No matter your budget or time of day, this guide will take you through Hamburg’s top-rated restaurants for breakfast, dinner, and lunch. I covered you for places around Hamburg’s city center, Speicherstadt, Altona, and Schanze! I have tested every single one of them, and if you know me, I’m a total foodie, love to know where my food comes from, and my friends are 99% happy with the restaurant recommendations I give them! Some always rely on me, SO, you should give these recommendations a try well ?
Disclaimer: The first seven restaurants I’m going to mention invited food blogger and photographer Sabrina from Purple Avocado and me to them to test their food, but, trust me, you’re still going to get my honest opinion because I would not recommend anything to you if I didn’t like it. Also, I will always link to Sabrina’s post about each restaurant because her blog posts will contain more info and pictures about each restaurant. Also, you can find all collaborations by Sabrina and I via #purplelegacies on Instagram.
The last few restaurants with less text and images, I have also tried. Even though they did not invite me to taste their food; however, they still convinced me with their amazing food enough to recommend them to you ?
DINNER
Landhaus Scherrer $$$$ – Altona
Every single one of the seven meals we got to try was created to make your mouth water. To savor perfection. To have multiple food orgasms. All were paired with wines selected by an excellent knowledgeable sommelier. If you appreciate food and the ambiance of a rustic, traditional, yet elegant German restaurant, Demeter, and organic products, Landhaus Scherrer is THE ultimate spot to go!
The tastes you will savor here are probably unlike anything else you’ve ever tried. And when you think it can’t get any better, Chef Wehmann comes around with a green plum sorbet to send you to food nirvana. But no, that’s not all – his quark (curd) dumplings with cinnamon crumbs are just not from this earth. They were even more amazing than I remembered from seven years ago (yes, that’s how long I hadn’t been able to go but still remembered them!). Good lord. I couldn’t stop cussing. This man just knows what’s good.
Landhaus Scherrer is one for the books – and one for the budget. But it’s worth every single penny! The food here is celebrated. And while Purple Avocado and I did not quite fit in among the elder, richer clientele – neither with our looks nor our choice of words – we thought it was appropriate just to keep cussing because the food was too damn good. It’s celebrated. It’s savored. It’s loved. It’s made love to. It’ll bring you more than one foodgasm. Brace yourselves! And enjoy the four or five-hour experience of eating. Turn your phones off. It’s worth it!
For Christmas, you can order your goose here as well.
For 128 Euros, you’ll be spoiled with an eight-course menu which you can enhance with their wine selection for 91 Euros extra.
VLET in der Speicherstadt $$$ – Speicherstadt
Pardon the following, but this place gets a bonus for its super charismatic chef… Yep. #sorrynotsorry, but Knut – you rock! Just don’t trust his licorice Schnapps.
Anyway – even on a Tuesday night, this place got packed, so I’d recommend a reservation – at a table with a window view onto the beautiful old warehouse district.
You can choose from a menu or order a la carte. From the bread to the dessert, everything here is made by a team that has the utmost passion for creating things that don’t only taste great but look fantastic and are presented tastefully as well. The staff is very friendly and always attentive, and in case you have a question about the food, they make sure to answer it right away. EVERYTHING including their wine selection tasted great!
A la carte’s main courses are between 20 and 30 Euros, but you can also get menu options with 4 or 6 courses for around 70-90 Euros plus corresponding beverages.
VLET in der Speicherstadt is open for dinner only.
Meatery at the SIDE Hotel $$ – a tiny bit east of the City center
Imagine your sharp steak knife sliding through the tender, perfectly medium beef, red but not bloody, that boasts an extremely thin, perfectly dark browned crust paired with a formidable red wine.
When it’s time to take out your favorite person for a nice, decadent steak dinner accompanied with a delicious drink and dessert combinations, mastery (inside Hamburg’s SIDE hotel) is the place to go. A 200g filet mignon starts at 32 Euros, and for 95 Euros, you can get a 900 g Porterhouse. Other main courses range from 20-45 Euros.
Miss Purple Avocado and I got to try A LOT of eatery’s menu and absolutely nothing disappointed! Whether it was their Gin Basil aperitif, wine recommendations, tartars, cheese-crusted oysters with spinach, the most tender steaks I’ve ever had, whiskey sour with thyme dessert or bombdotcom homemade vanilla orange ice tea, my belly was extremely happy (and about to explode if I hadn’t stopped eating).
The staff at meatery is super friendly and knowledgeable; they even suggest you check out their rooftop terrace on the eighth floor (which you totally should)! Also, I encourage you to go use their restroom for the design’s sake and have a look at their huge dry age cabinet!
Meatery is a small chain with branches in Stuttgart and Dresden.
