33 Best Restaurants in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and the Baltic Coast

Hamburg’s highest restaurant and bar awaits you on the 23rd floor of the \"Tanzende Türme” (Dancing Towers) skyscrapers, dazzling with floor-to-ceiling views over the city, excellent cocktails, and creative crossover cuisine cooked in an open kitchen. The culinary focus here is on a variety of different steaks and cuts of meat.

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 kitchen at this much-loved little bistro in Eimsbüttel officially opens for business at 7 pm, but Vienna opens its doors early in the afternoon for those wanting an espresso or aperitif from their tiny bar. Early arrivers might still be asked to share a table in the dining room or outside in the courtyard, but given the lovingly prepared sausages, fresh fish dishes, and hearty desserts coming out of the kitchen, it will matter little to most.

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.

Still a shining star in the row of romantic restaurants that sit along Hamburg's riverfront, Am Kai, in keeping with its location, has a menu heavy on seafood. Raw oysters and sashimi share the menu with offerings of tuna and North Sea sole, and amongst the beef dishes there’s a Surf and Turf to keep lovers of both worlds happy.

All over Germany, no beer brand has become so closely associated with Hamburg (and especially St. Pauli) than Astra. In addition to its main industrial brewery, the brand runs a microbrewery and restaurant directly on the Reeperbahn. Here, they offer IPAs and other specialty beers that can only be enjoyed there as it is produced in much smaller batches. A full menu featuring everything from finger food to lobster make this a great starting point to a legendary evening on the Kiez.

Tucked away close to a lively square full of bars with a more local vibe not far from the Reeperbahn, The Bird is a New York-style restaurant serving some of the best and most creative hamburgers and steaks in town and a great selection of domestic and international beers.

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.

A slice of Paris in the heart of Hamburg, this turn-of-the-19th-century café's unfailing popularity derives from its superb traditional French fare, which naturally includes steak frites and beef tartare, served by crisply polite staff beneath a tiled Art Nouveau ceiling. The café's bar is an ideal spot to take in the atmosphere and sample something off the superb wine list until a table becomes free.

This extension of the Louis C. Jacob Hotel consists of a relaxed Bistro, a wine bar, and a more formal Brasserie that boasts a large bay window with excellent views of ships gliding up the Elbe. But it's the brasserie that stands out, offering a unique take on French dishes with seasonal northern German ingredients as well as local fish delicacies.

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 truffle ragout fin of calf's tongue served in a puff pastry patty, and a friendly, knowledgeable staff, easily compensate.

This bright-red lightship served in the English Channel before it retired to the city harbor in 1989 and became a landmark restaurant, guesthouse, and pub. Local favorites such as Hamburger Pannfisch (panfried fish with mustard sauce) and Labskaus (a mixture of corned beef, potato, onion, beet, and gherkins) are on the ship's extensive menu, along with Argentine steaks and rack of lamb.

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.

Venture beyond the grand exterior of this 19th-century bank building and you'll find yourself in an elegant bar and brasserie lighted by opulent chandeliers set in a ceiling supported by handsome black columns. Diners can feast on steaks, goose, and sashimi at white-clothed tables or out on the restaurant's spacious, sunny terrace.

For some of the best fish in Hamburg, book a table at this splendid portside restaurant, which looks plain from the outside, but feels like a dining room aboard a luxury liner inside. The menu changes daily according to what's available in the fish market that morning; the elegant oyster bar here is a favorite with the city's beau monde.

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.

This restaurant embodies the idea of “think global, act local” and brings American food to your table through its menu, which is inspired by Creole and Cajun cuisines in Louisiana. Kitchens's concept is rooted in travel experiences and culinary adaptation in an elegant environment. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, and anyone can also enjoy cocktails on its rooftop bar Moon 46 overlooking the HafenCity.

Run by five well-known, award-winning Hamburg restaurateurs, this culinary hotspot lies in the heart of the Hanseviertel quarter. The blend of individual food kiosks and food market not only offers food and drink from all over the world but also a bar area and a stage where music, comedy, and other events take place. 

This local favorite has the distinction of serving authentic Mexican food in the heart of St. Pauli and does not take reservations. Complete with Spanish-speaking staff and an atmosphere that asks nothing from street eateries in Mexico, this restaurant is so popular that the good mood of staff and diners alike spills onto the streets. It is hugely popular with both locals and expats.

This restaurant on Lange Reihe is famed not only for its regional specialties but also for its extensive wine list. Ask the knowledgeable staff which Flammkuchen goes best with your choice of wine. Also open for lunch everyday, Neumann's is a neighborhood favorite. Swing by on a Sunday to enjoy the best Schnitzel in Hamburg taking in St. Georg's atmosphere like a local.

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.

A long-time neighborhood favorite, Eisenstein sits inside a handsome 19th-century industrial complex turned art center and serves fantastic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine at affordable prices. Sharing space with a movie theater, the restaurant is popular with pre- and postmovie crowds and probably best known for its gourmet wood-fired pizzas like the Pizza Helsinki (salmon, crème fraîche, and onions) and the Blöde Ziege (Stupid Goat) with rosemary-tomato sauce, crispy bacon, and goat cheese.

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.

It would be difficult to find a better spot in town than this handsome seafood restaurant to watch big boats cruise by while satisfying your appetite for fresh lobster, sashimi, bouillabaisse, Scottish salmon, Dover sole, and oysters. Its ample sun terrace sits just above the Elbe, while the large open-plan dining room has ceiling-high windows facing downstream toward the city and the Elbe Philharmonic Hall.

On the edge of a canal and beneath the arches of the elegant Alster arcade, this popular Syrian meze restaurant enjoys superb views of Hamburg’s town hall. While it specializes in lamb, including homemade lamb sausages, Saliba’s menu also caters to vegetarian and vegan diners with offerings of falafel and eggplant dishes.

A great choice on a sunny afternoon, this restaurant serves both great pizza and a microbrews in a landmarked historic building right by the Elbe River. Enjoy a lager, an IPA, or one of their many seasonal beers on the always lively terrace and a pizza fresh out of the brick oven.