Soul Kitchen (2010)

Zinos Kazantsakis (Adam Bousdoukos) runs a sleazy, greasy little restaurant in a run-down part of town that the locals seem to love. He can't pay his taxes, his sexy girlfriend Nadine (Pheline Roggan) is about to move to Shanghai and wants Zinos to come with her. And his brother Illias (Moritz Bleibtreu) has just been given daytime work passes from prison and needs a job (but would rather not actually have to work). In the middle of all this, Zinos impulsively hires an out-of-work master chef and throws out his back.

Each time we turn around Akin (and co-screenwriter Bousdoukos) throws in something crazy, such as building inspectors, aphrodisiacs, midnight raids, unexpected romances, reckless gambling, and increasing back pain. Akin keeps the atmosphere loose and realistic and despite the usual third-act scramble to wrap up all the plot threads, the mood and the humor are well balanced throughout.