SCALA - Das Turm Restaurant

The story

SCALA – Das Turm Restaurant in Jena: Fine Dining 120 Meters Above the City

High Above the City

Perched on the 27th to 29th floors of the JenTower, SCALA – Das Turm Restaurant offers a dining experience that is as much about the setting as the food. The view over Jena, the "Lichtstadt," is uninterrupted, and the restaurant's warm, contemporary interior—refreshed during the quiet of the pandemic in 2020/2021—provides a comfortable frame for it. This is a place where the atmosphere is both elevated and welcoming.

A Chef with Roots

The kitchen is led by Christian Hempfe, whose career began with training in Nuremberg and took him through England and Switzerland before he joined SCALA under its founder. His talent earned him the role of head chef within two years, and he eventually became co-owner and sole owner in 2020. Gault&Millau recognized him as Gastronomist of the Year in 2019 and 2020, a testament to his skill. His modern cuisine, described as "High Class Dining," has also earned the restaurant a recommendation in the Michelin guide, a mark of its consistent quality.

A New Way to Share

SCALA has evolved its concept to focus on sharing. The menu is built around dishes placed in the center of the table, encouraging conversation and a communal exploration of flavors. This approach moves away from rigid formality without sacrificing the quality of the ingredients or the precision of the cooking. Alongside the regular à la carte offerings, the restaurant hosts special events like themed dinners and the "KISS THE COOK" party, which brings together guest chefs for a walking dinner across two decks.

The experience is grounded in a sense of place, from the locally sourced ingredients in the kitchen to the exclusive SCALA beer, a pilsner brewed in collaboration with a Thuringian craft brewery. It is a restaurant that uses its unique height not for spectacle, but to create a genuinely memorable setting for well-crafted, international modern cuisine.