Coffee & tea – All our local tips

Sometimes after exercising (my sport club is nearby) I meet friends in Aurel for a sparkling rhubarb juice or caipirinha (happy hour daily till 21:00, Caipirinha €4,00 and Mojito €5,50).

Especially around 18:00 it becomes very crowed and often too loud for profound talks. After work people let the day fade away in a cozy gold-red atmosphere. They have a very uncommon but tasty beer called “Große Freiheit” (great freedom) for €1,50 (small) to €2,50 (big). If you are with your wine lover friends, this is the first place I found for ordering a bottle (0,75l) of really good wine for only €11.00, last time it was even an 1-l-bottle!

The ambience is retro and mainly red, good music, mixed people, free pretzel sticks on every table. A big self-service bar, an amazing room with coloured windows in the back of first room. Beside that there is a cozy booth for only two people (in love?). Cute!

Don’t be surprised or afraid on the toilet. First of all it is volitional! Cheeps of whales in the ocean. Cute!

In summertime you can sit outside, if you can find a chair – if not: many people sit on the most frequented (of Hamburg?) road kerb with their drinks and immerse themselves in the vibrant life of Ottensen.

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Aurel | Bars, Coffee & tea | Small beer € 1.50
Bahrenfelder Str. 157 | Altona & Ottensen | +49403902727
Mon -Thu from 12:00, Fri – Sat from 10:00, Sun from 11:00

After a long day in university or city daytrip it’s one of the best places to relax. Similar to Zoë Bar (see this article) it is filled with many couches, but they are separate. That makes you feel like you are in a friend’s house.

Good for relaxing with an old friend or serious talks. The wine is awesome there and costs around 3 Euro. An Astra Beer is under 2 Euro. The staff is like the music; veeeeery laid-back and easy-going. It’s perfect for a little break between day and night. In summer they’ll open the big windows again and so you’ve the feeling of sitting outside on a couch!

The atmosphere is a bit oriental, maybe because it is located in a former Turkish culture center. Not as crowded as it is in the Schanze or in the Kiez (St. Pauli). Alternative and simple, thus great!

PS: thanks for the comment (which was unfortunately deleted), just to let you know: Bar Roosen installed security cameras.

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Bar Roosen | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Wine € 3.00
Paul-Roosen-Str. 28 | Sankt Pauli | +494076975926
Mon – Thu 12:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sun 12:00 – open end

Looking for a coffee and a great piece of cake after a stroll along the harbour? Here you go!

Cafe Geyer is a neat cafe on the Hein-Köllisch square, just a five-minute walk to the Elbe river. If you come late on a Sunday afternoon you might get disappointed as on busy and sunny days some others guys already had the same idea and ate away all those delicious cakes. So why not start with a solid breakfast, stay for some hours reading a newspaper (though they are mainly in German) and change to a cake later. Guarded by the friendly waiters and waitresses.

The places at the huge windows attract lots of people – as you might enjoy to see what’s going on in St.Pauli – kids playing football, young lads hanging around, neighbours taking their dogs for a stroll through snow-white Hamburg.

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Cafe Geyer | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Cake € 2.00
Hein-Köllisch-Platz 4 | Sankt Pauli | +494074203616
10:00 – 01:00 daily

The café Knuth, located in a little side street, is a good spot to watch the Ottensen crowd following their daily routine or maybe taking a break of it. I love to sit here and watch people while drinking a bowl of creamy milk coffee that comes with one of my favourite cookies and maybe treat myself with a nice piece of cake.

In the morning the popular café is the meeting point for hip mothers and fathers with or without their children to enjoy one of the tasty breakfast variations. (Especially at the weekends it is not easy to conquer a free table)

At lunchtime the creative people from the nearby design offices come here to spoon a pumpkin-ginger soup or to munch a tomato rucola panini.In the evening people call it a day with a cocktail, have a nice chat and relax after work.

All day long this is accompanied by a service that seems to take just a short break to their usual occupation like studying art or theatre.

So choose whatever time suits you and get an idea of the flow of Ottensen.

