Food History of Frankfurt

Key eras

1. Imperial fair city, 1200s to 1700s

   Frankfurt grew rich feeding its trade fairs and imperial coronations, and the sausage tradition that became the Frankfurter Würstchen grew with it. The Kleinmarkthalle's ancestor markets and the butchers' lanes around the Römer fed merchants from across Europe, fixing the city's habit of eating fast, well and standing up.

   Taste it todayFrankfurter WürstchenKleinmarkthalle

2. The apfelwein centuries, 1600s to 1900s

   As vineyards on the Main's slopes gave way, pressed apples took over as Frankfurt's everyday drink. Sachsenhausen's taverns formalised the culture: the grey stoneware Bembel, the diamond-cut Gerippte glass, and houses like Fichtekränzi from 1849 and Lorsbacher Thal from 1803 that still pour today.

   Taste it todayApfelweinFichtekränziLorsbacher Thal

3. Rindswurst and the industrial city, 1894 to 1945

   In 1894 the butchers at Gref-Völsings on Hanauer Landstraße began making an all-beef Rindswurst, a sausage the whole working city could eat. It joined Handkäs mit Musik and Grüne Soße as workers' food that outlived the empire, the inflation and the war that levelled the old town around them.

   Taste it todayRindswurstHandkäs mit MusikGrüne SoßeGref-Völsings

4. Banking city, world city, 1950s to today

   The postwar boom rebuilt Frankfurt as Germany's money capital and filled the Bahnhofsviertel with Turkish, Indian, Eritrean and East Asian kitchens. The 2026 Michelin Guide gives the city three two-star rooms, and Seven Swans holds the distinction of being the world's first fully vegan starred restaurant.

   Taste it todaySeven Swans

Immigrant influences

Turkish

Münchener Straße and the Bahnhofsviertel run on Turkish grills, halal butchers and late-night döner houses like Bayram Kebap-Haus.

Taste it todayBayram Kebap-Haus

South Asian

Kaiserstraße's Indian block, anchored by the vegetarian dosa halls of Saravanaa Bhavan, feeds Frankfurt's large Indian business community.

Taste it todaySaravanaa Bhavan

Eritrean and East African

Injera platters eaten by hand at Im Herzen Afrikas made Gutleutstraße a destination for East African cooking.

Taste it todayIm Herzen Afrikas

Japanese

Decades of Japanese banking postings built real demand: Masa's starred washoku, The Sakai's omakase and Azko Iimori's pâtisserie.

Taste it todayThe SakaiIimori Pâtisserie

Italian

Postwar Italian families gave Frankfurt its gelato institutions, from Eis Christina in the Nordend to Eis Fontanella on Kaiserstraße.

Taste it todayEis ChristinaEis Fontanella

Signature innovations

• The Bembel and Gerippte: apfelwein's stoneware jug and ribbed glass service ritual
  Taste it todayApfelwein
• Rindswurst: the all-beef Frankfurt sausage created at Gref-Völsings in 1894
  Taste it todayRindswurstGref-Völsings
• Grüne Soße: a cold sauce of exactly seven herbs, eaten as a main course
  Taste it todayGrüne Soße
• Seven Swans: the world's first fully vegan Michelin-starred restaurant
  Taste it todaySeven Swans
• Handkäs mit Musik: sour-milk cheese in onion vinaigrette, the original bar snack
  Taste it todayHandkäs mit Musik