Where to Eat in Hamburg in 2024

Hamburg is a city of dualisms. On one side, on the river Elbe, is the port with the ancient history of the Hanseatic League and the port society of workers, social battles and cultural exchanges. On the other, in the city center, is the Alster, a small river from which two artificial lakes were created, symbols of the sophistication and power of the merchant upper middle class. The city’s official name is itself made up of two adjectives that qualify it: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg); not to mention the two football teams, St. Pauli and HSV, which are anything but.

Today, Hamburg has evolved from the Hanseatic tradition of the trading port. New skyscrapers have sprung up in the city – Herzog & De Muron’s Elbphilarmonie – and the gentrification of neighbourhoods like Sternschanze is countered by housing developments straight out of the 1980s. The culinary scene has also evolved: in recent years Hamburg has attracted, would-be ‘foodies’, by offering Nordic-leaning cuisine based on fish, meat, tubers, fermented products and natural wines; while there is a parallel, but thriving independent, multicultural cuisine made by the encounters possible in a city sometimes nicknamed, “gateway to the world” on the other.

Here’s where you can taste the two souls of Hamburg.

Imbiss bei Schorsch

Located on the border between Sternschanze and St.Pauli, this has been Hamburg’s streetfood institution par excellence since 1961. Schorsch presents itself as one small room covered in photos and stickers with a long 1960s counter and no seating. A griddle that is lit from 10.30 a.m. until 10 p.m. is ready to grill the house speciality: würstels. Bratwurst, meat skewers accompanied by a potato salad are the must-haves here, but it is the currywurst that is the highlight: grilled, sprinkled with curry and totally drowned in the secret tomato sauce, it is served with a piece of bread, and you’re done.

Beim Grünen Jäger 14, 20359 Hamburg

Café Paris

Right next to the massive Rathaus is Café Paris, Hamburg’s answer to French brasseries and the epitome of the odi et amo relationship between Germany and France. Since 1882 – the Franco-Prussian war had been over for about ten years – Café Paris has been serving fine French cuisine with meat at its centre (for vegetarians, there is a wide choice of cheeses): generous portions of steak tartare, Merguez sausage and pomme frites, with sauerkraut, the one ingredient and only concession to Germany on the menu. The beef entrecôte is the dish to get, tender and accompanied by ajoli, pomme frites and a small knob of butter – present on all tables. It is strange, perhaps, to go to a French restaurant when looking for German authenticity, but this has been the choice since the late 19th century of the Hamburg bourgeoisie for lunch, dinner or even aperitifs. La Saal, the charming Art Deco lounge on the ground floor with tiled vaults, is the place to eat and fully experience this French-German clash.

Rathausstraße 4, 20095 Hamburg

Kebab House Kurtulan

The Turkish community is the largest in Germany and kebab is part of the German gastronomic culture. Kebab House Kurtulan is Hamburg’s (some claim the whole of Germany’s, much to the chagrin of Mustapha in Berlin) kebab house. Here, too, there is no seating and Kurtulan serves – from a window directly on the street – a kebab of different halal meats (only on Tuesdays and Thursdays it offers lamb), light and delicious at the same time. Take their advice on condiments.

Leverkusenstraße 2, 22761 Hamburg

Nuggi’s Elbkate

Every time I visit my friends in Hamburg I land with a question that haunts me: when are we going to eat fischbrötchen? Literally a fish sandwich, the fischbrötchen is the snack Hamburg dockworkers used to have during the day. Today there are many different types, but there are three traditional variations: Matjes (pickled, fatter female herring), bismarckhering (pickled and spiced herring) and lasch mit meeretich (salmon with horseradish). Nuggie’s has for over 40 years been the secret place to go to taste the sacred fischbrötchen triad. Pass the historic Fischmarkt and once you reach the Altona beach, go down a bridge directly to the pier. On the left, you will find a tin hut, with no seats and only two supports looking out over the Elbe: this is Nuggi’s Elbkate. The advice for those uninitiated to fischbrötchen is to go for the matje, which encapsulates all the simplicity and firmness of the sandwich: pickled, sour (they serve it with raw onions), nutritious (you can feel the fat of the herring), absolutely no sauces. Eating it to the rhythm of the pier squeaking and the earth moving is really quite a thing.