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Café Knuth | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Panini from € 3.80
Kleine Rainstraße 21 | Altona & Ottensen | +494046008708
Mon – Fri 09:00 – open end, Sat – Sun 10:00 – open end

Do you wanna sip a nice cup of tea while watching the crowd on their weekend shopping tour through Markstrasse? Here we go! Cafe Mangold has a very good setting on a little square where kids are playing and dogs sniffing on the lawn.

If you are a little peckish you should try the delicious focaccia (kind of a pizza bread) or a wonderful Austrian dessert which gives you enough strength to jump into any kind of shopping tour through Karoviertel.

For evening time it’s a good spot if you like a more sophisticated and calm place for a chat and a good wine. On a sunny saturday afternoon you will need to fight for a place to sit as it’s one of the nicest and most relaxing spots to enjoy a coffee. You can just sit and sit and sit. And if it’s getting to cold, just grab your stuff and go inside. You can relax in a modern, airy but nevertheless cosy place with

huge windows and try out the few different cakes.

The service is friendly and quite often you find some good photos on the walls to show the work of local photographers.

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Cafe Mangold | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Focaccia € 3.30
Ölmühle 30 | Karoviertel | +4927860248
10:00 – 02:00 daily

A bit of a distance lies between this café and the Schanze and maybe that’s the reason why it’s neither trendy nor „cool” but very relaxed and cosy.

The interior – with old chairs, antiques, wooden shelves and little cupboards – makes yourself feel very comfortable.

The people who come here don’t seek the funky flashy style but a decent coffee or tea, a good piece of cake and a place where you could sit for hours if you feel like reading or writing. As they sell used booked as well and have some readings from time to time, it really is the right spot for those who love books and coffee. Not the worst combination!

You can also just browse through the books which is a good way to get to know writers you havn’t heard of before while enjoying your cheese cake or the great cocoa – they have a big variety to choose from if you like that warm sweet liquid. The area is a quiet one with many old Hamburg houses, lots of families and elderly people who live in that area for quite a while.

So this quiet cafe (apart from rainy Sunday afternoons – maybe the reality for some of the next few months) will give you a complete different impression of Hamburg. And it’s a good spot for writing your postcards if you don’t want or can’t enjoy the books written in German.

And you know what!? There is even a neat little fireplace to warm you up on a cold winters day!

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Café Mathilde | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping | cocoa € 3.30
Bogenstrasse 5 | Hamburg North | +494041495384
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 00:00, Sat 12:00 – 20:00, Sun 10:00 – 20:00

Far away from those places where tourists end up but where the locals rest after their Saturday shopping you will find that small and neat cafe.

The friendly owner will provide you with some of the best self-made cakes in town. Made right in front of you! After a stroll along the canal and maybe a little shopping tour at Eppendorfer Weg with it’s shops like  “Lille Ø” (see the Lille Ø article) you can relax, enjoy the mouth-watering smell of the fresh cakes in the oven and watch the people pass by.

There is always a small piece of extra cake which goes with your hot drink, so you can be sure to get hooked for the next sweet thing. I guess there is no chance to resist and count calories on your Hamburg visit…

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Cafe Röschen | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Cake € 2.30
Eppendorfer Weg 207 | Hamburg North
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 20:00, Sun 12:00 – 19:00

An amazing place for starting the day, best with relaxing breakfast in sunshine and with a great view over the Elbe river!

Inside it is hip and cozy, if you find a place to sit. To brave the cold weather, just go outside (especially in wintertime) – it is unbeatable – here you’ll find warm blankets. It is not very cheap there (fresh orange juice for 2,90 Euro), it no-frills, and not alternative.

It is one of my favourite breakfast points in this town. Great spot for staying after long breakfast/lunch, sipping slowly and thoroughly enjoying your latte and trying the cake in the afternoon. Talking, watching and staying for the first wine and taking the day to the blue hour, the night comes, the harbour lights shines – that’s like a visual soundtrack of the Hamburg harbour!

By the way 1: There is also a big playground for kids in front of the Amphore Café.

By the way 2: Here I always bought my sparkling rhubarb juice to go to Park Fiction (see the Park Ficton article).

