Discover Düsseldorf: Eating & Drinking - From Flönz to Sushi, from Alt Beer to Champagne

Rhenish Sauerbraten
 
 

Flöns (sausage)
with Ölk (onions)
 

Alt Beer
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Japanese cuisine
 
 

Not for the calorie-conscious - Rhenish cuisine

Delicacies like the Düsseldorfer mustard rib steak, the Rhenish sauerbraten or mussels Rhenish style, are popular outside Düsseldorf as well. Probably the less well-known specialities are Rosenkränzchen (curled bratwurst), Rievkooche (grated raw potatoes fried into a pancake), Ääzezupp (pea soup) or Flöns (sausage) with Ölk (onions). Typical Düsseldorfer or Rhenish dishes can usually be found on the menus of the breweries and frequently have to be translated for visitors. A Halve Hahn, for example, is Mainzer cheese with caraway seeds and a bread roll. Himmel un' Ähd is fried sausage with crushed potatoes and apple purree.

Altbier - Fresh and bitter

Contrary to what most people might think, the name does not originate from the age of the beer, but the method of its brewing. The dark, top-fermented beer is mainly drunk in Düsseldorf and on the lower Rhine. A glass, or even several, can be enjoyed in any of the numerous pubs and breweries in the city.

Pub breweries - Traditional and hearty

Anyone looking forward to drinking a beer or hanging out with Düsseldorfers - old or young - is certainly in the right place in one of the old original breweries. Whether Füchschen, Schlüssel, Schumacher or Uerige - these breweries look back on a long tradition. Alt is served here by waiters who are known as Köbes. If you are hungry you can dip into the Rhenish quisine which usually is served with Mostert (special mustard whose formula leads back to the year 1726). You can get it in butcher's shops or specialist shops, either as loose cuts in parchment paper or filled in little clay pots.

Killepitsch - 42 proof

Try "dat leckere Schabäuke" Killepitsch. The idea and the name originate from the WWII. Its inventor had been drinking in the bomb shelter with friends during the air raids on Düsseldorf and sworn to brew a schnapps of that name after the war. The cult brew consists of alcohol, sugar, 98 types of beer, herbs and roots. Killepitsch is dark, tastes bittersweet and should be drunk ice-cold.

High-class cuisine, delicious food

If you don't feel like eating plain food, you don't have to go hungry in Düsseldorf. There are the renowned gourmet temples like "Im Schiffchen", "Berens am Kai" or the "Hummerstübchen" as well as a huge range of restaurants in the Old Town and around the MediaHarbour. Düsseldorf's restaurant scene has something for everyone.

Milk coffee & cake

Instead of grabbing a quick coffee in one of the hip coffee bars, if you'd much rather sit relaxed, eat, drink and watch life go by, you should go to one of the many cafés in the city. The best confectionaries, cake-shops and cafés can be found on Königsallee and around Carlsplatz. Enjoying a cake after shopping is particularly popular here. Where? The choice is yours.