company,” says Dirk Kowalke.

“And they might explain to my son Henri how he can take over the shop,” adds Benjamin Kast.

Source: Welt am Sonntag

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG.

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