Sybarites and gourmets feel completely at home in Düsseldorf as it offers a huge range of traditional and handmade delicacies. Japanese specialities, real artisanal bakery and a confectioner to die for.
Düsseldorf’s culinary scene features a high density of award-winning restaurants, a large selection of international
cuisine and cool cafés. The impressive dining spectrum, including nine gourmet establishments with Michelin stars,
is by far not all the city has to offer. The Düsseldorf chocolatier, Heinemann, is one of Europe’s leading exponents of the confectioner’s craft. Heinemann’s champagne truffles are world famous. Heinemann creates sweet dreams from chocolate, nuts and champagne by hand and using the best ingredients – and the creations produced by senior chef Heinz-Richard Heinemann are to die for. It’s even worth just visiting one of his three branches in Düsseldorf because the displays are always gorgeously lavish and excitingly designed.
The Hinkel family bakery enjoys similar status. Master baker Josef Hinkel has won just about every award going with his traditional baking, and he has just been named Baker of the Year. He still sells traditional bread made without yeast or other additives, but created by hand with great love, slow fermentation and using old recipes.
One very special culinary highlight is a visit to Japantown. There are around 7,000 Japanese nationals living in Düsseldorf. This means you’ll find just about every Japanese delicacy from simple snack to award-winning restaurant dining. A particular treat here is the Restaurant Soba An. Fresh buckwheat noodles are made here every day – a tradition that is under threat even in Japan.
Düsseldorf’s brewery inns are the breeding ground of Rhenish joie de vivre. Strangers quickly become friends over an Altbier and savoury Bierhappen snacks.
Dark, top-fermented Altbier is a Düsseldorf speciality beer. It is brewed in small brewery inns with adjoining hostelries, hidden away in Düsseldorf’s Altstadt (Old Town). So it is served absolutely fresh in small beer glasses. You can’t enjoy beer more locally and traditionally than that! Guests sit together cosily on long wooden benches in the old hostelries. That makes it easy to start talking to the person beside you while enjoying a tasty “Alt”. Traditional dishes such as Rhenish Sauerbraten or blood sausage with mashed potato are served. If you just fancy something light, try the Bierhappen, savoury snacks that go perfectly with a tasty Altbier. Incidentally, Altbier doesn’t have its name because it’s “alt” (old”) but because it is brewed in the old traditional way.
Further information at duesseldorf-tourismus.de