How it all started …

Both founders and the extended team share a deep personal connection to good food, whether in the family or with friends. It always played an essential role far beyond “getting full”. It was about conviviality, shared experiences and delight – but the quality had to be right.

Tam Nguyen, born into a family of fishers in Vietnam, has had a close and holistic connection with food and quality since childhood. This connection and passion have lasted a lifetime since then. After his initial stint in retail, he worked as a sushi master in Berlin for over 10 years.

Hien Khai Tieu, a Vietnamese-born Chinese who largely grew up in Sweden, sees food as an essential part of the life experience. He also comes from a gastronomic family. He spent a few years in Berlin to learn his sushi skills and then opened his own restaurant back home in Sweden.

With a history like that, the idea for the Shiso Burger concept came about quite naturally in the early 2010s. Both co-founders had arrived in Berlin (again), partly for professional reasons and partly for love.

The idea was as simple as it was moving: to shake up the popular and bring the current burger industry to new heights. With a lot of passion – and above all, a very personal Asian twist: lighter preparation methods, Asian spices and uncompromisingly high quality standards.

So the two founders rolled their sleeves and opened the first Shiso Burger restaurant on Auguststrasse in Berlin-Mitte in June 2013. And the idea worked – thanks to a lot of passion and an authentic Asian perspective.

The rest is history.