13 Best Restaurants in Frankfurt, Germany

Reminiscent of a traditional coffeehouse, this café has been offering all types of sweets and pastries, along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner since 1915. Open daily, it's on a quiet, tucked-away street that's steps from the main shopping area, Zeil. In warm weather, there's a lovely outdoor garden.

For more than 30 years, this simple restaurant has been serving traditional dishes accompanied by potatoes cooked every way imaginable. The potato-and-broccoli gratin and the potato pizza are excellent, as are the Hessian potato pancakes with toppings including mushrooms, smoked salmon, or a fried egg. For dessert, try potato strudel with vanilla sauce. The charming decor includes colorful art deco dishes and lamps.

Come to this Bornheim favorite for the delicious selection of tapas, paella, and other Spanish specialties. The dark interior has wooden tables brightened by fresh-cut flowers and candles, making it a good spot for an intimate dinner. In summer you can dine outside, German style, at long tables.

There aren't many classic Apfelwein locales left, but this is one of them. It's just as it has been since the end of the 19th century: walls covered with giant paintings darkened with age, giant stoneware pitchers called Bembels, glasses that are ribbed to give greasy hands traction, long tables that can seat 12 people, schmaltzy music, hearty food with daily specials, and, as is traditional, no beer. Try this one if you want to truly capture the spirit of Old Sachsenhausen.

The ambience of an old-time Viennese café pervades this popular spot, where there's a lovely garden in summer—as well as some of the city's best freshly baked pastries and cakes year-round, best teamed with a Kaffee mit Schlag (coffee with whipped cream). It closes early, by 7 pm.

This sleek establishment at the Palmengarten is accessible either from the botanical garden or from the street, offering fresh-baked pastries throughout the day and a limited prix-fixe lunch menu that changes daily. It closes at 7 pm. The Palmengarten also has the Linden Terrace for snacks in season, and the elegant and pricey Restaurant Lafleur for dinner.

This friendly Apfelwein restaurant offers typical decor, with traditional wood paneling and coat hooks on the wall. It's popular with locals, who come for regional favorites, including dishes with the ubiquitous Frankfurter green sauce, but also a rarity: beer. Save room for appelkranzen, battered and fried apple rings dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with ice cream.

Some of Frankfurt's best Mexican cuisine is found in this festive little place. Warm and colorful, this restaurant serves a variety of fruity margaritas and is well known for its extensive selection of tequilas. The dimly lighted dining room is fairly small; reservations are recommended on weekends.

The menu is typical of Old Sachsenhausen—apple wine and sauerkraut are served—but the interior is bright and modern and the Frankfurt specialties are a cut above the rest. As proprietor Kay Exenberger puts it, "We're nearly as fast as a fast-food restaurant, but as gemütlich (quaint) as an apple wine locale must be". It's so popular that reservations are a good idea, even at lunch, and everything can be wrapped up to go. Many rave about the chocolate pudding with vanilla sauce.

This eclectic vegetarian and vegan spot, a rarity in Frankfurt, serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks made only with organic ingredients. Centrally located a few blocks from the Dom, the café has low lighting and rough-hewn wood tables; the rock 'n' roll and Motown tunes are played here at a volume low enough not to discourage quiet conversation.

Breakfast is the main attraction at this café near the Römerberg and Dom. The dining room is large, and in the warmer months there are also tables on a garden patio. The kitchen serves until 11 pm. Reservations are accepted for dinner only, and not for the terrace. This is a cash-only restaurant.

At this friendly spot, diners share long wooden tables beneath traditional clothing mounted on the walls. The house specialty is a raw steak brought to the table with a heated rock tablet (Stein is the German word for stone) where you do your own cooking. The house beef broth is the perfect antidote to cold weather. By the way, if you order a beer, specify a Kleines, or small glass; if not, you'll automatically get a liter.

There are few inner-city restaurants that brew their own beer, and the Twelve Apostles is one of the pleasant exceptions. Enjoy homemade pilsners in the dimly lighted, cavernous cellar, and sample traditional international and Croatian dishes.