St. Pauli · Latin
Salt and Silver
Experimental Latin American cooking on the Reeperbahn fringe — ceviche, tacos, mezcal.
Salt and Silver is one of the pioneers of the Latin American cooking wave in Germany. The concept comes from Johannes Riffelmacher and Thomas Kosikowski, who opened their first venue in Hamburg in 2014 after a year-long surf and cooking trip through Central and South America. The reportage turned into a cookbook, the cookbook into a restaurant — and the restaurant into a small Hamburg institution for honestly interpreted Latin cuisine well beyond the Tex-Mex clichés. The restaurant sits on Hamburger Berg in St. Pauli, in the busy halfway zone between the Reeperbahn and the residential streets, a short walk from the Spielbudenplatz and the harbour. The menu features changing ceviches made from the day's catch, grilled tacos al pastor with house-made tortillas, anticuchos from the charcoal grill, occasional empanadas and aguachile. The drinks list focuses on mezcal, pisco and cachaça — tasting flights and signature sours rather than off-the-shelf margaritas. The setting is intentionally stripped back: bare walls, an open kitchen, long wooden tables, warm light. It gets loud and it gets tight; this is not a place for hushed business dinners but for sharing small plates together. Booking is strongly recommended, especially Thursday through Saturday — walk-in only works early in the evening or at the bar. Price-wise, Salt and Silver sits in the middle bracket: tacos and small plates from around 9 €, ceviches around 16 €, larger mains from the grill 22 to 28 €. A full sharing menu with drinks realistically lands at 50 to 65 € per person. Getting there: U3 Feldstraße in 4 minutes on foot, S1/S3 Reeperbahn in 6 minutes. Ideal for foodies, travellers with a Latin American leaning and groups who would rather have a lively evening of mezcal and sharing plates than a classic restaurant visit.