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CaféBar Amphore | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Snacks | Orange Juice € 2.90
St. Pauli Hafenstr. 140 | Harbour | +494031793880
From 10:00 daily

On the way to Park Fiction (see this article) you’ll drop by CaféBar Hensel, usually just called Hensel. It is a real insider tip. They employ a very mindful and patient staff, and the head of business Peter is a very calm and amiable guy.

There are plenty of drinks and you will find the best beverage list I know. They have an amazing range of affordable creativite drinks.

They offer more than 30 types of beer (Astra, Beck’s, Desperados, Jever, Pilsner Urquell, Rothaus Tannenzäpfle, Sol from Mexico, Baltika from St. Petersburg, …).

The hot beverages put no limits on your imagination. Laced Hot Chocolate, Lumumba (Chocolate with 4cl Hansen Rum), Apple-Cinnamon-Punch, … and now think about Espresso with one of the following added spices: almond, amaretto, banana, caramel, chai spiced, chocolate, cinnamon, coconut, coffee, hazelnut, mango, peppermint or vanilla….

Combined with my favourite: a big piece of old-Bohemian apple cake with honey caramelized walnuts. Don’t miss the macadamia whipped cream!

Beside all these culinary masterpieces, try the snacks prepared with much love and care, i. e. curry-banana-soup or homemade Sicilian potato salad (garlic!!), Casseroles, Pennines, Antipasti, …

Very interesting for me: the current exhibitions of a young artist from Hamburg.

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CaféBar Hensel | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Lasagne € 5.00
Antonistraße 4 | Harbour | +4940134965
From 11:00 daily

Today I was after months again in the blue-house-with-gold-letters-shop. How can I explain my impression or my feelings, when I got in — into the most sinful paradise… ?

I rummaged around outside in big oversea-boxes for some new kind of tea and was really impressed by the wide range. Then I went into the seems-like-chaotic-shop and my nose and my eyes went crazy. How absolutely amazing it smells like itchy feet, far away countries, teas and spices…

From classical sorts like Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Mate Tea, Pu Erh Tea, the famous Kusmi Tea, Yogi & Ayurveda Tea, …  to extraordinary teas like Precious Lamp, a Chinese tea rose bloom, which unfold itself if you put hot water on it.

Beside that they have the biggest collection of chocolate I’ve ever seen. The same applies here: a big range of the black gold from milky to salty, from hot spicy to bitter, with flowers, fruits or alcohol.

If you’re looking for some coffee or espresso, this is your place, fresh finely grounded in front of you, all kinds you can imagine.

Same for wine and sparkling wine… all price classes! Amazing!

In addition in the shop you’ll find all accessories for extraordinary tea-session, teapots, ginger-biscuits, tea boxes, … as a gift for your friends?

For sure I will be there quite more often now. At Claus Kröger I get all I don’t really need, but – seriously – after all that’s exactly what I really need to sweet up my life! Claus Kröger is one of the oldest shops in my neighborhood with no other chain stores. I always try to support that kind of shops because it’s one of the last individual and real Hamburgian (not like American coffee shops).

From my morning 100% Arabica-coffee, to my something-special-chocolate, to my afternoon tea and to a delicious Claus Kröger wine for the dinner. Fair trade!

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Claus Kröger | Coffee & tea, Shopping | Chocolat Hot Masala € 2.95
Große Bergstraße 241 | Altona & Ottensen | +49403806060
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 18:00, Sat 09:00 – 15:00

This is one of my favourite places in Hamburg. Till last week I thought you could only reach it by car, but that’s actually not true. Before I start to explain how to get there, I’ll give you an imagination of the place.

Actually it’s just a normal bridge called “photographers bridge” close to the airport Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel. The first time, I was there, it was in the middle of the night and I saw many, many  landing strip lights and some air-crafts landing late at night. During the day with good weather, it’s a great choice for watching air-crafts taking off and landing. There is a small Café where you can get affordable Latte Macchiato for 2,40 Euro or a Beck’s beer for 2,30 Euro. Or some snacks like Sausages, hotdogs, muffins and donuts.

