From Italian and Japanese to hearty German and elegant French, Düsseldorf's culinary landscape presents a dazzling, almost overwhelming array of choices. Here’s a—by no means complete—overview with recommendations between Altstadt and Oberkassel, from fine dining to small snacks to pair with wine or Altbier. Our tip: reserve a table well in advance! And be sure to ask about special opening hours during the trade fair.
Wine & Dine
In the museum
Wining and dining in a museum? It's possible—and quite enjoyable, in fact. Here at the Ehrenhof, you'll find a tribute to Anna Maria Luisa Medici, who, alongside Jan Wellem, helped the city earn its reputation as a cultural metropolis at the end of the 17th century. The menu has an Italian flair, with coffee and cake served in the afternoon. When the weather is nice, enjoy the spacious terrace surrounded by impressive art.
Anna Maria
Ehrenhof 4-5
Tel.:+49 (0) 211 566 428 00
www.anna-maria.cafe
A French affair
The focus here is on the finest and most authentic French cuisine. The Coq au Vin is unmatched in the city, and the classics include steak tartare with fries, veal tongue with pickled vegetables, and the gratinated bone marrow with wild herbs. Oysters and an extensive champagne list complete the savoir vivre experience in the heart of the bustling Old Town.
Brasserie Stadthaus
Mühlenstraße 31
Tel.: +49 (0)211 160 928 15
www.brasserie-stadthaus.de
An Italian secret
But then there's the insider tip, the kind of place that's been frequented by its regulars for decades. This unpretentious restaurant in Carlstadt, with its secluded inner terrace, its ever-present and always charming host Luigi De Maio, and its consistently high-quality food, is just that. For decades.
Casa Luigi
Hohe Straße 33
Tel.: +49 (0)211 327 301
www.casaluigi.de
Come-Back
Under the new management of former Michelin-starred chef Benjamin Kriegel and his wife Ramona as restaurant manager, one of the city's coolest locations has reopened: Lido in the harbor. The innovative and creative cuisine is a perfect match for the unusual architecture. Kriegel serves a multi-course menu that, with dishes like fish sandwiches, Eifel salmon trout, sole, and king prawns, fits in perfectly with the maritime surroundings. The wine pairings are harmonious and expertly selected.
Lido 1960
Am Handelshafen 15
Tel.: +49 (0)211 157 687 30
www.lido1960.de
Gourmet wines at a casual eatery
Two years ago, sommelier Toni Askitis opened this—to put it casually—French fry stand, which for decades before was home to the "Berliner Imbiss." But because the host knows a thing or two about wine, there's more than just fries on offer: a wine list with 600 labels and a dozen wines by the glass. The menu is easily summarized: fries, currywurst (also vegetarian), sandwiches, cucumber salad, and coleslaw.
Pelican Fly
Graf-Adolf-Platz 1
www.pommesundwein.de
Italian scene
Davide Saitta belongs to a Düsseldorf gastro family. With the takeover of the former "Prinzinger," he has now created his own restaurant. The décor is stylish, there's a bar, a bistro and the restaurant; the menu is as Italian as it gets, the wine list enormously impressive, and the service warm and Italian.
Prinzinger by Saittavini
Leostraße 1a
Tel.: +49 (0)211 506 708 01
www.prinzinger-saittavini.de
Sky High dining
Ever dined at a height of 174 meters? That's exactly what's possible here at the Rheinturm at the entrance to the harbor. Inside, everything is chicly furnished, and the menu has an Asian touch—"modern Japanese fusion style," as they call it. And because the tower rotates once around its own axis every 72 minutes, you'll constantly have a new view of the city below.
Qomo
Stromstraße 20
Tel.: +49 (0)211 863 200 18
www.rheinturm.de
Lobster bisque and more
The finest French brasserie cuisine awaits guests here, right on the sometimes bustling Rhine promenade. There's lobster bisque, oysters, pink shrimp, confit duck leg, classic mussel soup, or twelve-hour braised spareribs. Important to know: You can't make reservations, so you have to hope for a free table.
Robert Punkt
Rathausufer 10
Tel.: +49 (0)211 152 078 34
www.restaurantrobert.de
Subterranean
It hardly gets more unusual than this: Setzkasten is located in the basement of a supermarket. Not just any supermarket, but the chic, more than 10,000-square-meter one owned by the Zurheide family at the entrance to the city center. The restaurant has about 30 seats, is modernly furnished, and naturally has no windows, but it does have the finest food, prepared by the team led by Egor Hopp. Four- and six-course menus are offered, and the wine list is gigantic.
Setzkasten
Berliner Allee 52
Tel.: +49 (0)211 200 57 16
www.setzkasten-duesseldorf.de
Fine dining
Eight stars
Düsseldorf boasts a total of eight Michelin-starred restaurants—none of which we want to particularly single out. But perhaps just a brief mention: the top chef with the longest Michelin-starred career is 77-year-old Jean-Claude Bourgueil, who has calculated that he has been awarded 126 stars over the course of his cooking life. And the youngest chef in this group is 30-year-old Lukas Jakobi, who received the coveted award shortly after opening his restaurant.
