exploring Bremen & its surrounding areas
your are here: Bremen culinary
Restaurants and Cafés in Bremen (1/2)
Street cafés in the Viertel
Taste in food is, of course, a matter of personal preference. Nearly everyone has something they don’t particularly enjoy and will choose something else - or even abstain - when given the option. For this reason, it’s often difficult to make recommendations. Still, we’ll give it a try with a selection that does not claim to be exhaustive or intend to cast any unmentioned places in a negative light.
Chinese cuisine
First and foremost, the quality of the food should be the deciding factor - and this largely depends on the chefs working in each kitchen. In part of Bremen’s gastronomy scene, there is significant turnover among kitchen staff for various reasons, so you might be surprised by what ends up on your plate from one visit to the next - whether for better or worse. So let’s seek out consistent excellence.
Editor’s picks
Freshly served at Restaurant Maharani
If you enjoy traditional Indian-Pakistani cuisine, you’ll find a good selection at Maharani in Findorffstraße 114 (in the Findorff district) or Safran in Kirchbachstraße 198 in Schwachhausen. The restaurant Maharani is just a 10-minute walk from the train station. Along the way, also on Findorffstraße, you’ll pass Bremen’s old slaughterhouse, now a cultural center with the Schlachthofkneipe pub. The decor is rather rustic. The menu isn’t long, but the dishes are well chosen and flavorful.
On the other side of the central station, the Übersee restaurant in the foyer of the Übersee-Museum offers a fitting ambiance worth visiting. With the right table selection, you can even enjoy views into the museum’s Oceania exhibition. Also near the central station, but diagonally across the street, Edel Weiss serves alpine cuisine - Bozener Herrengröstl, Ramsauer Speckhendl, Grazer Hochzeitsteller, and Jause are just a few highlights from the menu.
Dining in the Wallanlagen: Restaurant Canova is located in the lower rear section of the Kunsthalle building on Wall
Not far from the train station toward the city center on Bürgermeister-Smidt-Straße, you’ll find Tendüre restaurant. This folkloric Turkish eatery specializes in fish and meat cooked in a clay oven.
In warmer months, you can dine al fresco at Canova (Wallstraße 207) behind Kunsthalle Bremen. The menu of this small, upscale restaurant - fitting for the nearby art - is short but thoughtfully curated. A brief walk from the Kunsthalle into the so-called Viertel district leads to Don Carlos, where fans of Spanish specialties will find something to suit their tastes.
Lamb skewers with sides at the Spanish restaurant Don Carlos
In Überseestadt, Al-Dar (Schuppen Eins, Konsul-Smidt-Straße 26) is a must-visit Syrian restaurant. The beautiful decor complements the presentation of the dishes, and right next door, you can admire vintage cars.
Also in Überseestadt, sirens once wailed at Fire Station 5; today, Italian cuisine is served at Feuerwache (Waller Stieg 5). Inside, the atmosphere is rustic and unfortunately a bit noisy due to the hall, but in summer, you can enjoy outdoor seating by the Holz- und Fabrikenhafen (Habor).
The menu at Al-Dar Syrian restaurant in Schuppen Eins
By contrast, Restaurant am Deich in Künstlerhaus Bremen( Art House) (Am Deich 68) offers a quieter experience. This small restaurant on the opposite bank of the Weser near Museum Weserburg forgoes background music under the motto “… finally eating in peace” and changes its menu monthly. The creative, seasonally adjusted offerings are available online and will whet your appetite.
Vegetarian options: Spinach strudel at Restaurant Jürgenshof
Near Carl-Carstens-Brücke lies the path to Restaurant/Café Jürgenshof in Pauliner Marsch. Descriptions like “conservative” and “refined” aptly apply to this location in an old shepherd’s farmhouse with timber framing - and these are not meant negatively. However, vegetarians or vegans may not find much here. The dishes are traditionally composed with plenty of fish and meat but are of high quality.
Restaurant El Mariachi Schwachhauser Heerstraße / Corner Friedhofstraße
Fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, and more - somewhere else in the city, spicy dishes (with homemade salsa, of course) are also on offer. At Schwachhauser Heerstraße 186, El Mariachi serves Mexican cuisine. Family-run for many years, Ristorante Roma (Herzogenkamp 32) offers Sicilian pizza baked in a traditional wood-fired stone oven.
Simply good
If you’re staying at HanseCamping campsite on Hochschulring - or even just metaphorically “pitching your tent” - you’ll find more than one option to satisfy your culinary cravings within walking distance. Right next to the adjacent Stadtwaldsee, Restaurant Il Lago (see also next page) offers a convenient choice. At Hochschulring / Corner Kuhgrabenweg, Zum Platzhirsch serves hearty fare from Norwegian salmon and Bremer Knipp to Bavarian Krustenbraten. The name fits well with the predominantly natural wood interior. In addition to a large outdoor terrace, there’s even a mini-golf course.
So far, no golf balls have landed on diners’ plates at Zum Platzhirsch’s outdoor terrace - though it is called “Platz” (place) and not “Platsch” (splat) ...