Coffee-to-Fly  is open 365 days a year – spring, summer, autumn and winter – always. Have a small holiday while watching other people going by on the hundred of planes that pass here daily.

Give it a try, you won’t regret! And the best of ALL: it’s for free!! If you’re on a short budget, don’t drink anything in the Café, but bring your thermos flask or cold coke with you.

How to get there: Take bus #24 from Langenhorn Markt [U1] or Niendorf Markt [U2] or the bus #193 from Poppenbüttel [S1] or Langenhorn Markt [U1] to Station “Wrangelkoppel”, follow the sign “Aussichtsplattform” for around 15 minutes, there you are!

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Coffee-to-Fly | Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Snacks | Latte Macchiato € 2.40
Holtkoppel 100, 22415 | Hamburg North | +4917623487017
Daily when aircrafts take off or land

During the day „Die Herren Simpel” is a classic breakfast café with a good variety of breakfast and snacks. The coffee is great! Mornings you’ll find a calm place here to enjoy the “Herrengedeck” (cake and hot beverage). In the evening “Die Herren Simpel” is a classic bar with cocktails, beer and wine, small snacks.

The ambience and interior kindly stand out from the crowd of the Schanze. It is a bit too scenic and hip sometimes, but a great chill-out area with different compartments. All guests are relaxed and everybody does their own thing. By the way, here is W-LAN, too!

The staff is so different like the weather in Hamburg. It’s like playing the lottery.

Sometimes they are fast, friendly, careful guys, but sometimes the clueless “I-have-forget-your-order-in-the-first-second-you-opened-your-mouth” temporary employee work on my nerves. So, help yourself, and order at the bar, especially on weekend, when it is crowded.

I really adore the big cherry blossoms behind the Bar.

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Die Herren Simpel | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Breakfast from € 4.90
Schulterblatt 75 | Schanze | +494038684600
Sun – Thu 10:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – open end

Many of my American friends in Hamburg have been complaining that they can’t find any good burgers around here. Well, my friends, your search has come to an end: at Doris’ Diner!

Situated in the Jewish quarter of town, the diner – tucked between two apartment buildings – is not very easy to spot. Its white and silver exterior with glass blocks vaguely resembles that of a mobile home and the mandatory neon signs in the windows give it a nostalgic appeal that will draw you inside.

As you enter the restaurant, you’re met by a friendly staff who are quick to seat and serve you either at the counter, a comfy booth, or a table for two. The large, shiny jukebox, red furniture, and wood-paneled walls decorated with beautiful photographs create a warm and pleasant atmosphere.

With a broad palate appeal at a reasonable price, the menu offers great upscale American diner fare including traditional dishes such as sumptuous burgers and hearty spare ribs, savory sandwiches and chili fries, alluring French toast and milk shakes. If you prefer to go meatless or a bit more exotic, Doris’ Diner also has a small selection of vegetarian and Mexican dishes on offer, such as veggie burgers, vegetarian fajitas, chicken burritos, and chili tacos. Breakfast is served until 17:00 and the first-rate lunch specials are available daily.

The quality and presentation of the food is impeccable and service is quick! Definitely worth a visit!

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Doris’ Diner | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (American) | Burger € 8.40
Grindelhof 43 | Grindelviertel | +4940440278
Sun – Thu 10:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 01:00

Around the corner in my neighborhood this year, a cosy Café/Bar in Altona Altstadt was established - the El Brujito!

El Brujito means little witch and is a small, pretty comfortable place. You’ll get breakfast with fair-trade coffee, awesome cakes, all kind of toasts and (ordered in advance) fresh Argentinean empanadas, Southamerican stuffed pastry.

The always smiling, amiable crew has a good knowledge of their large wine list (house wine starts at €2,50). My favorite is the cheese plate (also available: meat plate) in two different sizes.

You can sit inside on chairs and armchairs, in front of the door on a bench (great during the day) or in the beer-garden in the backyard.

Last week you could even enjoy a surprise concert in this cosy ambiance!

Have a look at the revolutionary wall paintings and quotes, and the awesome photos of revolution.

