St. Georg · Norddeutsch
Restaurant Schifferbörse
Maritime classics with captains' portraits at the Hotel Reichshof - Pannfisch and Labskaus since 1910.
The Schifferboerse has been a fixture of north German cooking in Hamburg since 1910 and carries on the culinary heritage of the Hotel Reichshof, which opened in the same year. The name refers to the actual Schifferboerse at the harbour, where shipping companies and captains once closed their deals - a connection the restaurant still makes visible through hand-painted murals of Hamburg captains on the walls. The restaurant sits in St. Georg on Kirchenallee, directly opposite the main station and thus on the edge of the city centre. The immediate neighbourhood shapes the clientele: business travellers, theatregoers from the Deutsches Schauspielhaus next door, and regulars from the quarter. The menu offers north German classics in solid execution: Hamburger Pannfisch with fried potatoes and mustard sauce, Labskaus with fried egg, rollmops and beetroot, Finkenwerder Scholle (plaice), plus seasonal Matjes herring and Gruenkohl (kale) in winter. Mains mostly run between 22 and 32 euros, making the EE tier plausible - upmarket but not fine dining. The setting preserves Art Nouveau touches from the opening era: dark wood, brass details, white linen and the aforementioned ship motifs on the walls. The acoustics are subdued, the service Hanseatic and reserved. Reservations are recommended, especially in the evenings, at weekends and on theatre nights - with around 80 seats, the house is compact. Getting there: U/S Hauptbahnhof or S Hauptbahnhof Nord, both two minutes on foot. Car parks at Steintorwall are nearby. Ideal for: visitors on a first trip to Hamburg who want to try genuine north German cooking without a tourist trap, and need a table close to the station - for instance before or after a show at the Schauspielhaus.