Agata’s
Kirchfeldstraße 59
Telefon +49 (0)211 20030616
www.agatas.de
Im Schiffchen
Kaiserswerther Markt 9
Telefon +49 (0)211 401050
www.im-schiffchen.de
Jae Restaurant
Keplerstraße 13
Telefon +49 (0)211 99919966
www.jae-restaurant.de
Zwanzig23 by Lukas Jakobi
Brunnenstraße 35
Telefon +49 (0)173 9220294
www.zwanzig23.com
Le Flair
Marc-Chagall-Straße 108
Telefon +49 (0)211 51455688
www.restaurant-leflair.de
Nagaya
Klosterstraße 42
Telefon +49 (0)211 8639636
www.nagaya.de
Yoshi by Nagaya
Kreuzstraße 17
Telefon +49 (0)211 86043060
www.yoshibynagaya.wixsite.com
1876 Daniel Dal-Ben
Grunerstraße 42a
Telefon +49 (0)211 1717361
www.1878.restaurant.de
Dining among stars
It doesn't get more central than this: The award-winning luxury hotel resides on Düsseldorf's Königsallee and accommodates all the stars and celebrities who are looking for lodging in Düsseldorf or the surrounding area. The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Pink, Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles have all stayed here. The restaurant on the first floor, under the direction of Philipp Ferber, has developed into a culinary hotspot in recent years. The Breidenbacher Hof collaborates with various producers in the region. In addition, the team operates a regional vegetable garden.
Duchy im Breidenbacher Hof
Königsallee 11
Telefon +49 (0)211 16090500
www.breidenbacherhof.de
Just wine
Marketplace
It's not just Riesling here: The dedicated wine experts offer a well-assorted selection, making this essentially simple market stall a meeting place for wine enthusiasts. During ProWein, there are special events in the evenings, with many winemakers making appearances and bringing along their new vintages.
Concept Riesling
Carlsplatz 26, Stand A5
Telefon +49 (0)211 93679940
www.conceptrieslingshop.com
The place to be
One of the best bars in Germany always becomes the meeting place for the wine scene during ProWein. The wine list offers just under 300 labels, with around 45 available by the glass. There's a focus on orange and natural wines. On normal days, there are small snacks like cheese or charcuterie plates, and during ProWein, two different dinner options are offered.
Eiskeller Weinbar
Eiskellerberg 1-3
Telefon +49 (0)211 20052686
www.eiskellerbar.de
A place of tranquility
Finns offers a cozy atmosphere: There's a manageable menu with appetizers to share, sandwiches, or Wiener Schnitzel, as well as a very well-assorted wine list with select wines from Hermannsberg, Heitlinger, or Ziereisen, but also from Italy or Spain.
Finns Wine and Kitchen
Tannenstraße 23a
Telefon +49 (0)211 20081860
www.finnsweinbar.de
Wine & snacks
By day a bistro and museum café, by night (from 6 pm) a wine bar: That's the concept of this unusual spot in the hip Flingern district. There are wines from the Rheingau, Moselle, and Palatinate regions, accompanied by a small snack menu. When the weather is nice, you can also sit outside. "Bulle," by the way, is Swedish for bread roll. This refers to the cult bakery of Michael Gauert, who prepares bread and pastries in the neighboring building.
Bulle Weinbar
Birkenstraße 47a
Telefon +49 (0)175 2715897
www.bulle-baeckerei.de/bulle-bistro
Japanese & beer
In the city centre
On Düsseldorf's Immermannstraße, between the city center and the train station, you're spoiled for choice. This is where a number of Japanese restaurants are clustered. At Takumi 1st—one of five branches in the city—Sapporo-style ramen is prepared. The base is pork bones or chicken, which are flavored with red miso paste after a long simmering process.
Takumi 1st
Immermannstraße 28
www.takumi-duesseldorf.de
From the fire
Grilled skewers are served at Kushi-Tei of Tokyo. These skewers aren't just limited to meat; you can also choose eel or seafood.
Kushi-Tei of Tokyo
Immermannstraße 38
Instagram: @kushiteiduesseldorf
From the water
Horse mackerel from Portugal or prawns from France: Seafood and fish are the main protagonists at Zero Banchi, where the cuisine is inspired by the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Banchi
Immermannstraße 34
Instagram: @zero.banchi
Raw or cooked
Yabase is practically a classic among Düsseldorf's Japanese restaurants. Here, sushi takes center stage. You'll also find tempura, teriyaki beef, or tuna dishes.
Yabase
Klosterstraße 70
www.yabase-ddf.com
By the harbor
A few meters further into the harbor, Hato invites you into a luxurious, stylish setting and atmosphere. Here, "innovative Asian cuisine" is offered, which recently attracted even actor George Clooney during one of his Düsseldorf visits. The menu features dim sum, sushi, sashimi, wok dishes, duck salad, and Asian tapas—and a Black Cod (sablefish) that has been marinated in yuzu miso.
Hato
Speditionstraße 2
www.hato-restaurants.de
The brewpub experience
Here, you can still find it: pork knuckle or ham hock with sauerkraut. Hearty brewery cuisine is traditionally on the menu in the brewpubs. But of course, there are also lighter options, and even vegetarians or vegans will find something on the menus. The focus is, in any case, on Altbier, a symbol of the city of Düsseldorf. Incidentally, it tastes different in every brewery – one person loves the milder Schumacher, another appreciates the more bitter Uerige or Füchschen. The best thing to do is to try them all in order.
Brauerei im Füchschen
Ratinger Straße 28
Telefon +49 (0)211 1374716
www.fuechschen.de
Schumacher Stammhaus
Oststraße 123
Telefon +49 (0)211 8289020
www.schumacher-alt.de
Uerige
Berger Straße 1
Telefon +49 (0)211 866990
www.uerige.de
Zum Schlüssel
Bolkerstraße 41
Telefon +49 (0)211 8289550
www.zumschluessel.de
