16 Delicious Hamburg Restaurants

Sharing is caring!

There are so many awesome Hamburg restaurants to check out on your next trip to this huge German city.

Whether you are looking for some delicious German food, some dishes specific to northern Germany and Hamburg, or you want to sample some international cuisine, Hamburg has it all and does it at every price point.

It’s a huge city with over 2 million residents, so you can bet you’ll be able to find just about anything you are craving at almost any time of day.

Map of Top Hamburg Restaurants

Hamburg Food Tours

If you are interested in learning about food history or you want a guide to take you around to some of the best restaurants in Hamburg, you may want to consider taking a food tour.

• Schanzenviertel Food Tour: Explore one of the coolest neighborhoods in Hamburg and explore its funky cafes and restaurants while learning about the history of both the neighborhood and the food along the way. Book the food tour here.
• St. George Food Tour: St. George is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Hamburg and also home to some of my favorite Hamburg restaurants. This food tour explores the different cultures that make up this melting-pot neighborhood. Book the food tour here.

Best Hamburg Restaurants

Berlin often gets the title as coolest German city, but Hamburg really gives it a run for its money and I think it does that through its food scene (and the nightlife, too).

You can check the locations of these fantastic Hamburg restaurants using the above map. Most are located within close distance to the main train station or near U-bahn or S-bahn stations.

1. Berliner Bahnhof

Berliner Bahnhof is my personal favorite Hamburg restaurant and one that I highly recommend booking a table at during your trip to Hamburg. You can book a table here.

It’s a popular spot for drinks on the weekends and their house specialty, the pear bellini, is particularly refreshing. They have tables outside if you are visiting during the summer so you can enjoy your drinks or dinner al fresco.

The food here is inventive, delicious, and beautifully presented.

The food is locally sourced when possible and the specials menu is fantastic. If you enjoy seafood, the sea bass is cooked to perfection with crispy skin and served with a garlic and beetroot hummus and broccoli. 

2. Frau Möller

If you are looking for a place to have local northern German food, this is one of the best restaurants in Hamburg. The food is filling and hearty, good for those famous rainy cold days Hamburg has so frequently.

It’s located in the St. George neighborhood and it always has a line out the door on weekends. It’s a popular spot to start your night with a filling meal and cheap beer. 

One of the specialties on the menu is fried potatoes. They are boiled, smashed, fried, and topped with tons of different options like Sauerfleisch, jellied meat popular in this region of Germany, or simply some pork chops with a delicious mustard sauce.

3. Das Dorf

Another great Hamburg restaurant in the St. George neighborhood. This is home to tons of great German comfort foods like stews with wild boar, crispy potatoes, roasted pork, seriously delicious steaks, and schnitzel.

You can not only enjoy classic German food, but there are even vegan and vegetarian options to choose from. They have local draft beer and a nice selection of wine as well. 

This is one of the most popular Hamburg restaurants in this neighborhood, so be sure to prebook a table here.

4. Vagueira Tapas Bar

A Portuese-run Spanish tapas bar may sound strange, but the food is exceptional and the wine selection is excellent as well.

If you want to have something a little bit different to the heavy potato-filled options in St. George, this is one of the best restaurants in Hamburg.

They have everything from pimientos de padron to jamon iberico. They have delicious meatballs, a nice selection of Spanish cheeses, fried anchovies, and salty olives.

Like most great restaurants in Hamburg, it’s a popular spot on the weekends in the evening. You can book a table here.

5. Tazzi Pizza

Tazzi Pizza is home to the best pizza in Hamburg. If you like Neapolitan pizza, local craft beer on draft, a nice wine selection and charcuterie boards that will make your mouth water.

Tazzi has a few tables outside and a few tables inside and they are almost always booked up in the evenings, even during the week. You definitely need to make a booking if you plan to come in the evening, which you can do here.

If you are visiting Hamburg in the warmer months, you can grab a pizza to go and take to a nearby park or back to your hotel or Airbnb. 

Spicy food lovers should try the Hot Antonio which is topped with ‘nduja sausage. However, even the simple Margarita pizza is absolutely delectable.

The pizza dough is perfectly fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They also have a nice salad selection which comes with bread that is made from the pizza dough.

6. Brücke 10

There is one meal that you have to have in Hamburg, Fischbrötchen. If you speak a bit of German you may know this simply translates to fish in bread. 

And that is how simple this delicious dish is. And Brücke 10 is the best restaurant in Hamburg to have it. It’s famous amongst locals and visitors to Hamburg and whether it’s sunny or pouring rain, there will be a line down the pier.

There are about a dozen different sandwiches to choose from, including fried fish, grilled fish, smoked fish, and even vegan fish substitutes.

You order your fish at the counter and then you can take it to one of the tables outside, inside, or upstairs (the stairs are to the left of the food stall) and up on the rooftop viewpoint.

They also serve beer and soda to wash it down with.

7. Cafe MAY

Another local classic that you’ll want to try when you’re in Hamburg is the franzbrötchen. This is a sweet pastry that is sort of like a combination of a croissant and a cinnamon roll.

Cafe MAY make one of the best that I sampled on both of my trips to Hamburg and the cafe itself is serving up some fantastic food.

It’s most popular thanks to their buffet breakfast each morning. For a set price of €10, you can have eggs, fresh bread rolls, pastries, cheese, meats, and coffee and tea between 6am and 10am. If your hotel doesn’t offer breakfast, this is a great option.

