Gsellmanns ★ 4.2

Bistro Carmagnole ★ 4.3

Bistro Carmagnole in Hamburg's Sternschanze cooks French bistro classics off a daily blackboard on Juliusstrasse. Priced at €€€. At Juliusstrasse 18.

Signature: French bistro classics, Daily blackboard plats

Old Commercial Room ★ 4.4

Old Commercial Room opposite the Michel in Hamburg has cooked Hanseatic harbour food since 1795 and is the city's canonical Labskaus address.

Order: The Original Hamburger Labskaus with fried egg, herring, beetroot and gherkin.

Tip: Open daily; lunch tables more available than dinner. Cash welcome but cards accepted.

Bullerei ★ 4.4

Tim Maelzer and Patrick Ruether's Bullerei in Hamburg's Sternschanze has cooked grilled meats and modern German in the old slaughterhouse since 2009.

Order: The dry-aged rib-eye and the seasonal handmade pasta.

Tip: Daily 12:00-23:00. Tables on the courtyard fill first in summer.

Henssler & Henssler ★ 4.5

Werner and Steffen Henssler's Hamburg sushi room on Grosse Elbstrasse runs a 20-metre open kitchen above the Fischmarkt, the family's Cuisine Pacifique.

Order: The California-style maki and the teriyaki Faroe salmon.

Tip: Walk-up counter seats open at 18:00; arrive before to skip the wait.

Nil ★ 4.5

Elisabeth Fuengers and Steffen Hellmann's Nil on Neuer Pferdemarkt in Hamburg's St Pauli has run a modern German bistro over three floors since 1989.

Order: The monthly four-course set menu; the daily fish course rotates.

Tip: Walk-ins possible early; bookings open online 30 days ahead for the busier weekend slots.

Cox ★ 4.3

Cox on Lange Reihe in Hamburg's St Georg has run a modern German bistro across a tight room for over two decades, with reliable lunch and dinner service.

Order: The daily lunch special; the steak frites at dinner.

Tip: Lunch tables move quickly between 12:30 and 13:30; book ahead for dinner Friday and Saturday.