Northern Germany isn’t always known for being on the tourist trail. But, as part of our efforts to travel more sustainably (and wanting to relive our university Interrail experiences), we decided to turn our recent trip to Copenhagen, Denmark into a slower, longer journey stopping at lots of German towns and cities along the way.
One thing Germany is known for is its stereotypical gluten-filled diet; traditional dishes like schnitzel, spaetzle and bratwurst hot dogs as well as lots of pastries. It’s fair to say that I was nervous about eating safely as a coeliac!
However, through doing some research, we found some incredible gluten free places to eat that were coeliac safe and had a fantastic experience!
These are our recommendations for gluten free food in Cologne, Hamburg and the rest of Northern Germany!
Across Germany
Isabella Glutenfreie Patisserie
Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart
Some of the best gluten free patisserie in Germany (and possibly in the world) can be found at Isabella Glutenfreie Patisserie! They offer a huge selection of sweet treats (think macarons, cheesecake and tartlets) as well as a range of bakery products that you can eat in or take away. Many locations also offer brunch options like açai bowls, granola with yoghurt and even cooked breakfast. We visited their locations in Cologne and Hamburg and were impressed with everything we tried; it’s a must-visit for any coeliac in Germany!
Niederegger
Available across Germany, flagship store in Lübeck
Niederegger is a world-famous marzipan producer offering a huge selection of different flavoured marzipan treats. We visited their flagship store in Lübeck (because it looked absolutely adorable from the outside) and to our surprise, lots of the treats for sale were gluten free! We’ve seen some mixed reviews online about gluten free options in the cafe in Lübeck, so maybe just buy something to take away from the shop. But if you’re looking to try a sweet treat that’s local to Northern Germany, it’s worth picking up a box to try, especially if you visit the town of Lübeck!
Supermarkets
We found the supermarkets in Germany to be particularly good for gluten free, which was really helpful for making our picnics for our long train journeys! EDEKA Schlemmer Markt was a chain we had particular success in, but most German supermarkets offered a good gluten free selection. We even managed to find Schar products we’d never seen before so had to bring some treats back home with us! The one thing to be cautious about in German supermarkets is Haribo; whilst they are generally coeliac-safe in the UK, almost all of the Haribo made in Germany have a “may contain” warning. We visited the massive Haribo store in Hamburg and were disappointed to find that only one product was guaranteed to be gluten free; the Chamallows, though they were actually very good!
Cologne
La Teca
La Teca is a lovely little Italian restaurant in Cologne which offers to make almost all of their pizza and pasta dishes gluten free. I had the burrata starter, a huge pizza and they even had gluten free tiramisu for dessert! Everything felt very safe, the waiters understood coeliac needs and cross contact and were very reassuring that my food was prepared safely. The food also tasted really good and we could tell it was all very good quality. We’d highly recommend visiting La Teca for a good gluten free meal in Cologne!
Frites Belgique
Frites Belgique is a tiny hole-in-the-wall shop serving Belgian-style fries. Since the fries are gluten free, and the only thing that goes in the fryer, there’s practically no cross contact risk. The only gluten in kitchen was in some of the sauces which was clearly labelled in their allergen guide. If you’re looking for some casual food on the go, this is definitely a good option!
Hard Rock Cafe
Our dinner plans on our first night in Cologne fell through last-minute, so we went to the classic coeliac-safe backup plan of Hard Rock Cafe. We actually had a really good meal here; the waiters were brilliant at explaining their safety protocols, everything felt incredibly safe and the food was genuinely delicious! It’s never going to be the most authentic meal (unless you’re travelling around the US), but for the end of a long, stressful travel day, this was exactly what we needed!
Hamburg
Nord Coast Coffee Roastery
Nord Coast Coffee Roastery is a specialty coffee shop in the centre of Hamburg with a range of different coffee roasts to try. We both love our coffee and can honestly say it was some of the best coffee we’ve ever had! They also serve brunch and the food was excellent; I had the gluten free savoury waffle which was delicious! From speaking to the staff, we could tell they had a strong understanding of cross-contact and it felt very safe for me as a coeliac. We’d definitely recommend visiting if you’re in Hamburg!
Grill and Green
Grill and Green is a restaurant serving a huge selection of burgers, most of which can be made gluten free as well as a good choice of side dishes and extravagant drinks. Everything felt very safe regarding cross contact too and the waiters were really helpful in making sure my food was prepared safely. All the food was delicious; it’s definitely worth visiting if you’re in Hamburg!
Rudolph’s HafenCity
Rudolph’s is an Italian restaurant in HafenCity serving a huge range of pizzas and pasta dishes, most of which can be made gluten free. The gluten free pizzas are put on the top shelf of the giant pizza oven, are prepared separately and handled with different utensils so it felt pretty safe regarding cross contact. We ate here twice since it was close to our hotel and the pizza was very good both times. Martin also loved his gluten-full pizza so it’s a good choice for mixed groups!
Itineraries
Cologne
Steel our itinerary for 36 hours in Cologne:
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
| Travel day (for us this was London to Cologne via Brussels) Arrive into Cologne Dinner in Hard Rock Cafe | Morning walk through Grüngürtel Park Brunch at Isabella’s Walking tour with Cologne Free Walking Tours Snack at Frites Belgique Visit Kölner Dom Dinner at La Teca | Breakfast at Isabella’s Travel day to your next destination (for us this was Hamburg) |
Hamburg & Lübeck
Steel our itinerary for three nights in Hamburg (including a day trip to Lübeck):
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
| Travel day (we stayed in Hamburg twice, once arriving from Cologne, and the other on the way back from Copenhagen) Arrive into Hamburg Dinner at Green and Grill | Brunch at Nord Coast Coffee Roastery Historic walking tour with Robin and the Tour Guide Afternoon tea and cake at Isabella’s Dinner at Rudolph’s HafenCity Elbphilharmonie viewpoint | Breakfast at Isabella’s (and buy snacks for day trip) Day trip to Lübeck Walk around Lübeck town centre Visit the Niederegger marzipan shop Visit the Hansemuseum Travel back to Hamburg Dinner at Rudolph’s |
Have you been to any of these places? Or do you have a favourite gluten free restaurant in Germany that’s not on this list? Let us know in the comments!
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Jess and Martin’s Gluten Free Travel Guide 
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