All in all one of my new favorite spots in Hamburg and I hope it stays in Altona Altstadt for a looooong time. Viva la revolution, viva El Brujito!

BTW: Sunday is Brunch-Time from 10:00 to 15:00!!

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El Brujito | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Cheese Plate € 4.00
Lornsenplatz 7 | Altona & Ottensen | +494080607103
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 18:00

Are you looking for something unique and just tired of browsing the same old major brands? Don’t hesitate to visit one of Hamburg’s premier shopping streets! Eppendorfer Weg originates in Eimsbüttel and runs northwards through Hoheluft- West and -East until it terminates at Lehmweg right in the heart of Eppendorf, one of Hamburg’s ritzy neighborhoods.

The section between Lehmweg and Kottwitzstrasse is known as the ‘art nouveau quarter’ because of its wonderful architecture. This upper stretch of Eppendorfer Weg is famous for its magnificent blend of quaint little cafés, exclusive boutiques, bakeries and delicatessen, upscale stores, classy bars and restaurants. Sounds too expensive? Don’t be fooled! Every store has its distinctive character and price, and there is something affordable to discover for everyone.

My favorite spot on Eppendorfer Weg is “Burg’s Kaffeerösterei” (coffee roastery). The aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans will draw you right into the shop where you can spend hours browsing a multitude of unique little gifts. Shiny decorative items and tasty chocolates (to accompany your coffee), interesting spreads and jams, tins, coffee grinders, mugs and pots, and much more will be hard to resist – you definitely don’t need to like coffee to make a find here!

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Eppendorfer Weg | Coffee & tea, Shopping
Eppendorfer Weg | Hamburg North
Daily

Ok ok, if you are not a native German speaker or you just started with your German language skills maybe this is not the right place to be. But, if… Check out some of the theatre plays, concerts or interviews!

Eg with Moritz von Uslar, who used to work for Tempo and a Süddeutsche Zeitung magazine and who is well-known for his unconventional interviews.

This tiny theatre and place for plays, discussions and events lies in the very heart of the so called Neustadt, the new part of town – despite the fact that quite a bit of that quarter does not look new with its old warehouses, charming old-fashioned buildings and lovely waterways (called Fleet in Northern Germany!).

Fleetstreet is not the place where the crowd rushes to but worth a look. It’s run by Angela Richter, wife of Daniel Richter, the famous painter. Why not visit the “Dead Parlour” mid of January. If you don’t wanna listen but dance – free entrance for Fleetstreet Club with Smallville Seniors, every last Friday in the month – next end of March.

Check the motto „We start before we get tired!”… New programme starting from February on every second friday: “Filmklub” (a movie with free popcorn…) - have a look on the website!

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Fleetstreet | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music, Theaters
Admiralitätstr. 71 | City center | +494039993883
No regular dates (check the website)

In the middle of Hamburg, in one of the countless office districts made out of glass and steel there is the Gängeviertel. Between Valentinskamp, Caffamacherreihe and Speckstraße are 12 houses with historically worthwhile, extensively original old building substances. The Dutch investor Hanzevast Capital n.v. by Jaap Wolters is planning to tear 80% down. Leftovers should be restructured and extended with new offices.

Many artists squated the district and live and work there. Almost every night there are events like concerts, readings, exhibitions, installation and performances – all for FREE! You can visit the buildings from inside daily from 13:00 (except Mondays). The people there are very friendly and open-minded, can give you loads of information and tea.

Discover the different houses and rooms: Puppenstube (dollhouse), Butze (cubby), Tischlerei (carpentry), Fabrik (factory), Druckerei (printing house), Kutscherhaus (coachmen house), Kupferdiebe and Speckstraße.

The Gängeviertel is not only AGAINST everything, they have a new concept, a new use zoning plan. You can find very in detail on www.gaengeviertel.info (click on Nutzungskonzept).

I stop here to explain more about that beautiful, creative place – KOMM IN DIE GÄNGE – get on with it – get your own picture of it – your own view – ask and talk about what you think.

