Eppendorf · Italienisch
Cornelia Poletto
Light Italian cooking from television chef Cornelia Poletto in Eppendorf.
The Cornelia Poletto restaurant on the Eppendorfer Landstraße has been the Hamburg stage for one of Germany's best-known chefs since 2011. Poletto, born in Hamburg and of Italian descent, previously cooked at Anna e Sebastiano in Wedel, brought a Michelin star to the Eppendorf restaurant Poletto in 2002 and, through her television work on ARD and ZDF, has become a defining voice of Italian cooking in northern Germany. Her current house does not see itself as a starred restaurant but as a trattoria with ambition — light, produce-driven, clean. The location is the quieter end of the Eppendorfer Landstraße between Eppendorfer Baum and Kellinghusenstraße, set among the boutiques, bookshops and cafés of this comfortable middle-class neighbourhood. The menu features handmade pasta (ravioli with ricotta and truffle, tagliatelle with ragù bianco), vitello tonnato, oven-baked branzino and changing antipasti from Hamburg's markets. It is accompanied by a curated Italian wine list with an emphasis on Piedmont and Tuscany. The interior is light and unpretentious: wooden floorboards, white walls, open kitchen, large windows onto the street. The adjoining delicatessen, with pasta, olive oil and antipasti, extends the experience to take home. The cooking school run in parallel pulls in a mixed audience of regulars and travellers. Reservations are strongly recommended several days ahead, especially for evening service at the weekend. Mains are priced between 28 and 42 euros, pasta dishes around 22 to 28 euros; the €€€ price level reflects upscale Italian dining in Hamburg. Getting there: U3 Eppendorfer Baum, then five minutes on foot to the north. Ideal for enthusiasts looking for Italian cooking beyond the pizzeria clichés, who value craft and the quality of the produce.