A very upscale and expensive department store. Back in the States it could be comparable to…read moreprobably Bloomingdales or Saks Fifth Avenue, but when I glanced at the purse selection it doesn't look like they have some of the high end European brands for sale such as Burberry, Chanel, Prada, but luckily those boutiques are a short walk away. They mostly carry European brands but have some American brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Juicy Couture, 7 Jeans. I did see a decent handful of sales tags on every floor, but some of the items were still just too pricey. However, the Longchamp bags on sale were a deal. They also offer a food court and I picked up a ton of German chocolates to bring home in their basement confectionary department. This department has a variety of candies from some you can find at their local grocery and department store such as Kinder to Niederegger to California brand Jelly Belly. Overall I would recommend a stop by Alterhaus just to check it out. At least you can buy some chocolates if nothing else catches your eye. Alterhaus and another department store, Karstadt seem to be the one of the very few stores in the area that close at 8 instead of 7.

Alsterhaus is what Illum is in Copenhagen, but with a niceness scale that is way beyond Illum…read more A rather upscale department store that houses big famous designer brand and interesting decorations inside. It stocks everything from cosmetics (on the lower ground) to home decoration and even cafes, restaurants and food shop. I must add that I love their food shop, especially during Christmas times. Oh, I wanted to buy everything on display. Chocolates, cheese, wine, you name it. There are also areas where you could sit down and enjoy champagne *ahem* or just coffee. Customer service is friendly as far as I have encountered and they have gift-wrapping service on the home decoration floor (can't quite remember which floor was that - 4th?) and it's just located right in front of the lake, hence the name. This place was thoroughly thronged during Christmas shopping season, though - just so you know

you can find almost anything in Karstadt My two favorites…read moreparts of that mall are the Parfumerie/Cosmetics department which is on the ground floor, and their household / kitchen floor (last floor). They have all kinds of designs for the kitchen. I am not much of a cook, but when i see the huge variety (some for VERY affordable prices / some with crazy creative designs) i feel like buying a new home with a 150 sqm kitchen to fit everything in!!! There's a small supermarket in Karstadt, they even have electronics department, bedroom department... They have a restaurant at the last floor. I would really advise you to eat there.. The food is good and it is freshly made in front of u they have everything really I think u need to know, if ur buying a gift from Karstadt, u cant get ur gift giftwrapped anywhere you have to go to the Geschenkservice, and then of course very 'germanly' PAY for your giftwrap, between 1EUR and 5EUR depending if ur adding a flower or a ribbon and on the size of the gift All in all a good mall, wide choice, it has brand names mostly, a lot of variety

The floor with dinnerware and kitchen utensils is fantastic! It's where I go to buy my Kahla mugs.read more

Die Beratung war sehr gut, die Beratung in der Herrenkonfektion excellent. Es hat wirklich…read moreweitergeholfen. Freundlichkeit top, nur an der Kasse eine etwas "zurückgenomme" Mitarbeiterin. Ulrich Engelfried Hamburg

Best place for shopping in that area, you can find different types of stuff and resonable prices.read more

I brought my mother, visiting from India, to the cafe at Kaufrausch for lunch. Unfortunately, we…read morehad a very bad experience. The waiter in charge of the orders ignored us completely, while greeting and serving new customers. When we finally ordered a soup, a salad and drinks, he kept us waiting 50 minutes (!!!) while taking new orders and serving them quickly and in a friendly manner to the many customers coming in for lunch. The waitress working there seemed nice but did not help expedite our order. We were sitting right in front of him, and I asked him after half an hour whether our order was coming. We watched at the bar as he slowly prepared my mother's salad right in front of us without finishing, and we saw my soup sitting for 20 minutes in the microwave. Despite eye contact he ignored our order. I asked again for our food, as others finished their meals and left. When my soup came, it was completely cold. As I told the waiter to please reheat the soup, and that we had waited long enough, he smirked and said rudely, ach, ja?. This time, the soup sat in the microwave again for 15 minutes!! Although I am Indian, I am fluent in German and I have been living in Hamburg for a long time. What a pity, that how one looks or where one is from is still a hindrance in some places even today.