!!! UPDATE: Suddenly the Dutch Investor paid and the artists had to clear the Druckerei (printing house) and the Fabrik (factory)!!!

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Gängeviertel | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music, Relaxing, Theaters | Free
Caffamacherreihe 43, | City center
Tue – Sun from 13:00 (special events check on website)

Oh my gooo..sh, these cakes are a once in a lifetime experience! I never had a slice of raspberry torte more raspberrish. And because I tried of course from my friends plate too, a piece of cheesecake more cheese-creamish. It’s a taste explosion on your tongue. Herr Max really learned his business.

But be aware of the danger for your weight: I am already planning my next trips, because there was such a huge choice of delicious sorts to try. One looks yummier than the other and how can I miss out for long on such temptations as the choco mousse torte or the lemon tarte?

At this scenic place with its old glazed tiles and the potpourri of chairs and tables, it feels a little bit like children playing afternoon coffee invitation or maybe like a tea party at Alice in Wonderland. So have a seat, be charmed and after trying a slice of cake, grin like the Cheshire cat.

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Herr Max | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Slice of cake € 3.00
Schulterblatt 12 | Schanze | +494069219951
Mon- Sat 10:00 – 19:00, Sun 13:00 – 17:00

Last time I was in Insbeth I got really drunk with some good friends around. Puh! Ok, it was a small celebration of a birthday (the staff make a gift: a drink called “lovesickness” – till today we have no idea, what it was).

Insbeth has no scenic or hip style, nothing fits, but it fits well together. It is also a common gay-bar and very personal. A mixture of Star Trek, dream world and multi-culture-café with space decoration and super-sized animal drawings at the wall you will find the same mixture of people here: a black African with orange juice, a Turkish vegetable trader playing Backgammon and local alternatives eating a late breakfast.

They offer a simple, but really cheap breakfast (Mon – Sat 10:00 – 14:00) for around 3 Euro (bread, cornflakes, milk, coffee or tea, jam, cheese, …) and Brunch every Sunday 10:00 – 14:00. With political correct newspapers, this is the place where you can order a coffee without an Italian language course.

When the owners changed (I think it was 2006), all the staff quit. Now everything is new and still the same. You have the feeling, this spot has a long history with lots of stories.

The staff is still very cute and friendly. Oh, and they stayed till the sunrise on Monday morning with us! Unbelievable!

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Insbeth | Bars, Coffee & tea | Breakfast € 3.00
Bahrenfelder Str. 176 | Altona & Ottensen | +49403901924
10:00 – open end daily

Coffee or clothes!?? You can have it both. Kaffee Stark provides you with tea, coffee, juices, cakes and tasty toasts, soups or sandwiches.

And in the room in the back there’s the clothes store to-keh which will give you hope that one day the sun will come back to Hamburg (to give you a chance to wear that stuff).

You find this special combination in a nice area of St. Pauli, halfway between Schanze/Schulterblatt and Reeperbahn. The room itself is beautiful – high ceiling, huge windows, an old wooden floor, and an area on a higher level with some little staircase. There you will enjoy sofas with thick and soft cushions, tempting you to make yourself very very comfortable. You will find plenty of magazines and newspapers if your friends left you alone for shopping in the rooms of to-keh.

It’s a pleasure to see how friendly the guys are who are working there. Yes, it’s a bit of a hippie-style: all these cushions, mums and daddies drinking their coffee, kids

playing on the sofa, young lads eating their carrot soup, girls flicking through an art magazine… but is there anything better than feeling easy on an afternoon in autumn in a big city??

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Kaffee Stark | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks | Rhubarb juice € 1.60
Wohlwillstrasse 18 | Sankt Pauli | +494067382060
10:00 – 23:00 daily

Actually the Café LilliSu looks a bit kitschy and if I would describe most of the people who go there as young mothers with well-behaved children called Richard or Leonard. On the other hand: it’s a good spot for young ladies to chat about everything.

I would say this place is not alternative enough for me to become my favourite place but in a way I really like it. The atmosphere is light, simple and cosy. The furniture is mainly Nordic white. Inside there are big shelves with lovely organic products like coffee and tea, chocolate and self-made jam you can buy as presents for friends or just for yourself.

