Hamburg, Germany — Food and Dining
Restaurants in Hamburg, Germany
Restaurants
Expensive
Restaurant Nil
This classy retro-modern restaurant, housed in a beautiful old building which was a 1950s shoe shop, is one of the most talked about and most popular places in town, serving excellent New German cuisine.
Neuer Pferdemarkt 5
Tel: (040) 439 7823.
Website: www.restaurant-nil.de
Moderate
Fees
Enjoy modern German dishes inside this eclectic cafe-bar attached to the Museum of Hamburg History, with gothic fittings, ornate chandeliers and art nouveau fixtures, or 'outside' in a glass-covered courtyard with palms, plants in tubs and patio heaters for all-year use.
Museum of Hamburg History, Gerhofstrasse 40
Tel: (040) 317 4766.
Website: www.fees-hamburg.de
Fischerhaus
One of the city's favorite fish restaurants; downstairs is traditional and old-fashioned dark wood fittings; upstairs is modern with light wood and harbor views (book a window seat if possible).
St Pauli Fischmarkt 14
Tel: (040) 314 053.
Website: www.restaurant-fischerhaus.de
Ratsweinkeller
The town hall wine cellar is Hamburg's oldest restaurant, with bags of traditional atmosphere and hearty local and regional dishes.
Grosse Johanisstrasse/Rathaus
Tel: (040) 364 153.
Cheap
Old Commercial Room
A traditional nautically themed Hamburg favorite next to the Michaeliskirche, said to be the best place in town for Labskaus (sailor's hash) and other city specialties.
Englische Planke 10
Tel: (040) 366 319.
Website: www.oldcommercialroom.de
Nightlife
Nightlife in Hamburg is concentrated in St Pauli with most action on the Reeperbahn, best known for its sex trade but these days also lined with respectable variety show theaters (in German only), music bars and trendy night clubs. Most open, or at least only get busy, weekends from 2200-2300 to 0400 or later. Another central nightlife area is the Schanzenviertel, while good places for bars and pubs are Lange Reihe street and Grossneumarkt square.
Bars: Gröninger Braukeller, Ost-West-Strasse 47, is a no-nonsense beer cellar that brews its own. Or try Meanie Bar, Spielbudenplatz 5, a friendly scruffy laid-back Bohemian Reeperbahn bar where a mixed clientele gather to enjoy cheap drinks and excellent music from all eras. Christiansens Fine Drinks & Cocktails, Spielbudenplatz 7, is a trendy award-winning bar serving the best range of drinks in town, while media types and style victims can be found in Yakshi’s Bar in East Hotel, Simon-Von-Utrecht-Strasse 31, a beautiful designer-hotel lounge bar.
Clubs: Halo, Grosse Freiheit 6, still attracts the cream of Hamburg’s clubbers. The Golden Pudel Club, Fischmarkt 27, is a well established harbor-side club. Cult, Grosse Freiheit 2, is an attractive club where the Saturday night disco tradition is alive and kicking, featuring music from the last three decades.
Live Music: Grosse Freiheit 36, Grosse Freiheit 36, is the city center’s top live venue for bands. Molotow, Spielbudenplatz 5, is an easy-going informal joint with indie and fast-guitar rock bands. Cotton Club, on Alter Steinweg, is the city’s top central jazz venue (closed Sunday).
