Disclaimer: Some of the links within this post are affiliate links. This means if you click them and make a purchase I might earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions, although small, help towards paying the costs of running this website. For further information please see our privacy policy and cookie policy. In addition if you wish to ensure that your personal information is not passed on to third party advertisers you can request that via our Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information page.
What to Eat in Hamburg – A Quick Guide
If you are in Hamburg you should eat like a local.
This means eating traditional local dishes. The following are the top local dishes to try.
Bread based Dishes
- Rundstück warm: A warm roll filled with various ingredients like meat, cheese, and vegetables.
- Fischbrötchen: Fresh fish, typically herring or salmon, served in a bun with various toppings and sauces.
Soup / Stew Dishes
- Labskovs: A warm potato stew with meat, typically beef or pork.
- Pfeffersack: A hearty stew with beef, pork, and beans.
- Aalschnüüsch: A thick eel soup with vegetables and herbs, a regional specialty.
- Aalsuppe: A traditional eel soup with vegetables, often enjoyed as a hearty meal.
Main Dishes
Meat based Dishes
- Labskaus: A traditional sailor’s dish made with corned beef, potatoes, and beetroot, often topped with a fried egg and pickles.
- Knipp: A local sausage dish made from minced meat, bacon, and oats.
- Pannfrikadellen: Pan-fried meatballs made from a mixture of minced meat and bread.
- Königsberger Klopse: Meatballs in a creamy caper sauce, typically served with potatoes or rice.
- Grünkohl: Kale cooked with smoked sausage and other meats, often served with potatoes and mustard.
- Kohlrouladen: Cabbage rolls stuffed with meat, rice, and spices, often served with gravy.
Fish based Dishes
- Pannfisch: Pan-fried fish, often served with potatoes and a mustard sauce.
- Bismarckhering: Marinated herring fillets, usually served with onions and a creamy sauce.
- Räuchermatjes: Smoked herring fillets, a popular local delicacy.
Vegetable based Dishes
- Rotkohl: Sweet and sour red cabbage, a common side dish in Hamburg.
- Französischer Salat: A German potato salad with mayonnaise and pickles.
- Birnen, Bohnen und Speck: A hearty dish featuring pears, green beans, and bacon.
Desserts / Pastries
- Franzbrötchen: Cinnamon and sugar pastries, similar to cinnamon rolls but with a unique local twist.
- Rote Grütze: A red berry pudding or compote, often served with cream or vanilla sauce.
If you have tried any other local dishes that you would like to recommend please add them to the comments at the end of this post.
Other Useful Resources
Top Attractions – Hamburg
If you want to find out more about Hamburg the following posts may be of interest.
Hamburg City Card
If you are going to visit Hamburg soon it might be worth purchasing a ‘Hamburg City Card’. It provides discounted access to up to 150 attractions and also allows free use of public transport. You can find out more information below:
Alternatively, if you’re limited for time, you could consider the city’s ‘hop-on / hop off’ bus service. This will allow you to get around more quickly but is of course a more expensive option.
Book a Hop-on / Hop-off bus tour
If you want to travel more extensively in Europe then the following resources could be prove useful in planning your trip.
Train Tickets
InterRail travel passes, ranging from country specific to Europe wide, and valid for just a few days or up to three months can be obtained at:
If you buy your InterRail pass in the November Black Friday sale or the March / April Spring sale you can usually get a 25% discount on the price of all passes. Additionally, if you are under 28 you get an extra 25% discount anyway. Similarly, an extra 10% discount is also available for those who are 60 or over.
Alternatively, individual Europe-wide train tickets can be booked online using the link below:
This website provides all the details you need, train times, connections and prices, and it also allows you to book tickets there and then online. No need to navigate train operator sites, translate from a foreign language or deal with currency conversions.
Accommodation
Budget hostel, private apartment or hotel accommodation can be found using this link to Booking.com, the most trusted accommodation booking service on the internet.
Luggage Storage
If you haven’t got time to stay overnight in any place, but still want somewhere to store your luggage during the day to go sightseeing, Radical Storage are brilliant.
They have a network of luggage storage facilities in most towns and cities worldwide. You can reserve a space online and pay by iPay or similar just a few minutes before you need to drop your luggage off, or book in advance.
The online website will give you a quotation, issue you with a QR code to show to the local operator and provides directions to the shop / facility (together with a grid reference).
Nothing could be simpler. They also provide luggage insurance just in case something goes wrong. Hopefully you want need it – in my view, it just illustrates their trust in their local partners.
Find out more about Radical Storage
Guide Books to Germany
Click the images below to buy your Guide Books to Germany from Amazon
Earn income from your travel activities
Further Reading
Details of My Long Distance Overland Adventures
Further Details on my Travels from London to the Arctic Circle
Other Detailed Travel Posts
Useful Country Factsheets
Who Are Your Favourite Travel Writers
Please Provide Feedback
Hi, thanks for reading this far. I would really appreciate it if you can please provide some feedback on your reading experience. It will allow me to further improve my offering.
Tags:
#solotravel #travellingoverland #budgettravel #Over60stravel #trainsandbuses #travelblog #Hamburg #HamburgItinerary #Hamburgonfoot #walkinginHamburg #thingstodoinHamburg #bestthingstoeatinHamburg #whattodoinHamburg #whattoeatinHamburg
