The restaurant bears the name GUSTAV and is a tribute to the architect of the Bundeskunsthalle Gustav Peichl (1928-2019). The original restaurant from the opening year of the Bundeskunsthalle (1992), designed by Gustav Peichl, was modeled on a Viennese café house in its appearance. In the redesign, the space was returned to this state. At the same time, individual elements were integrated by incorporating artworks by Berlin artists Alicja Kwade and Gregor Hildebrandt that were created and adapted especially for the space.

The sculpture Oswald by Gregor Hildebrandt on the restaurant terrace additionally connects the interior with the outdoor space of the museum square.

In contrast to the original, the entire dining area is covered in a black and white checkerboard pattern. The floor covering thus picks up on the red and white checkerboard pattern that was already present in 1992 and runs around three sides of the room as a frieze in the upper wall area. The wooden tables and Thonet chairs correspond to the original furnishings, as does the placement of the bar at the head of the room and its division into two parts by partitions.