Restaurants in Cologne

Set in a 16th-century house on the river in the Altstadt, you can eat excellent local and regional cooking at Em Krützche in the same traditional panelled dining room in which Bill Clinton and Tony Blair have dined. Specialities include herring, sauerbraten (a beef pot roast), wild salmon and roast suckling pig. Desserts are deliciously over the top.

Michelin-starred Ox & Klee started out in 2010 with sauerkraut and bratwurst on the menu. While simplicity is still the focus, nowadays diners can choose from two tasting menus that aim take them on a mind-blowing culinary journey.

Armed with a Michelin star, this clean, modern restaurant combines tastes from across East Asia with the spirit of hospitality (as the name Taku implies). Chef Mirko Gaul combines traditions from Malaysia, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Indonesia to create a contemporary, experimental menu.

Young Michelin-starred chefs, Jan Maier and Tobias Becker, are creating exquisite dishes at maiBeck, keeping them simple in order to allow their ingredients to come to the fore. Only the best-quality produce gets their nod of approval, and it's that attention to detail that's earned the Altstadt restaurant its growing reputation.

Accurately named 'at Grandma Kleinmann's', this rustic restaurant serves mostly traditional recipes in a charmingly old-fashioned setting. The main attraction is schnitzel which comes with a variety of side options, some more unusual than others like pineapple sauce or sardines and capers.

Almost like a beautifully converted medieval hall, this 800-year-old house in the heart of the Atltstadt offers typical hearty Cologne cooking with homemade bratwurst and pork specialities. While the decor may err towards the cheesy, its food stays firmly where it belongs: in the realm of wild boar knuckle, dumplings and cabbage.

If falafels, hummus and lamb koftas are your thing, this Middle Eastern restaurant ticks all the boxes. Serving a wide range of meat-free options in an informal setting, Beirut is a welcome refuge for vegetarians intimated by the onslaught of pork in the traditional Germanic taverns.

Sample hearty local Cologne specialities such as Reibekuchen (potato pancakes) and Sauerbraten (beef marinated in vinegar) in the restaurant of this traditional wood-panelled Brauhaus. The venue often provides a sounding board for local musicians, so depending on the schedule you could be in for a raucously good evening.

This fast food joint located close to Rudolfplatz caters to meat lovers as well as vegetarians and vegans. You can choose from a selection of 10 different hot dog toppings as well as a variety of sides. The buns are homemade and the ingredients are regional and sustainably sourced.