The owners are two women who have been living in Ottensen for many years, always creating new, really tasty dishes like filled pasta (some with tomato-mincemeat and fresh-fruity sauce, others with ricotta-spinach and red-pesto-sauce). Or if you are more into sweets, check out the cake-counter! Fair-trade, organic (therefore political correct) coffee rounds out the time at LilliSu. They have great breakfast too, mmmmh.

Wonderful, lovely place -outside in the sun as well (during the wintertime with warm blankets).

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LilliSu | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Latte Macchiato € 2.60
Große Rainstraße 18 | Altona & Ottensen | +49403902491
Mon – Fri 9:00 – 19:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 19:00

The service is always amiable, sometimes with their heads up in the clouds, sometimes serving at the table, sometimes self-service, in this seventies furnished Pony Bar. Situated beside the campus of the University of Hamburg, you will meet lots of students shortly before seminars or relaxed after class.

I really adore the red wine there; not really cheap (€ 3.00 to € 4.50), but affordable. Merlot costs € 3.00. All the other beverages are cheap. They offer milk-coffee (€ 1.90 ) with soy-milk with no surcharge. Try out the fresh mint tea (€ 2.10 ).

The red back room is the music-area. On Mondays songwriters give their best, on Tuesdays there are very good! Open-Mic-Sessions (HipHop), contemporary Life-Jazz on Wednesday, and … and … and …

Beside that I love to watch “Tatort” (famous German criminal series) on Sunday, readings, listen to DJ’s, or watch an exhibition.

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Pony Bar | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music | Milk coffee € 1.90
Allende Platz 1 | Grindelviertel | +4940428387895
Mon – Sat from 09:00, Sun from 10:00

The Rehbar (doebar) is one of the successful examples for “szene bar meets a sarcastic view on German clichés” that are quite popular in Hamburg.

Although its also a good place to have a latte macchiato after a Ottensen shopping trip in the afternoon, I love to go to the happy hour between 6-9 pm. Drinking a cheap, tasty caipirinha, mojito or mai tai and nibbling pretzel sticks while sitting under a golden ceiling is my idea of a good start in the evening.

Or maybe you try the Rehbier (doebeer) while looking at the special details to find everywhere around: a cuckoo clock and a fake fire place behind the bar, a gallery of deer pictures on the wall and a doe in a show case. Not to forget the backroom table football under the eyes of a boar head and forest sounds on the toilet. And still it really looks stylish, a miracle you have to see yourself!

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Rehbar | Bars, Coffee & tea | Caipirinha(happy hour) € 4.00
Ottensener Hauptstr. 52 | Altona & Ottensen | +494039906363
Mon – Fri 11:00 – open end, Sat – Sun 10:00-open end, Happy hour 18:00-21:00

This old time favourite offers tasteful breakfasts, a nice setting for an afternoon coffee or tea – and a place for beer and a chat in the evening.

Saal II used to be a shop which you can tell by the beautiful tiles – which turned little yelowish by years of guests with severe smoking habits. You can be quite  sure to listen to nice music and watch the bar tenders enjoying their job. Some of them even continue serving beer or coffee despite their hamburg fame of being writers.

Here you won’t get hassled by the so called „In-Crowd” in Schanze – though the crowd tends to be much younger and less „Hamburgerisch” in the evening or on the weekend. Watch the people pass by while sipping at your tea or have a look at the picture of Hamburg artists and musician SAM, meanwhile you are waiting for the next beer to come along with some tunes of Nick Drake.

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Saal II | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Beer € 2.20
Schulterblatt 83 | Schanze | +49404392828
Mon – Fri from 12:00, Sat – Sun from 11:00

Theatre Thalia has two great locations: one in the city at Alstertor (photo) reckoned as the more established, and one in Ottensen in the Gaußstraße 190, the more “wild” version.

Of course to have some working knowledge of German could be useful to understand the plays, but maybe its also an interesting experiment without.

