On a quiet side street in the otherwise buzzing Berlin-Neukölln is what looks like just another cosy vintage cafe: exposed brick, mismatched furniture, candles in jam jars. But Restlos Glücklich is Germany’s first anti-food waste restaurant, serving delicious dishes using discarded food.

It was opened in July by a group of volunteers, including an environmental scientist, an engineer and a bank clerk, and cooks almost entirely with surplus from farms or supermarkets. The food is not past its sell-by date, but rejected because vegetables are oddly shaped, packaging is damaged, or there’s a lack of storage space.