Fähranleger Neumühlen/Övelgönne, 22763 Hamburg

Vienna

Sternschanze is one of Hamburg’s last gentrified neighbourhoods, and among its streets filled with bars and natural wine taverns you will find Vienna. From Wiener schnitzel with fries to königsberger klopse (dumplings in white sauce and capers), the menu offers a taste of typical German and North German cuisine. The atmosphere is warm and cosy and it is the ideal place to have a classy dinner without the burden of unnecessary frippery. The wine list is also of a high standard, with a preference for old school German and Austrian wines. An honourable mention goes to perhaps the best dessert I have ever had in my life: Topfendknödel mit zwetschkenröster (quark cheese dumplings with stewed plum sauce).

Fettstraße 2, 20357 Hamburg 

Alt Helgoländer Fischerstube

Located on the Fischmarkt, Alt Helgoländer Fischerstube is a charming restaurant that has been serving Norddeutsche cuisine since 1982, which for me means only one thing: Labskaus. To be honest, the labskaus is a dish that is as fascinating (its history is linked to sailors and long ocean voyages) as it is unusual (many Hamburg residents have never tasted it). In the dish, in fact, fried eggs, meat cooked in broth and then battered with a knife, pickled herring (they are everywhere!), beets, onions and cucumbers coexist — a mix of flavours that will not leave you indifferent.

Fischmarkt 4 a-c, 22767 Hamburg 

Feurdrache by Kilkenbar

More than a restaurant, this is a collective of young chefs, sommeliers and restaurateurs who take care to pursue a researched cuisine linked to local raw materials and natural wines. The atmosphere is as delightful and young as the dishes they serve. The organic meat comes from small producers in the surrounding countryside and the fish arrives fresh from the Altona market, while the menu also includes some unexpected first courses such as arancini with tomato and sage. The wine list is sophisticated and focuses on natural wines from growing areas ranging from the Pfalz, Rhine Hesse and Baden, Austria, South Tyrol to excellent orange from Slovenia.

Clemens-Schultz-Straße 18, 20359 Hamburg

Kandie Shop + Pasta 500

To start the day on a colourful and sweet note, head to Kandie Shop in St.Pauli, a coffee shop that has specialised in different coffee blends since 2007, with a wide assortment of cakes and pastries, all vegan and made in the small space at the back. Pay attention to the day because on Wednesdays and Thursdays Kandie Shop opens its kitchen for lunch, calling itself Pasta 500 with a window on Italian cuisine by Hamburg chef Marco Micliuc, who serves pasta with selected products from Italy. (I had one of the best carbonara I’ve ever had here.)

Wohlwillstraße 16, 20359 Hamburg

Badshah Restaurant

Located in the basement of a building, Badshah is a restaurant in the St George district specialising in thalis. Tables to share with other diners, self-service with the typical aluminium tray give it a warm and welcoming canteen feel, with restaurant quality. The choice is wide and varies from a meat options to a completely vegan one, each always accompanied by rice, naan and a small salad. It’s worth ordering a portion of samosas to kick things off.

Bremer Reihe 24, 20099 Hamburg

Tazzi Pizza

Two shops in the city, one mission: to churn out real Neapolitan pizza. Tazzi Pizza has managed to bring a Neapolitan oven to the heart of St.Pauli and in just a few years (open since 2018) has become famous throughout Hamburg. Because its pizza is special. The baking in the wood-fired oven can be felt throughout, leaving a pleasantly chewy crust and soft dough that manages to hold the toppings.

Rendsburger Str. 14, 20359 Hamburg



Lorenzo Villa is a writer and editor based in Milan. He writes about lifestyle for Harper’s Bazaar Italia and collaborates with the literary magazine Galápagos. All photos by Lorenzo Villa, including the header of the currywurst with secret sauce at Imbiss bei Schorsch.