Heidelberg Restaurants and Dining

(Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany)

Heidelberg has plenty of dining options available and good food can be found within a variety of eateries, ranging from brewpubs and central pavement cafes, to historic taverns and gourmet restaurants. Whilst this is an important university city with a base of more than 25,000 students, there are few cheap eats here, being outweighed by plush restaurants, targeted at tourists and offering regional specialities from all over the world.

Many of the best restaurants within Heidelberg feature an extensive selection of regional wines, which provide a great accompaniment to any meal, whatever the time of day. For those who prefer a stein of German beer when dining out, rest assured that beer will always be in plentiful supply, together with plenty of locally produced wine from the Baden region.

What to Eat

With many southern specialities and regional dishes appearing on the menus of the innumerable restaurants in Heidelberg, tourists have plenty of opportunity to sample the local fare.

The cuisine within Heidelberg tends to be dominated by dairy produce, when compared to the somewhat meatier dishes within northern Germany, although grilled bratwurst sausages and snail soup are still fairly commonplace here. When dining out at Heidelberg's German-style restaurants, look out for the following dishes:

• Bibbeleskäs - locally produced cottage cheese
• Brägele - fried slices of potato
• Flädlesuppe - tasty broth with ribbons of pancake
• Knöpfle - thick noodles
• Schupfnudeln - potato-based pasta
• Sauerkraut - sour, fermented shredded cabbage

Freshwater fish also makes up much of the local menus, while those with a more international palate will find Italian, Chinese, Thai, and Mexican restaurants in good supply, amongst others.

Where to Eat

Many of the most popular restaurants in Heidelberg can be found lining much of the Hauptstrasse, a street literally crammed with dining options of all descriptions. Restaurants along Hauptstrasse offer local dishes from many different cultures, ranging from German fare and vegetarian dishes, to French bistros and Italian-style eateries.

The opening hours of these restaurants also often vary greatly, according to demand.

The historic old city part of Heidelberg also contains plenty of fine dining and traditional Germany fare, including some of the city's best restaurants and brewhouses. Particularly notable in Heidelberg are those eateries located along both the Steingasse and the Untere Neckarstrasse, a number of which are housed in historic buildings dating back to the beginning of the 18th century. For cafes and lunchtime snacks, many of the public squares around this area Heidelberg are lined with cheap eats and outside tables, such as the Uniplatz and also the Marktplatz, off the Auf der Hauptstrasse.