VLET an der Alster $$ – City center
First things first: If you plan on going here, reserve a table on the water because you’ll have the best view of the “Small Alster” canal and Hamburg’s stunning city hall. During the week you may get a spot there if you come early enough (6 or 6.30 p.m.). You will find a lot of foreigners and English-speaking people here because of the area.
The food is classic Hamburg/German cuisine such as meat and fish with potatoes and only very few of the same things you can find on the menu of VLET Speicherstadt as well (only one reason why these two are different even though they carry the same brand name). Portions should fill a man or tiny woman up well (because – do you also feel like the tiniest women can eat the most?!), but a normal-sized woman like myself could eat almost twice from one portion combined with an appetizer and dessert.
And if you’re still capable of having a nightcap, sit at the bar and talk to the French bartender because he’s got some interesting travel stories to share. Plus, his espresso chocolate martinis are the bomb and a perfect digestif.
A la carte main courses are between 20 and 30 Euros, but you can also get menu options with 4 or 5 courses for around 50 Euros.
VLET an der Alster is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
OTTO’s Burger $ – Schanzenviertel
To be honest, I am NOT a burger fan anymore because they’re loaded with bad carbs, grease, and other bad stuff, and thus my stomach didn’t take all the fried and fat food we had here very well. Their veggie burger tasted a bit bland, unfortunately; however, their T Burger with truffle mayo and caramelized onions tasted good.
I also liked the sweet potato fries with unique dips – peanut mayo, truffle mayo, guacamole, and pineapple bacon jam (yep, you read that right!). Their shakes are also delicious – the best was the banana peanut butter combination followed by strawberry coconut and salted caramel.
Burgers start at 8,50 Euros and can be ordered with a vegan bun.
I recommend this place for happy hour with drinks and cool people in a modern but still a bit rustic atmosphere.
BREAKFAST
Mutterland Cölln’s $$ – City center
Being a lover and connoisseur of everything baked and sweet, I can assure you that Mutterland has the best Franzbrötchen (Hamburg’s beloved cinnamon pastry) in the whole city! But not only that, their cakes and lemonades are delicious too.
Sabrina and I had the absolute pleasure of devouring one of their breakfasts for two and trying their scrambled eggs, lemonade, freshly squeezed juice, and cakes. I loved that they only served healthy versions of bread and rolls instead of white bread! As soon as we walked in, we saw their baked goods and some fresh drinks displayed, and boy, did our mouths start to water. The decor and cuteness of this pace gave it an old, homey feel and even though the restaurant is halfway located below street level, the windows bring in enough light.
I’ll definitely be back for lunch and dinner also, but for now, I can totally recommend their breakfast!
Mutterland has several branches around Hamburg, so take your pick.
Von der Motte $ – Ottensen
When manager Silke Schlesselman greets you, you can already tell she’s super kind and passionate about her little cafe. She offers homemade cakes, sandwiches, salads, crepes, lemonade, and a few more. Most of the ingredients are organic, and she can tell you exactly where they’re coming from.
Sabrina and I were fortunate to try a few breakfast/brunch items, which always had very generous portions whether it was the delicious avocado and feta roll or the fluffy pancakes. During the rare occasion of sunny and warm weather in Hamburg, you can sit outside in a quiet side street of the usually more busy area of Ottensen.
Von der Motte is a great place for brunch or the typical German coffee and cake in the afternoon. Reservations are encouraged as it can get crowded. For their delicious organic food, I find the prices extremely cheap; therefore, you definitely get the biggest bang for your buck.
Need more info about Hamburg, its neighborhoods, places to stay, things to do, view points, etc.? Read about my recommendations in my ultimate Hamburg guide.
More recommendations:
Brücke 10 $ – Cheap fish or prawn rolls loved by both tourists and locals right by the harbor.
Luigi’s $$ – Uhhh-may-zing pizza, tiramisu, and more Italian food served by a fantastic, funny team. Always reserve!
Die kleine Konditorei $ – My go-to bakery for bread, cake, Franzbrötchen, and more. Try the raspberry creme fraiche cake.
L’Orient Eimsbüttel $$ – Lebanese food served by very friendly staff. Great cinnamon ice cream. Always reserve!
Papaye $ – Ghanaian food, also to-go. Try their fried plantains with peanuts.
Karo Fisch $ – Big portions of delicious but cheap seafood in a casual snack bar atmosphere.
Azeitona $ – Vegetarian Middle Eastern food. Great for quick sandwiches, Indian, or falafel. Yummy!
Do you have a favorite restaurant/cafe/bar recommendation in Hamburg that I haven’t mentioned? Please let us know in the comments!