Last but not least you also should have a look into the atmospheric bar on the rooftop at Alstertor: the now so called Zentrale (formerly called Nachtasyl). Open from 19:00 it is always nice for a drink.

They also have a lot of interesting events, ranging from chanson evening to poetry slams and other interesting lectures. Check out the website for more information.

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Thalia Theater | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Theaters
Alstertor 1 | City center | +494032814444
Tickets (Alstertor) Mon – Sat 10:00 – 19:00, Sun 16:00 – 18:00

In the middle of the scenic street called Schulterblatt there is “Transmontana”, a small Portuguese café.

When the sun shines you can sit at one of the countless tables outside on the Piazza and have a great view to the alternative Rote Flora. Watch the fashionable, stylish but as well as the alternative crowd with big sunglasses.

Inside it is very cosy, but sometimes a bit noisy in the rush hour. A neighborly, Portuguese family built up this fine café-place, which has a simple, but one of the best independent breakfasts in town.

A delicious and tasty combination is an individual filled toast or croissant and fresh orange juice. The “Galão” (Portuguese milk-coffee) is not the best, but it is the local drink here.

Try the very sweet but original, traditional “Pasteis de Nata”. The service is friendly and in not-busy-times they tell you more about the family-pictures behind the bar.

Oh, and by the way, in the evenings don’t miss the Sagres (Portuguese beer).

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Transmontana | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Galão € 2.00
Schulterblatt 86 | Schanze | +494043184006
07:00 – 20:00 daily

Cafe Unter den Linden is a small and atmospheric cafe with a tasteful, kind of „old-fashioned”, interior.

On the weekends it’s very lively. As soon as the sun shines and the temperature is more than 12 degrees celsius (they provide blankets) the chairs and benches under the beautiful old linden trees get pretty crowded. Maybe in these days we have to ask the snow to disappear first…

They offer quite a variation of cakes, plenty of newspapers and magazines to flick through, and the connoisseur will honour that a free glass of water is delivered with coffees, cappuccino’s etc.. At evening time it gets a little quieter if you want to escape the crowd at Schulterblatt-Strasse. And they provide decent wine and a few tasty dishes like soups or salads.

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Unter den Linden | Coffee & tea | French breakfast € 5.00
Juliusstrasse 16 | Schanze | +4940438140
09:30 – 01:00 daily

Of course it is NO furniture store, but if you come in, you feel a bit like that. Sooooo many sofas all around.

I appreciate this place during the day, when the sun warms up the sofa you’re sitting on while drinking milk coffee. When the sun goes down, the as-hip-as-you-can-be people come from work (the wanna be’s and wanna see’s), the music gets louder and hipper and it’s hard to find a place on a sofa. Some call it an “after hour bar”, I call it and exhausting scenic bar at nighttime.

Better go there during daylight: The people are relaxed and easy-going! The amiable service have time to talk and sometimes to sit for a while with you, and the music fits the situation – call or better write a letter to an old friend, it’s the right time and place for that!

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Zoë 2 | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Beer € 2.00
Neuer Pferdemarkt 17 | Schanze
from 10:00 daily

“Dear Zoë,

how do you feel today?

I’d like to say to you, how stunning you are. You are perfect to meet friends or strangers or both and it’s like they already know each other. Always you welcomed me with open arms, no matter if I was stressed out or absolutely relaxed, there was a place for me and a smile on your face.

Your drinks are cheap and groovy. Your cosy couches and the yellow-red lamp shades in the back rooms are reminiscent of my grandmother´s warm living room. About the secrets and mystics in your vault, we have to talk next time once more. The rooms are a bit shabby and rustic – but it’s honest! Let’s face it: You are the real Zoë, the authentic Zoë!

All my Love, Kyra.

PS: By the way: good choice to provide rooms with movies like “Gegen die Wand” or “Absolute Giganten“.

PSPS: I was seriously pissed seeing that you raised all prices all of a sudden without even talking to anyone. You’re on the samy level as all the other places now. Please tell me why!”

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Zoë Bar | Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | redwine € 2.60
Clemens-Schultz-Str. 96 | Sankt Pauli | +494031792323
From 20:00 daily