The Kuhgrabenweg path next to Zum Platzhirsch leads, among other places, to Kuhsiel, where a self-service lock separates the tide-dependent Wümme from Kuhgraben. Right beside it, you can enjoy excellent outdoor seating atop a flood-protection sheet pile wall on the dike at Landhaus Kuhsiel - with luck, even with views of the river. Under new management and freshly renovated, this restaurant is highly recommended. Like many other Bremen eateries, its short but hearty menu is enhanced by seasonal dishes like North Sea crabs, chanterelles, asparagus, or kale.
At Landhaus Kuhsiel next to the lock: the Schleusenteller (Lock plate)
Note: The path from Hochschulring to Restaurant Kuhsiel looks like a road open to motor vehicles, but even though no dike is yet visible here, you’ll need a dike access permit for this stretch. Biking is therefore the better choice. However, driving via Lehester Deich is possible and permitted up to the restaurant.
previous page
next page
Übersee-Museum (Overseas Museum)
In 1896, what is now known as the Übersee-Museum first opened its doors under the name 'Municipal Museum for Natural History, Ethnology, and Commerce.' The exhibits initially came from the 'Municipal Collections of Natural History and Ethnography,' which were partly displayed as a 'Trade and Colonial Exhibition' at the 'Northwest German Trade and Industry Exhibition' in 1890 with great success. Since its founding, the museum's concepts have changed several times, evolving toward a stronger focus on museum education that continues to this day.
read more ...
Wallanlagen
Almost entirely surrounding the old town is a zigzagging park landscape with a moat. These are the last visible remnants of the fortifications that enclosed the old town and parts of the new town until the early 19th century. The transformation into a garden landscape began in 1802 with the first section between the Weser River and Herdentor Gate.
read more ...
Kunsthalle
The core of the Kunsthalle's collection represents European painting from the Middle Ages to the present day. A particular focus lies on French painting of the 19th and 20th centuries, primarily showcased through one of the largest collections of Delacroix's works. German Impressionism is another key highlight, featuring works by artists such as Liebermann, Corinth, and Slevogt. The collection also includes painters from the renowned Worpswede artist colony near Bremen, such as Heinrich Vogeler and Otto Modersohn.
read more ...
Das Viertel (The Quarter)
Although the area around the two main streets and their many small side streets partially belongs to the Mitte district and partially to the Östliche Vorstadt, Bremen residents simply refer to it as "the Quarter." It is loved, hated, feared, and much more. In no other neighborhood of the Hanseatic city have contrasts been so openly - and sometimes violently - visible over decades as in the Quarter.
read more ...
Überseestadt
When the overseas port (Überseehafen) needed to be renovated, it was decided in 1991 in the Hanseatic city to simply close the basin. In 1998, the overseas port was finally filled with sand that resulted from dredging operations in the outer Weser. Together with the also decommissioned but still existing Europa Harbor as a harbor basin, this formed the basis for the conceptual development and creation of today's Überseestadt.
read more ...
Round trip: from the city center to the Weser weir & back
Starting from Tiefer or Altenwall, the section of the Weser riverbank in front of Schnoor and diagonally opposite the DGzRS (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service), the Planetarium, and the Observatory on the other side of the river, a beautiful path for pedestrians and cyclists runs directly along the water upstream towards the Weser weir. After crossing the Weser weir, the return route takes you back via Stadtwerder.
read more ...
Bürgerpark
A green oasis near the city center and a popular recreational area, the Bürgerpark is an extensive park initiative by the citizens themselves. In the early 19th century, the old defensive structures of the city had already been dismantled, transforming the ramparts into a landscaped park. However, as the city rapidly expanded throughout the century, demands for more green spaces grew louder and louder.
read more ...
Stadtwald & Stadtwaldsee (urban forest & lake)
Stadtwald & Stadtwaldsee. The design of the Bürgerpark is attributed to Wilhelm Benque, who served as its director from 1866–1870 and again from 1877–1884. Carl Orth succeeded him in this role, and under his plans, construction of the Stadtwald began in 1907. The 66.5-hectare site north of the railway tracks had been donated to the Bürgerpark Association by the Bremen merchant Franz E. Schütte one year earlier.
read more ...
Water-based activities in Bremen
In a city located on a major river with numerous lakes, it's natural to extend sports or personal recreational activities from land to water. By waterway, you can also leave the city limits and paddle, for example, along the border river Wümme.
read more ...
Kale & Pinkel
Every year between October and February, it's that time again: Kale (Grünkohl) season. Usually by late October/early November, the mostly green, palm-like plants - up to 180 cm tall depending on the variety and rich in vitamins and minerals - are ready for harvest. These plants are commonly found in Bremen, even in the beds of allotment gardens. Since the curly leaves of this cruciferous vegetable, once stripped of stems and stalks, can appear slightly brown or green - or turn a bit brownish with a lot of imagination when cooked - many people from Bremen also call Grünkohl "Braunkohl" (brown cabbage).
read more ...
Knipp
Quite hearty and not suitable for a diet program is Knipp. The "Grützwurst" made up of 50% pork meat and bacon, 20% oatmeal as well as water, onions, dextrose, and spices, including mainly pepper and salt, was long considered „poor people's food“, because it was formerly actually made from leftovers that fell off during slaughtering. Today, Knipp is considered a specialty in Bremen and some parts of Lower Saxony.
read more ...