They also make exceptional coffee. There are a ton of great cafes in Hamburg, but not many of them have such a nice food selection. The flat white here is strong and smooth and a perfect accompaniment to the franzbrötchen (also available as a vegan option).

8. Überquell Brauerei

If you love great local beer and delicious pizza, this is a fantastic restaurant in Hamburg. Überquell make some of the best craft beer in Hamburg with a big selection of different beers.

They have a huge beer garden outside of the restaurant with a cover over it so you can still sit outside even if it’s raining. They also have plenty of indoor seating in the warehouse-style seating area. 

They make several different types of pizzas, they have nice meat and cheese platters, as well as vegetarian bowls including one of my favorite Italian salads, panzanella.

It’s a great bar to hang out in with friends and the fact that their food is so exceptional puts it at the top of the list for best restaurants in Hamburg.

9. Erika’s Eck

Erika’s Eck is one of the most popular restaurants in Hamburg to enjoy traditional German food from this region of the country. It is a casual and affordable option for both lunch and dinner. 

They have a fantastic selection of schnitzels including turkey schnitzel, schnitzel with curry sauce, or jäger schnitzel. They also have several roast beef dishes and plenty of soup to choose from.

Erika’s Eck is popular with locals for their daily lunch special. Each day is a different option and it comes with a salad and dessert for under €10.

10. Ratsherrn Brauerei

Second only to Überquell Brauerei, Ratsherrn is a fantastic local Hamburg Brewery. You’ll spot Ratsherrn beer at a lot of great Hamburg restaurants like Tazzi Pizza, but coming here and sampling a whole flight is a fun thing to do while visiting Hamburg.

The Hamburg Hell beer is a personal favorite if you want something light, but they also have a pilsner, pale ale, rotbier, IPA, and Belgian beer. 

The whole brewery is a cool place to hang out. It’s more of a day-time place as it closes at 8pm each night, but it’s a nice option for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon or for an early dinner and beers before a night out.

You can do a brewery tour if you visit during the day and then do a sampling of all of their different beers that are all available on draft.

They have a nice pub-menu which includes fish and chips with curry sauce, burgers, charcuterie plates, and a killer creme brulee. 

11. Heisse Ecke Grillbude

This is the best restaurant in Hamburg if you want to sample one of Germany’s most famous dishes, currywurst.

If you want a late-night spot or even just a great place for a bratwurst, you can come here for quick, cheap, and delicious food. 

Located right on Reeperbahn, you can head here between sets at the nearby music clubs. The currywurst is one of the best I’ve tried in my travels around Germany. The sausage is well-cooked and packed with flavor, the sauce isn’t too sweet or too spicy, and the fries that come with it are crispy and fluffy. 

12. Imbiss bei Schorsch

Another street stall that you won’t want to miss in Hamburg, Imbiss bei Schorsch is an absolute Hamburg restaurant institution. 

They have kebabs and truly delectable potato salad, but the main event here is the currywust. You can have it alone with just sausage and curry sauce or you can add fries on the side or have it with the mayonnaise-rich potato salad. 

If you’re looking for a cheap meal while you’re in Hamburg but that is still packed with flavor, this is the place to head. 

13. Cafe am Fleet

This is one of my personal favorite restaurants in Hamburg or an afternoon pick-me-up for a sweet breakfast.

This is a family-run restaurant with father and son behind the counter. They have freshly made cakes with the apple cake being particularly delicious.

They also make huge sandwiches that are packed with meat and cheese and inside freshly made bread. They also have a few egg dishes if you want a savory breakfast, but I really recommend coming here for cake and coffee.

14. Gaststätte Zum Brandanfang

Located on the same street at Cafe am Fleet, this is one of the best restaurants in Hamburg if you want to enjoy a nice lunch along the city’s old port.

There are different currencies hanging all over the ceiling and when I asked the proprietor why the money was there, she said that sailors used to hang their money on the ceiling before they left for sea so that they would have enough money when they got back to pay for a drink.

They would dock up at the back of the restaurant and then take the money that they left stuck to the ceiling and have their first beer back on dry land. 

They have a dish here that is quite traditional to Hamburg, the matjes fillets, or herring fillets. They are usually pickled and served with potatoes, rye bread, and salad. 

15. Dim Sum Haus Restaurant

If you are interested in having some fantastic Chinese food while you are in Hamburg, this is the absolute best restaurant in Hamburg for dim sum.

The best option is to have a few different dumplings and buns to choose from and then share a main meal or two. The peking duck here is exceptional as are the spare ribs, but if you fill up on the soup dumplings or the pork buns, then you’ll at least be full on delicious dim sum.

They have a few two and four-person set menus which include some of their most popular dim sum as well as soup and unlimited tea. 

16. Billy the Butcher

If you want a seriously fantastic burger or a great steak while you are visiting the city, then this is one of the best Hamburg restaurant options. 

There are two locations; one in the city center and a second one in the Altona neighborhood. 

The burgers here are worth traveling for. The quality of the meat is top-notch and the toppings are exceptional. They are all served on fluffy brioche buns and even the simple cheeseburger is made with wagyu beef.

They also have a steak and cheese burger, a chicken burger, a pastrami burger, and beef tartare. They also have a full bar with great cocktails and craft beer as well.