My Vegan Foodie Guide to Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg is a lovely city. It consist of an interesting mix of areas with raunchy St. Pauli, the elegant shopping around Alsterhaus and the industrial harbour along the river which creates an interesting city filled with diversity. 

I would dare say that Hamburg is approaching Berlin in terms of vegan friendliness, even though they don’t have any fine dining restaurants – yet. 

If you are looking for a few vegan foodie friendly stops during your exploration of Hamburg, you can always stop by one of theses places I’ve listed  below. My list include the great, the good and really, really bad restaurants for vegans. 

Updated: 1/08/2016

Vegan

Loving hut
Offers Asian food. 

Located:
Markusstraße 2
20355 Hamburg 

Leaf
Leaf is a 100% vegan restaurant specialising in seasonal German cuisine. The menu changes depending on what time of year it is.

The service is super, friendly attentive yet very polite. I had a great evening at Leaf with yummy food and wine.

Located:
Eulenstraße 38
22765 Hamburg

Eis Schmit 
Ice cream chain that has 3-4 ice cream flavours made from soy in their selection.

Located:
See website, has several locations around the city. 

Cafe faux Vau
Located in the Phoenix house (really hard to find)
Hip decor and large space. 
had breakfast there, however to much “vegan cold cuts” for my linking

Located:
Ruhrstr 11a
22761 Hamburg

Very Vegan friendly 

Piccolo Paradiso
The service is friendly and the food is hearty, flavoursome and very lovingly prepared. The wine selection is top notch. That everything is organic, is a plus. I loved this place and will definitely return. 

Located:
Brüderstraße 27
20355 Hamburg

XeÔm
Vietnamese street food. The menu is clearly marked with what is available or can be made vegan. The ice tea is delicious and I loved the shitake mushroom and tofu dish. 

Located:
Karolinenstrasse 25
Hamburg

Zum Spätzle
Spätzle is a south German style of fresh pasta. If you are in Hamburg you must try this. It’s a real treat. I love the kraut spätzle with smoked tofu, sour kraut and topped with vegan cheese. 

Located:
Wexstraße 31
20355 Hamburg

Mamalicious
American style vegetarian and vegan comfort food. Friendly staff.I had the mac n cheese, to dry for me unfortunately :/ first time I had this dish.

Located:
Max-Brauer-Allee 277
22769 Hamburg

Kumpir
This is located in a cosy square of Altona. It’s a mix of food cultures meeting German food. A kumpir is definitely a street-food must try. 

Kumpir is a baked potato with different toppings. There is a vegan version clearly marked on the menu. If you want to do your own alternations, then ensure they don’t put butter and cheese in the bottom before adding the actual toppings by specifically requesting this.

Best enjoyed with a German beer!

They also have falafel and other eastern inspired food on the menu.

Located:
Bahrenfelder Strasse 168
22765 Hamburg 

Vegan friendly 

Cafe Johanna
I had a great Ayurvedic porridge (which I think was gluten free!)with fresh berries, a freshly pressed juice and strong hot coffee for breakfast. The food is beautifully presented, the service friendly and the location really central. It’s a real gem. 

Located:
Venusberg 26

Cha cha
This is Thai street food. Cha cha has a selection of curries and salad that are vegan on their menu. If you are unsure, ask. 

Located:
See website. Two locations in the city 

Falafelstern
Home to the best falafel in town according to the locals (I haven’t tried – yet!).

Located:
Schanzenstraße 111
20357 Hamburg

If you just are looking to survive:

Aka, just want some food, not an food experience, these re nothing special but OK. Your ordinary Thai places, but sometimes a warm meal is required to keep your energy levels up for some city exploring. 

Asia imbiss
Chain with Thai fast food. If they use fish sauce, it’s is clearly marked on the menu.

Located:
See website, several locations across the city.

Green papaya
Some vegan items on the menu, didn’t like the food that much. I had the green vegetable stir fry that on the menu said it would contain kale, to my disappointment, it didn’t. 

Located:
Bahrenfelder Str. 105
22765 Hamburg

 Shops

Veganz
The famous European grocery store has an all vegan cantina outside the store. Perfect for a quick bite, a smoothie to go, an almond latte or to grab a juice. Also has raw food desserts. I picked up a raw vegan tiramisu that I could easily live on for the rest of this year…

Kaufmansladen 
This is a heaven for dried fruits, I always stop here to stock up on dried fruits and spices. 
Also great for the utensils of the more traditional and rustic country house style – this is place is a must to pick up wooden, glass and painted ceramics in French and german country style. 

Alnatura
Organic shop, stocking vegan groceries etc.

Denn’s bio markt
Organic shop, stocking vegan groceries etc.

Alsterhaus
For any foodie Alsterhaus food department of the fourth floor is a must see. 
The liqueurs, the wine, the tea, the shops, the styling, the design of the labels and each shops layout and merchandising – love it. So inspirational. 

 Avoid this place to all cost:

Unfortunately not all places serving vegan food are worth visiting. I would strongly recommend that you avoid a place called Mangold.

They served me an aubergine burger that was just pure charcoal, when I brought it up with the waiter I was met with a “I don’t care” attitude. And also I had to pay for it. They are not serious about their food nor the service. Please don’t support an establishment like this. 

(I will post a picture here once I’ve digged it up from my archive of the 10 euro disaster they served me)