The 12 top restaurants in Hamburg

Arc is a welcome breath of fresh air on the Hamburg food scene, bringing together a young team of friends at its helm, a creative menu and a focus on cultivating real, genuine relationships with local suppliers. It’s intimate, it’s creative and the interiors are uber-cosy, with candles on every table and handmade ceramic tableware from nearby maker Studio Maals. The food is a hyper-seasonal ten-course tasting menu (at a very reasonable €75), mostly veggie with some seafood, using local German produce. Think distilled tomato water, lively nasturtium cress and blackcurrant leaf oil on shiso sorbet. That’s the vibe. 

Time Out tip: As obsessed as I am after visiting? They’ve got a book you can flick through with details on every local spot they’re working with. 

It would be criminal to come to Hamburg and not eat fish, and while there are plenty ‘old school’ spots down near the harbour, XO Seafood Bar offers something a little different. A few minutes from the Reeperbarn, XO shares an intimate strip of street with some very nice bars and al fresco dining spots. Kick things off with a cocktail and their sourdough, served with seaweed caviar, miso butter and chilli oil, and then get a main each with sides or go for the chef’s menu – four or six courses of pure fishy bliss. Highlights include Pasta Krabbe (spaghetti and prawns in crab bisque), and a sticky apple tarte tartin we haven’t stopped dreaming about. 

Got a special occasion? Grill Royal is the spot. The Hamburg branch of this Berlin cult favourite is a little out of town but pulls the same good-looking crowd, with big, graphic artworks, sultry vibes and calming views over the inner Alster. Prices are hefty, but the menu is pretty exquisite; think tuna tataki, nut butter panko, sour cream and teriyaki; grilled octopus with garlic salsa; T-bone steak from Germany’s Darß Peninsula. The wine list is about as long as you’d expect, but a very knowledgeable team will happily guide you through it. For well-sourced, ingredient-led cooking with a serious bit of flare, this should be top of your list. 

All the best restaurants require booking ahead and you’d be wise to follow that rule at Henssler und Henssler. After all, it’s one of the best places to get Japanese food in Germany, let alone Hamburg. You’ll find its starkly industrial exterior on Große Elbstraße, but rest assured, the interior is neat and clean, coloured in reds, blacks and whites, and flanked by the open kitchen, which makes for a fascinating sight. In fact, if you want to get a good look, you can request a seat at the bar that runs alongside the kitchen. Cooked dishes of tempura, grilled fish and sushi come out artfully presented and in bountiful portions.

The clue’s in the name here: [M]eatery unsurprisingly specialises in meat, and boy do they do it well. Steak is the thing to go for, whether rib-eye, tartare, or lobster surfed. The cuts are chunky, and the skinny fries are a perfect accompaniment. Plump burgers are also on the menu, alongside an array of tempting desserts. [M]eatery adjoins the five-star SIDE design hotel, where, during the summer, they host barbecues on the roof.

Tyrolean restaurant Marend may look on to the flashing neon and screeching roller coasters of the Hamburger Dom funfair, but inside, it’s all soft lamps and candlelight, simple pinewood furnishings and flowers as diminutive and delicate as an Alpine posy. The menu is slim; the dishes are not. Hearty mountain Knödel (dumplings) are the name of the game here, with a simple choice between cheese, spinach and beetroot flavours, each served with a crunchy side salad. It’s perfect stomach-lining fodder before a night out in neighbouring St Pauli, but Marend is just as popular for cosy date nights and relaxed group get-togethers at the central table. If you do want to hit the town after dinner, the imposing grey stone building across the road was once an overground bunker and is now home to the hot (in every sense) Uebel und Gefährlich club and gig venue.

Tucked away off an uncharismatic main road, Le Plat du Jour has no big claims when it comes to location but nevertheless enjoys a long-standing and loyal clientele, led mainly by its excellent word-of-mouth reputation. Right down to the red gingham napkins, it’s an authentic brasserie experience with all the snail, duck, rabbit and foie gras dishes you might expect. A fabulous choice for anyone doing business lunch in Hamburg, Le Plat du Jour is equally jovial on a weekend evening, with warm wall lighting and a three-course dinner menu – if you have room for dessert, the profiteroles are a winner. Service is consistently excellent.  

For old-school Hamburg class and outstanding seafood, you can choose no better than the Fischereihafen. Run by the same family since the 1980s, it combines formal elegance with warm hospitality and has counted the Prince and Princess of Wales among its more eminent guests. Its brick façade may be plain, but inside, it feels like the first-class dining room of a transatlantic liner, with candlelight, carpeted floors, white linen tablecloths and nautical scenes on the wall. Unchanged over the years, it’s by no means a hip joint but rather the kind of place you want to play a little vintage dapper and order a glass of champagne. The oysters, lobster soup, turbot and tiger prawns come particularly recommended, but everything here is first-class and supremely fresh. The views across the harbour are great by day or night, and the service is impeccable. If it’s warm enough, book a table on the terrace.

This is next-level falafel. Booking ahead is a must at L’Orient, an excellent Lebanese restaurant on Hamburg’s northern Osterstraße thoroughfare. It’s an ordinary street primarily comprised of banks, hairdressers, tanning salons and copy shops, but the food inside is quite something. Things kick off with the spectacular mezze, delivering phenomenal flavours in individually dished delights; for many, it is a generous meal in itself. Even when it’s super busy, service is warm, gracious and very accommodating of any dietary needs.  

Huge schnitzel, chilled beer, no-nonsense service, all-night opening hours: Erika’s is a Sternschanze institution, a natural favourite for the post-club crowd, who roll in around sunrise in desperate need of a salutary dose of carbs. Don’t come here for the décor – musty carpet, dark wood, game machines – and don’t expect vast gastronomic choice; the biggest decision here is how to take your schnitzel, whether with mushrooms, fried egg, pepper sauce or ‘Hawaii’-style with pineapple and cheese. Note that Erika’s is a place of proud neighbourhood tradition, and staff don’t always take kindly to drunk and rowdy tourists. Try to be polite and patient, and try to speak at least a little German.