Situated on a quiet residential street in Berlin’s bohemian neighborhood of Kreuzberg, the restaurant was actually in someone’s living room, decorated with fresh flowers and colorful artwork.

The eight guests — including a couple from Finland, two young women from Ireland and two radio journalists from Berlin — had never met before. Nor had they met the host, Maria, who calls herself the Shy Chef. (Like other underground restaurateurs who operate without a license, she did not give her full name for fear of being shut down.)

Maria has been inviting strangers into her home for dinner since March, as a kind of guerrilla-style restaurant. Patrons that night enjoyed a six-course meal that included a vodka-marinated salmon, a fine selection of wines and the warm company of fellow guests.

It felt like a dinner party given by an eclectic and extroverted new friend, except that those present scored invitations online (at theshychef.wordpress.com) and chipped in 50 euros each ($72.50 at $1.45 to the euro).

Hidden restaurants seem to be flourishing in Berlin, a city that prizes its secret corners and artsy subcultures. Among the pioneers was the Rodeo Club (Ballhaus Ost, Pappelallee 15; www.rodeo-club.net), a speakeasy-style restaurant that began in 2004.

Started by two Germans, Florian, an actor, and Marc, an animation artist, both now 34, it is based on the idea of creating a lively supper club that even a starving artist could afford.

Held Thursdays in a dilapidated old ballroom in the former East Berlin, a recent dinner drew about 45 diners, mostly Berliners in their mid-20s to 30s, who feasted on a three-course meal that included roast rabbit with dumplings and red cabbage. A D.J. played electronic pop and, between courses, patrons took part in a Ping-Pong tournament.

While the Rodeo Club remains informal and affordable (dinner is 12 euros and membership is open to anyone), the speakeasy format is starting to spread to more commercial settings.

A couple of years ago, two partners in the Rodeo Club split off and opened a competing Rodeo Restaurant in the Altes Postfuhramt (or old Royal Post Office), an ornate terra-cotta landmark built in 1875 in Mitte (Auguststrasse 5a ; 49-16-3162-0168; www.rodeo-berlin.de).

To get there, patrons must go through an unmarked courtyard that still bears scars from World War II, before going upstairs to the Dome Hall — a gilded room with a coffered ceiling, arched windows and rows of white-tablecloth tables. Dinner, which starts at 29.50 euros, recently included suckling pig with turnips and a strawberry and rhubarb parfait.

Afterward, the tables were cleared and a D.J. played hip-hop and dance music to a festive crowd.

Finding Cookies Cream (Behrenstrasse 55; 49-30-2749-2940; www.cookiescream.com) is also tricky. This upscale restaurant is tucked at the end of a garbage-filled alleyway behind the Westin Grand Hotel, upstairs from a club called Cookies.

With help from Michael Kempf, chef at the Michelin-starred Facil, the menu offers creative vegetarian dishes like pumpkin-lime soup with chutney. The three-course meal is also a great value at 28 euros.

But perhaps the most exclusive of these underground restaurants is the Kochklub, held around an open kitchen in the V.I.P. room at Bar Tausend (Schiffbauerdamm 11; www.tausendberlin.com; for reservations, info@tausend-berlin.de), a fashionable nightclub behind a nondescript steel door.

Held on Wednesdays, the Kochklub is the brainchild of the avant-garde caterers and food artists Foodpol. A recent four-course dinner (38 euros) included veal brain with white asparagus emulsion; hot asparagus ice cream with summer truffle; pork with white asparagus and Hollandaise; and a white asparagus panna cotta with strawberries.

The Kochklub is on summer hiatus but will return in the fall. “We wanted to keep everyone hungry for more,” said Telse Bus, one of the organizers.