10 Best Restaurants in Hamburg, Germany

A proud owner of a Michelin star since it opened its doors in 1978, Landhaus Scherrer continues to be one of the city's best-known and most celebrated restaurants. The focus is on the use of organic, sustainable ingredients to produce classic and modern German cuisine with international touches, and unsurprisingly, the accompanying wine list is exceptional.

The Alt Hamburger Aalspeicher specializes in fish, including Hamburg's famous Aalsuppe (a clear broth with a variety of vegetables, seafood, and meat—basically everything that is leftover). Over time the Low German word for everything (all) became mistaken for the word for eel (Aal), so some restaurants make eel the focus, while others stick with creating their own versions of the soup.

A stalwart of Hamburg's gay and lesbian neighborhood, this local favorite is probably best known for its friendly service and outrageously good cakes—spiced apple; rhubarb; and Black Forest gâteau among them—that are baked on-site in the café's own Konditorei. Beyond its sweet treats, the café whips up solid German breakfasts of bread rolls with smoked salmon and herring or cold cuts and cheeses and has a dependable if somewhat unexciting lunch and dinner menu.

Cox has delighted guests with its nouvelle German cuisine for years, and with a cool, dark interior and red-leather banquettes reminiscent of a French brasserie, it remains one of the hippest places around. Friday and Saturday night sees its two large rooms swell with diners, and consequently service can slow a little. However, dishes such as steamed catfish fillet with mussel tartare served in fennel stock, and a friendly, knowledgeable staff, easily compensate.

Located in an old merchant house decorated with oil paintings featuring 19th-century sailing ships, this small and elegant seafood restaurant is a Hamburg classic. It's one of the best places to get traditional dishes such as Hamburger pannfisch (fried catch of the day in a wine-and-mustard sauce) at a very reasonable price.

Located where St. Pauli meets Schanze, Hatari offers traditional southwestern German food in the far north. Sit at one of the long, rustic wooden tables and enjoy a plate of Käsespätzle or delicacies from the Rhineland at affordable prices. The folksy decoration gives the impression of a modest eatery frozen in time, but the clientele here is mostly made up of hip Schanze locals who flock to this restaurant for its unique vibe.

Snugly sited beneath vaulted ceilings in the cellar of the city's town hall, this elegant old pub turned restaurant and cocktail bar serves no-nonsense meat and seafood meals, including shrimp fresh from the North Sea, with a light touch of German nouvelle cuisine. Popular with local businesspeople during and after work, it's also a nice spot for a frothy beer and some Flammkuchen, Alsace's take on pizza, between traipsing around the nearby sights.

The simple but cool style, excellent service, and high-quality food (seasonal variations using local produce) at this busy bistro keep the locals coming back. Inventive four-course menus merge typical German cuisine with international flavors.

Much like its setting inside a Speicherstadt warehouse, where exposed bricks and beams are offset by sleek furniture and lighting, Vlet’s menu blends traditional German methods with new techniques. The kitchen offers two tasting menus that can be accompanied by corresponding glasses of wine, and the permanent "Vlet Classics" menu, which includes beef tartare prepared at the table. The restaurant has since opened a second location directly on Jungfernstieg.

Ski lifts are a rare sight in Hamburg and North Germany, which is known for its flat landscape, but they are part of the decoration of this bistro serving Alpine delicacies. The menu includes an excellent selection of cheese and German favorites such as Käsespätzle (egg noodles) but this restaurant is best known as a great place to have a proper breakfast.