Cafe Paris is not a mere cafe in Hamburg, but a landmark. Everyone local who has lived in Hamburg, or even visitors who have asked around about where to eat, have without a doubt stumbled into this dining institution. The atmosphere for sure has Parisian charm to it and one might even arguably say that sometimes the service has a bit of a French "attitude" as well ;) Ok, that is not fair to compare a cheeky service experience to the negative stereotype of a snooty Parisian, but sometimes it depends on who you get at your table that day.
Often I frequent here on Sunday for Brunch because it can be hard to find places that are open on Sunday in Hamburg, especially serving somewhat of a proper brunch/breakfast menu. They still do not quite have the typical American breakfast (country thick bacon, sausage, hash browns, etc...) nor is it even resembling a English Breakfast (bangers/sausage, eggs, beans, etc...) Though Hamburg is not expected to carry too much of any celebration towards Americans since the North is far more British influenced and the South of Germany (Bavaria) is more American favorable due to the history, war, who helped who rebuild, etc...
So yeah, you can get breakfast but more a European style with breads, fruits, cheeses, some cold cut meats, thick pancakes with peanut butter, not syrup, and fried or boiled eggs. If you are thinking iHop or Dennys Grand Slam, well, you will find none of those shenanigans here. Be lucky they have croissants, but hey, could you really call it Cafe "Paris" without this national pastry????
I go for the cappuccino, Italian breakfast with cold cut meats/cheeses, a freshly squeezed orange juice and sit outside if the weather is nice.
They serve quite a nice dinner menu as well and it changes with specials of the evening. I had a steak with peppercorn gravy and potatoes one night which was amazing! For lunch, the SteakTartare is not only popular here, but it is said they make some of the best around, served with fresh bread. The only part of this tartare that bugs me is that it is the ground beef style and I prefer when they dice the steak, otherwise it just looks like raw hamburger meat to me, ugh...
Cafe Paris is just next to the Rathaus (TownHall) and I believe someone told me once they own the bar across the way called Bar Leon, which is supposed to have the best cocktails, but the door is very inconspicuous, so you must be watchful for it and ring the doorbell to enter. Very low key cool sounding, right? read more