Hamburg Food Guide: The Best Restaurants, Bars & Cafés

As a vibrant metropolis, Hamburg has a lot to offer in terms of gastronomy. You’ll find a brilliant mix of exotic cuisines, new concepts and endless creativity. The only problem: It can be hard to choose a location, because the choice is huge! To make your next trip to Hamburg easier, this food guide includes my current favorite restaurants, bars and cafés in Hamburg!

Pasta Autentica by Jill

Pasta Autentica by Jill is located just around the corner from Hamburg City Hall, yet tucked away in a small side street and is the perfect spot for a city lunch between shopping and sightseeing. The store itself is not particularly large (booking is a good idea!), and neither is the kitchen: the fresh pasta that gives the place its name is made in the shop window on what feels like half a square meter in a corner of the dining room!

Welcome to my travel blog

Hey, I’m Tatiana and I’m the blogger behind The Happy Jetlagger. Since 2014, I’ve been sharing my personal travel stories on this blog. I don’t have a big team behind me, so I’m pretty much a one-person show: I’ve researched and tested all recommendations myself.

You can watch the cheerful pasta chefs as they lovingly fill one ravioli after the other and then place them on the plates of their guests just a little later. This alone (and the fact that they work so incredibly neatly in such a small space) would have earned Pasta Autentica by Jill a spot in my food guide – but as it turned out, my salmon ravioli in pistachio butter was so delicious that I was completely thrilled. An absolute recommendation!

Pasta Autentica by Jill, Börsenbrücke 5/7, 20457 Hamburg (city center)

Frau Dr Schneider’s Grilled Cheese Wonderland

Bread, cheese and a grill: the most delicious things can be so simple! In the pink Frau Dr Schneider’s Grilled Cheese Wonderland, grilled cheese sandwiches get that little bit extra! My favorite was the Bacon Jam Grilled Cheese – the bacon jam made with their own recipe was so delicious! By the way, bring an appetite, such a sandwich is really a whole meal!

Frau Dr Schneider’s Grilled Cheese Wonderland, Seilerstraße 40, 20359 Hamburg (St.Pauli)

Marshall Street Coffee

Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of French toast: too buttery, too monotonous. I have no idea what possessed me to order a French toast from Marshall Street Coffee that day. But it may also have been the premonition that it would be really difficult to find something here that didn’t appeal to me.

In summary: French toast was great, the fresh juice too & great store anyway! Tip: Don’t be put off by queues at the door. It’s worth it!

Marshall Street Coffee, Schopenstehl 30, 20095 Hamburg (city center)

Elbgold

As a port city, Hamburg was the first port of call for exotic goods from overseas centuries ago. So it’s no surprise that good coffee is easy to find: At the roastery in the Schanzenviertel, you can not only taste the in-house coffee, but also take it home with you.

Elbgold, Lagerstraße 34c, 20357 Hamburg (Schanzenviertel)

Mutterland

I only stumbled into the motherland by chance, because I had to kill a few hours at Hamburg’s main train station – and it’s not really inviting. Quite the opposite of the Mutterland, a real Hamburg institution.

This is actually a delicatessen, but in addition to delicacies from local manufacturers, it also has a great restaurant. On the one hand, there is a take-away area with seating (a good opportunity to work), but there is also a really good restaurant that is quite busy – be sure to try it out! There are also four other locations, including one in Eppendorf.

Mutterland Stammhaus, Kirchenallee 19, 20099 Hamburg (St.Georg)

Mimosas Brunch Club

Either way, Wexstraße is a good place to go if you’re looking for a bit of a homely atmosphere in Hamburg’s city center. Here you’ll find cute stores, small restaurants and great locations such as the recently opened Mimosas Brunch Club.

As the name suggests, the Mimosas Brunch Club is a great idea for an extensive brunch for two or with friends, but also for a short coffee break with delicious waffles. And if you can’t get enough of the fruity mimosas, there’s even a mimosas flat rate!

Tip: Despite new opening very popular, on weekends you should reserve!

Mimosas Brunch Club, Wexstraße 27, 20355 Hamburg (city center)

La Casita

Tacos are one of those things, I find. I just can’t manage to eat tacos without dripping or spilling. Especially not with the tacos from La Casita, because they are so well and deliciously filled that I don’t mind spilling.

Tip: The tacos are the perfect snack when the flea market takes place around the little snack bar on Saturdays, a really good flea market with lots of vintage treasures.

La Casita, Neuer Kamp 30, 20357 Hamburg (Schanzenviertel)

Blick Bar

If the typical fish sandwiches are too mundane for you, or if you’re curious to try something completely different, then I recommend a visit to the Blick Bar. Not only can you enjoy a beautiful view of the city of Hamburg here, you can also get to the viewing platform of the Elbphilharmonie without having to wait – because the Blick Bar is actually the house bar of The Westin Hamburg, whose rooms are located above the concert hall.

Be sure to try the signature duo of a glass of champagne and a fish brioche and just take a break from sightseeing. And don’t worry, the Blick Bar is wonderfully unpretentious and relaxed despite all the luxury!

Blick Bar, Platz d. Deutsche Einheit 2, 20457 Hamburg (city center)

If you’re in the mood for some pretty extraordinary accommodation: Book your stay at The Westin Hamburg here*

Many thanks to Hamburg Tourismus and The Westin Hamburg for their support during the research for this article!