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!
Pasta doesn’t get any fresher than this: The small pasta corner at Pasta Autentica by Jill
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!
Among my favorite restaurants in Hamburg far ahead: Pasta Autentica by Jill
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!
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.
Not only delicious, but also perfectly served: French toast at Marshall Street Coffee in Hamburg
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!
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.
The Elbgold roastery in the Schanzenviertel district
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.
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!
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!
Also recommended: The signature drink Elphi Spritz
Blick Bar, Platz d. Deutsche Einheit 2, 20457 Hamburg (city center)