Lübeck
Dining And Drinking

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Lübeck has a fine choice of cafés, restaurants and pubs, which caters for both early-birds and night-owls—the variety ranges from in-scene and student pubs to sophisticated traditional establishments, bistros, restaurants and coffee houses.

If you are looking for typically 'lübsch' specialities, you will definitely come across two famous delicacies: one of them is Lübecker Marzipan, a first-class creative sweet in many variations. In order to try it, a visit to Lübeck's cafés, particularly the Café Niederegger is highly recommended. Here at the marzipan paradise you can indulge in and purchase all thinkable creations. And don’t miss the Lübecker Nusstorte, a delicious gateau with a rich nut brittle cream and a thin coat of marzipan.

The other slightly less fattening Lübeck speciality is Lübecker Rotspon, a wine, which does not exactly come from Lübeck, but is nonetheless associated with the city. It is available at almost every restaurant.

Many of the traditional restaurants are located inside historic buildings, like the wine cellar under the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital, where you can go dining and drinking in a Medieval fashion or take part in a nice wine-testing session. If you prefer more tasty and less expensive food, the Kartoffelkeller with lots of potato dishes in the original gothic vaults might be a good place to try.

Lübeck's most famous historic restaurant, the Schiffergesellschaft, rings a bell with people from the entire state of Schleswig-Holstein. For 450 years already, seamen have gathered here, and not just to enjoy various fish and meat dishes at the Gelage (feasts) or the Beichtstuhl (confessional). The excellent cuisine has more than once been awarded honours for the 7-naves-dish. The bon viveur with a fine palate can find other sophisticated places of hospitality with a historic ambience at the Cornelsen, the Schabbelhaus, Wullenwever, Lachswehr or at the Kleine Restaurant.

In Medieval Times, Lübeck used to be famous for its beer, and despite the fact that the last brewery closed down in 1998 and the local 'Lück-Pils' is now brewed in Hamburg, the 'lübsch' brewing tradition is kept alive with home-brew at the Brauberger, where you can watch how the beer is brewed and enjoy a fresh draught along with tasty rustic meals.
Lübeck's Old Town has a lot of cosy pubs and restaurants, among them the Luisen 56, the Hieronymus, Heinrich Böll, Metro and the Feuerstein—all of them with a modern and partly very original ambience or a charming Medieval interior even. Here you can meet friends for a pint and/or an inexpensive little snack.

A more intellectual and even partly cultural atmosphere can be found at the café-bars. Thoughts and opinions are exchanged here, sometimes on literature as well, like at the Kandinsky or the Sternschnuppe. Changing exhibitions can be found at establishments such as the Café Art or the Affenbrot, and once in a while there is nice live-music at places like the Alten Zolln.
A cheerful atmosphere can also be found at the Flubdub, where so-called mini-events such as throw-the-dice-and-win-a-drink are frequently organised. Small snacks and hot meals are also available in some of these locations.

Nice Old Town pubs like the Theaterquelleor Papperlapapalso serve little snacks to the hungry guests, especially at a time when most restaurants are already closed. But the emphasis remains on a fresh draught beer, a large mug of coffee with lots of milk and the friends one meets here while various musical styles are played.

Friends of foreign cuisine will also find many different variations and nationalities in Lübeck. At the Seoul, sushi is offered in little testing portions. Turkish specialities are available at the Ali Baba, and at the Maredo fresh and tasty Southern American meals are served along with a hearty buen provecho (enjoy your meal!). Hot Spanish meals are available at Sherry & Port, while the Donna Teresa offers Italian and French specialities. The Italian restaurant Ristorante Padre Pio is located a bit off the beaten track. In addition to the usual pizza and pasta variations, gourmet guests can taste rather exquisite specialities here. Try the duck in strawberry sauce, for example!

Every Lübeck visitor should visit the city´s most beautiful (and a bit more expensive) daughter—Travemünde. Not only the beach, the sea and the impressive ships are worth seeing, but the town also offers nice cafés, pubs and restaurants. Freshly caught fish is cooked, smoked and baked here, for example at the take-away at Travemünder Fischereihafen. Many stalls offer filled rolls with matie herring, fish meatballs and shrimps, which you should try. If licking your fingers is not your kind of thing, you can choose between several fish restaurants like the Pesel and Zur Sonne, for example. But the pub and restaurant Seebär also serves plaice, cod and the infamous Labskaus, a potato-and-corned beef mixture with herring, fried egg and beetroot. And if you don´t like to be careful around tricky fishbones or use fish cutlery and thus prefer a tasty beef steak, the El Torro steak house offers the best steaks around and you can watch the chef at work here! The Spanish variation is available at the Bodega. The spacious restaurant spreads across several rooms and offers everything a stomach with an appetite for Spanish specialties could wish for.

Large helpings of inexpensive meals can also be found at the Greek restaurant Olympos.
With a solid base for a tour de pub you can now dive into Travemünde's nightlife, which doesn´t really get going before 11pm. Bars and pubs get busy towards midnight, and the quiet places get lively and cheerful. The Hofklause is the most popular and funny among the Old Town pubs. Travemünders of all age group come together here, where they can dance to oldies, hits and chart breakers from the jukebox on 'Europe's smallest dance floor'. The Seesternbarwith a night-club flair is a bit more comfy and stylish. You can dance a bit slower here or enjoy a nice cocktail.

All in all, Lübeck is a valuable, traditional cultural Hanseatic city where you can also have lots of fun enjoying the traditional northern German dishes, drinks and the nightlife within one of the world´s cultural heritage centres.