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Often called ‘the Rome of the North’, the city of Trier is abundant with cultural sites such as the Porta Nigra, the imperial baths and the amphitheatre, all part of the Unesco World Cultural Heritage. However, Trier also has a diverse culinary scene, which we would like to share with you. Breakfast
Let’s start with Liebling. Known for its selection of organic, freshly prepared food and lovingly made coffees and drinks, the café is a true paradise for vegans and vegetarians, both family and dog-friendly. If you have a sweet tooth, you may prefer Dolce Cielo, whose Saturday breakfast has been labelled as “a vegan’s dream”. In addition to homemade chocolates, they also offer fresh vegan cakes, ciabattas, wraps, crepes as well as salads. As for Café Zeitsprung, you can enjoy a mesmerising view of the Electoral Palace’s park while eating your brunch, which is available every Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm for 19.90€ per person!
Cafés
After a good breakfast or once you arrive in Trier, a coffee or a hot beverage is an ideal “pick-me-up” before exploring the former Roman town. Visit Glücklich for a warm coffee and tapas while checking current exhibitions at their art gallery. Next, we have Coffee Fellows, a spacious café with two floors, great for meetings, hang-outs or study sessions. Shluk is another local favourite, selling mainly vegan drinks and bites for hungry customers. Balott Coffee & Factory is as the name says, an urban coffee shop, factory and coffee school, where latte art is learned and taught. Equally superb is Leanis Café, a place with a beautiful pink interior, which offers appetising breakfast boxes, filled with fresh fruit, cheese, charcuterie and buttery croissants!
For a laid-back meal
Located on the beautiful grounds of the art academy, right on the Moselle, Herrlich Ehrlich offers a blend of classic German dishes and dishes from all around the world. In addition to this, multiple festivities are organised here such as the West Wein Fest, Kiezfest or the Trödelkiez, where a flea market meets music and street food!
If you are into beats, bars and burgers, Burgeramt will be the ideal place for you! From chicken peanut burgers to bacon guacamole burgers, Burgeramt adds a twist to your traditional burgers. Der Daddy, another gem, serves the juiciest and meatiest burgers, regularly coming up with unique burgers, new types of fries and sauces. They are now also serving craft beer, fine cocktails and long drinks!
For Thai food, Buddik Banlieue is your address, with a menu that changes weekly. Just a small example, to make your mouth water, some weeks they served chicken wings in a wide range of variations, with maple syrup bacon or dill-mustard sauce, served with crispy coriander potatoes. Vegetarian dishes are also on the menu: dumplings with changing sauces and side dishes. Attention, this gem is only open until 6 pm. For Mexican-American cuisine, Chicano has been voted the best Mexican restaurant by Restaurant Guru 2022. Highly influenced by Mexican heritage and their love for California, meals are prepared by Chef Ariel Morfin, himself a Californian Mexican from San Diego.
Bars
Near the Porta Nigra, right next to the statue of Karl Marx, is 18ZWO, a big-city-style bar that has mastered all the latest signature cocktail recipes. As for Craftprotz Kreativbierbar, the owner of the craft beer bar is a graduate master brewer and beer sommelier, giving you the best selection of beers as well as non-alcoholic drinks. In Zapotex, find an extensive range of draught and craft beers, exciting cocktails and highballs as well as a correspondingly large selection of top gin, rum and whisky.
For a tasteful dinner
Zur SIM Brasserie is an exceptional German restaurant, which offers a marvellous view of Porta Nigra from the comfort of the spacious outdoor terrace. Seafood, steak or other traditional German dishes are all available as are the best regional wines. If you are still indecisive about what restaurant to go to, head over to Masons where a culinary adventure awaits you. From Nepal to Bolivia, all flavours around the world come in form of small tapas!
For Asian flavours, Yamamoto combines regional wines with authentic Asian street food, with a focus on sushi and Thai cuisine. In CAO, visitors can taste Vietnamese cuisine, considered the finest in Southeast Asia, as it fuses French colonial cuisine with local specialities. The fresh flavours with warm aromas and bright colours of the dishes are served in a minimal but chic interior. As for Ms. Lian, it presents European Asian culinary art, by serving scrumptious sushi and steaming pho soups!
Fancy a fine dining experience?
Weinwirtschaft Friedrich Wilhelm is located in the former premises of the Friedrich-Wilhelm Grammar School, one of the oldest in Germany. Personalities such as Karl Marx and Oswald von Nell-Breuning took their exams for the general university entrance qualification here. Now turned into a restaurant, they serve regional delicacies accompanied by a large selection of wines from the Bischöfliche Weingüter, the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium and the Rinke winery.
A place where architecture meets modern design is Schlemmereule. Inspired by French, Luxembourgish and other European cuisines, the restaurant also offers more than 200 wines from the best Moselle wine estates, whose quality is guaranteed by the Association of German Prädikat and Quality Wine Estates “VDP”. Bagatelle is another favourite, where lobster, oysters and sea fish are integral to the restaurant’s cuisine. There is also a special lunch menu during the week to be enjoyed on a beautiful riverside terrace!
Wolfgang Becker, owner and chef of the 1-star Michelin restaurant BECKER’S, deliberately avoids artifice and focuses on flavour. Not only a talented chef, he also has a particular love for fine wines. Becker is a trained winemaker and the wines from his own vineyard are also listed on the wine selection!
In the small town of Piesport, the 3-star Michelin restaurant, schanz. restaurant. is run by one of Germany’s top chefs, Thomas Schanz. Taking over the family business, a hotel and a restaurant, the chef serves classic cuisine with a modern touch and blends strong flavours harmoniously. A signature dish of his is the truffle egg, which is definitely worth a try!
Located a little closer to Luxembourg, the town of Perl features Victor’s Fine Dining, led by head chef Christian Bau. The 3-star Michelin restaurant primarily focusses on fish, seafood and seaweed, often raw: around 85% of Victor’s Fine Dining menus come from the sea. Under the guidance of Nina Mann, Gault&Millau Sommelier of the year 2020, guests are transported by her knowledge.
After a trip to the city centre and beyond, the Porta Nigra and the statue of Karl Marx, we hope to have tempted you to take a trip to the charming city of Trier!
Header photo: Zur SIM Brasserie