Frankfurt Cuisine: Exciting and Colourfully Diverse

The Main metropolis has everything from home-style cooking to far-eastern delights.

Frankfurt’s restaurant scene is as lively and multicultural as the city itself. The culinary offer range is highly diversified, as one would expect from a bustling metropolis, offering traditional specialities like apple wine and green sauce, international delicacies from across the globe, and everything in between. Whatever their preference, visitors have a seemingly endless selection of fine foods available to them. Not surprising, really. Frankfurt is after all a city of many cultures.

The metropolis on the River Main boasts a total of six Michelin Star restaurants: “Carmelo Grecco”, “Lafleur”, “Tiger Gourmet Restaurant”, “Weinsinn”, “Erno’s Bistro” and “Français” all offer culinary delights of the highest quality. There is much more fine food on offer throughout the city, of course. Frankfurt is home to hundreds of excellent bars, restaurants, taverns and pubs, all of which are well worth a visit.

Frankfurt’s bustling station district in particular is a feast for the senses, not to mention a cultural and culinary melting pot beyond compare. Here, visitors will find a great variety of international delicacies, served from authentic kitchens and food shops, as well as creatively prepared classics on offer at trendy bars and restaurants, all of which are constantly growing in number. Walon &Rosetti, for example, is a place where tradition meets modernity. The bar-restaurant attracts a clientele that enjoys wining and dining in a cosy and relaxed atmosphere. Maxie Eisen, meanwhile, prepares fine Jewish fare à la Kosher Nostra. The pastrami sandwiches are particularly recommendable. At Mittagsgold, the ambiance reminds one of the 1950s, with guests enjoying cocktails in lounge chairs or eating at the type of kidney-shaped tables so popular back in those bygone days. The aforementioned examples are of course only a few of the culinary establishments at home in the vibrant and trendy station district. Nearby Münchener Straße is equally colourful, exciting and multicultural. The restaurants, eateries and grocery stores found here represent the four corners of the Earth: Turkish supermarkets next door to Lebanese bistros, Moroccan hairdressers adjacent to Korean restaurants, German cobblers across from Indian sweet shops. Here, variety is truly the spice of life.

Traditional Frankfurt cuisine also has much to offer. Be it the world-famous Frankfurt sausages, “Handkäs‘ mit Musik” (small, round cheeses marinated in an onion vinaigrette), “Grüne Soße” (a cold green sauce made from seven regional herbs), Frankfurt Crown Cake (made with nut brittle, butter crème and red cherries) or the famous Frankfurt apple wine, they are all mainstays of the local cuisine. And they taste particularly good when enjoyed at one of the city’s many traditional apple wine pubs. Frankfurt’s apple wine culture has been part of the city’s joie de vivre for hundreds of years. The locals’ beverage of choice is traditionally poured from a so-called “bembel” (a blue-grey earthenware jug), which ensures that the beverage stays cool, and drunk from a special ribbed glass, known as the “gerippte”. Fans of apple wine are urged to visit the traditional apple wine pubs of Old Sachsenhausen, the unofficial apple wine district of Frankfurt. During summer, the district exudes a very Mediterranean feel. The vast majority of the pubs have tables set up outside, inviting guests to enjoy apple wine and Frankfurt cuisine late into the night. Here, young and old, locals and visitors, come together to enjoy Frankfurt’s culinary offerings together, in harmony and friendship.

Frankfurt’s weekly markets are much more than a loose collection of outdoor fruit ‘n’ veg stalls. They are also popular meeting places where friends and neighbours come together for a chat while enjoying fresh food and beverages. The Erzeugermarkt (grower’s market) at Konstablerwache is one of the most popular, offering only regionally grown produce. The food and beverage stands sell bratwursts, green sauce, roast potatoes, apple wine, regular wine and homebrewed beer. The “Markt im Hof” (Courtyard Market) in the “Brückenviertel” (Bridge Quarter) attracts its clientele with culinary offerings from around the corner and around the world. Popular favourites include, amongst others, the homemade lemonade and savoury waffles. At Friedberger Markt, locals meet to enjoy an after-work drink and finger foods. The atmosphere at this market square is relaxed; in fact, the squares and plazas of Frankfurt are known to be some of the city’s most vivacious and multicultural places, and a true representation of the city’s social and cultural life.

Contact:

Frankfurt Tourist+Congress Board
 Elena Holschier-Rupprecht
 Kaiserstraße 56
 60329 Frankfurt/Main
 Phone: +49 (0) 69 / 21 24 30 10
E-mail: rupprecht@infofrankfurt.de