Dining and Drinking

The regional capital of North Rhine-Westphalia is a lively metropolis brimming with culture, media, shopping, fairs, and service industries. It is a city befitting of the 21st Century. The gastronomic choice here is as diverse as the international character of its visitors. Whether you are after local specialties like Düsseldorf pork ribs in mustard sauce or scrumptious Oriental dishes, be it Sushi or Peking duck, or even light Mediterranean snacks, your desires are sure to be satisfied.

Local Specialties & Conventions

Even if you have a good command of High German, you may well have problems understanding the menu. The "Halve Hahn," for example, has nothing to do with chicken (as the name might suggest); it is in fact a portion of cheese studded with caraway seeds and served on a piece of dark rye bread. This specialty comes from the Harz mountains. Ähzezupp denotes a thick, creamy pea soup, while Flönz mit Ölk is a blood sausage made of freshly slaughtered meat served with onions. If you feel uneasy about any of these options, a visit to the Köbes should reassure you. The austere charm of this beer cellar can be off-putting to the uninitiated, but the waiters will be more than glad to serve you the nifty little beer which this establishment takes its name from—unless, of course, you make the faux pas of ordering a Kölsch (Colognes best-known lager). For, ever since the Battle of Worringen (1288), the two rival communities have held chauvinistic and contemptuous attitudes towards one another.

Altstadt (Old Town)

If this is your first time in Düsseldorf, make sure you pay a visit to one of the breweries or traditional taverns. These are concentrated in a narrow area of the Old Town, which forms the nerve centre of the city. Particularly recommended are Im Füchschen, Zum Uerige, En de Canon, and Zum Schiffchen. Locals and visitors wallow in a typical Rhineland ambiance as they sit cozily by the wooden tables or stand at the counter chatting and sipping their dark, aromatic Altbier, a top fermented brew from Düsseldorf, while they wait for the blue-frocked Köbesse (waitresses) to serve hearty regional food. During the winter months, the Rhinelander takes to large plates of mussels in onion sauce to warm up. The traditional Benders Marie is the city's oldest mussel restaurant and boasts twenty different ways of preparing them. In recent years, a younger generation of cooks has experimented with mixing traditional local dishes with international influences. The tasty result has been dubbed neudeutsch (neo-German), and fine examples of this phenomenon can be found at Hecker or Flachskamm.

Mediterranean specialties offer a more affordable means of quenching your hunger. Unfussy tapas are available from La Copa or Las Tapas. Or perhaps you have a soft spot for Lebanese Meze? In that case, Libanon Restaurant is your best bet. This opulent levantine establishment has become one of city's most popular gastronomic destinations.

City Center

A gem of Mediterranean fish cuisine is La Bouillabaisse. Marmoud Marnoui, the owner of this restaurant, has cooked his way into the hearts of Düsseldorfers with his imaginative scaled fish dishes. You can, of course, also get fish from the Rhine in its original state, namely raw in the form of sushi. Düsseldorf's restaurant scene benefits greatly from the city's large Japanese community. Authentically prepared Japanese specialties in varying price ranges can be had all over Düsseldorf. (Fai Sushi, Kikaku, Ohno-Ja, Nippon-Kanare just some of the notable examples. But Japan's neighbors also have their culinary representatives here, including Thailand (Baan Thai), China (Peking Enten Haus) and Korea (Shilla). The Indian subcontinent is also well represented, with aromatic and spicy tandoori dishes and other delicacies on offer at Chanakya.

Surrounding the City Center

If you prefer a less hearty meal option make sure to check out some of the Asian cuisine on offer. Edo in Meerbusch for instance is a good choice or Seoul in Friedrichstadt, which offers Korean specialties. Should your finances be well heeled, try one of the city's prestigious and accordingly pricey gourmet establishments. Star chef Jean-Claude Bourgeuil’s Im Schiffchen or Aalschokker (both located in Kaiserswerth) have delighted even the most critical gastronomes over the years with their culinary creations. Other legendary establishments include Peter Nöthel’s Hummerstübchen (Lörick) and Ingo Köthschneider’s Canonicus (Gerresheim).

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