Food · Frankfurt · Germany
What to eat in Frankfurt
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Frankfurt, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Quick answer
Start with Frankfurt green sauce, Cheese with music and Apple wine. Sit at a long table in an apple-wine tavern, share a Bembel and order Handkäs, Grüne Soße and Rippchen with strangers around you. Many restaurants offer a weekday lunch menu (Mittagstisch) aimed at office workers, often much cheaper than dinner.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Frankfurt green sauce
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 5
- Tipping
- Round up or add about 5–10% for table service, telling the server the total when you…
- Food experiences
- 4
8 foods to try
Dish · Vegetarian
1.Frankfurt green sauce (Grüne Soße)
A cold sauce of seven fresh herbs — borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel and chives — blended with sour cream or yoghurt, served with halved boiled eggs and potatoes, or with schnitzel or boiled beef.
Where: Apple-wine taverns and traditional restaurants; best from spring to autumn when the herbs are local.
Snack · Vegetarian
2.Cheese with music (Handkäs mit Musik)
A small, tangy sour-milk cheese marinated with chopped onions, vinegar, oil and caraway and served with bread and butter. The 'music' is said to refer to the onions' after-effects.
Where: Every apple-wine tavern; eat it with a knife and fork, the traditional way.
Drink · Vegetarian
3.Apple wine (Ebbelwoi or Äppler)
A dry, tart cider of around 5–6% alcohol poured from a stoneware Bembel into a ribbed glass. Mixed with sparkling water it becomes a 'Sauergespritzter', and in autumn new, half-fermented Süßer is served.
Where: Taverns in Sachsenhausen and Bornheim, and festival stands across the city.
Street food
4.Frankfurt sausages (Frankfurter Würstchen)
Long, thin smoked pork sausages heated in hot water rather than grilled, served in pairs with mustard and bread or potato salad. The name is protected and only sausages from the region may carry it.
Where: Butchers, market stalls in the Kleinmarkthalle and traditional restaurants.
Dish
5.Cured pork chop with sauerkraut (Rippchen mit Kraut)
A cured and cooked pork chop served with sauerkraut, mashed potato or bread and mustard; a hearty tavern staple.
Where: Apple-wine taverns throughout the city.
Dessert · Vegetarian
6.Frankfurt crown cake (Frankfurter Kranz)
A ring-shaped sponge cake layered with buttercream and red jam and coated in caramelised nut brittle; its shape is said to recall the crowns of the emperors crowned in the city.
Where: Konditoreien and cafés across the city.
Dessert · Vegetarian
7.Bethmännchen
Small marzipan balls with three almond halves pressed on the sides, baked until golden; a Frankfurt Christmas sweet named after the Bethmann banking family.
Where: Bakeries and the Christmas market from late November.
Dish
8.Schnitzel with green sauce (Frankfurter Schnitzel)
A breaded pork or veal schnitzel served with green sauce and fried potatoes, combining two local favourites.
Where: Taverns and Gasthäuser in Sachsenhausen and Bornheim.
Food experiences
Tavern evening
Sit at a long table in an apple-wine tavern, share a Bembel and order Handkäs, Grüne Soße and Rippchen with strangers around you.
Saturday at the Kleinmarkthalle
Locals meet for wine on the market hall's upper gallery at Saturday lunchtime after shopping at the stalls below.
Farmers' market at Konstablerwache
Regional producers sell fruit, vegetables, cheese, sausages and apple wine on the Konstablerwache square on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Freßgass lunch
The pedestrian Große Bockenheimer Straße, nicknamed Freßgass ('eating street'), is lined with delis, wine bars and terraces near the Alte Oper.
Quick bites and street food
- Cheese with music — Every apple-wine tavern; eat it with a knife and fork, the traditional way.
- Frankfurt sausages — Butchers, market stalls in the Kleinmarkthalle and traditional restaurants.
Vegetarian options
Of the 8 foods in this guide, 5 are usually vegetarian: Frankfurt green sauce, Cheese with music, Apple wine, Frankfurt crown cake and Bethmännchen. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Many restaurants offer a weekday lunch menu (Mittagstisch) aimed at office workers, often much cheaper than dinner.
- In apple-wine taverns, sharing tables with strangers is normal; ask 'Ist hier noch frei?' before sitting.
- Some taverns and small places only take cash; carry some euros.
- Book ahead during trade fairs, especially the Book Fair in October, when restaurants fill with delegates.
- Tap water is safe but usually not served unless you ask, and may be charged for.
Tipping
Round up or add about 5–10% for table service, telling the server the total when you pay; leaving coins on the table is less common.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Guten Tag | Hello / good day |
| Danke schön | Thank you very much |
| Die Rechnung, bitte | The bill, please |
| Ein Schoppen, bitte | A glass of apple wine, please |
| Ist hier noch frei? | Is this seat free? |
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Frankfurt famous for?
Frankfurt green sauce, Cheese with music, Apple wine and Frankfurt sausages. A cold sauce of seven fresh herbs — borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel and chives — blended with sour cream or yoghurt, served with halved boiled eggs and potatoes, or with schnitzel or boiled beef.
+Is Frankfurt good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Frankfurt green sauce, Cheese with music and Apple wine.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Frankfurt?
Round up or add about 5–10% for table service, telling the server the total when you pay; leaving coins on the table is less common.