A culinary walk on the Nordstraße

Today we would like to take you on a culinary stroll along Nordstraße and stop by some of the city's well-known eateries such as Hitchcoq and Café Dulce.  

As you stroll along the Pempelforter shopping street, it quickly becomes clear that the range on offer is truly remarkable! It's impossible to feast on everything that awaits you on Nordstraße in just one visit - from crunchy hot chicken to vegan bowls and handmade macarons. If you still want to give it a try: please do! Another suggestion: just come back. In any case, you should visit these eight food locations here, including those where you can buy sweet, savory or high-proof items to take home.  

Autumn sunshine in Düsseldorf. In the afternoon, the thermometer has cracked the 20 degree mark again. After a short tour through the Hofgarten and along Kaiserstraße with its bridal fashion stores, we lock the bike to a post near the Nordstraße subway station. Turning right and walking a few meters on the left-hand sidewalk, we find ourselves in front of The Max, a really great concept store at Nordstraße 12. The extravagant range of vintage furniture, Medicom toys, art and cool fashion - both new and from the 70s, 80s and 90s - flashes at us through the shop windows at the front and side of the entrance door. The Max is famous for this mix. But today the focus is not on fashion, but on food. So on we go, past Eat Tokyo, where a couple are enjoying their salmon and tuna sashimi on the small outdoor terrace. But the building at Nordstraße 28 is divided into two parts and has another entrance:

CENTRO, Nordstraße 28 

"Italian food retailer since 1992" promises the sign on the wall. Unfortunately, the flagship store on Ackerstraße has not been around for some time. But the CENTRO on Nordstraße is a fixed star that reliably shines in the colors green, white and red. A real family business, the third generation is now on board. The 30th anniversary was already celebrated in April, we are told from the fresh food counter of the store, which is almost bursting at the seams with the abundance of products. The selection of antipasti alone! And then the various salamis, flanked by pecorino, goat's cheese, buffalo camembert, alongside vitello tonnato and veal meatballs in tomato sauce. Dessert is also catered for, thanks to fresh cornetti with whipped cream and Amarena, beautifully packaged panettones or cantuccini. The shelves are lined with Italian wines, and of course there is also amaro, spumante, grappa and limoncello. We opt for the classic, homemade lasagne to take away - in anticipation of tonight.    

Hitchcoq, Nordstraße 30 

From Japan to Italy straight to the US of A, you only have to move one house further down Nordstraße. At number 30, Hitchcoq has a very special concept - with skin and wings. Fried chicken is almost exclusively on the menu here, in the "Nashville Hot Chicken" version. The chicken (free from antibiotics) is super tender and perfectly seasoned thanks to the homemade spice mix. "The program is simple, but of top quality," says Gault&Millau. We actually spot a free table in the bright and simply furnished restaurant, but experience shows that this will change as the time progresses. Ever since brothers Fabian and Ben Schmidt-Pereira opened Hitchcoq three and a half years ago, the place has been buzzing. You can choose between wings, drumsticks and fillet, five levels of spiciness, from "mild" to "afterlife", and four side dishes, namely chips, coleslaw, Caesar salad and macaroni cheese, which are of course a must. Just like the various dips, including a delicious mango-lime mayo. Perhaps an ALTfred to go with it? Hard to believe, but true: Fabian and Ben actually run their own mini home brewery on site, with the support of two experienced Düsseldorf brewers. Well then, cheers, on a day like today you can also enjoy it on the beer bench in the courtyard! 

Café Dulce, Nordstraße 32 

Sweet dreams are made of this! Café Dulce is located at number 32, and here resistance really is futile. The crumbles, which are available in apple, cherry-almond, raspberry-coconut or plum-cinnamon, are super delicious. Be sure to order a scoop of homemade ice cream with plenty of whipped cream! If you prefer something savory, choose one of the six different tarte flambées. Everything at Dulce is made from natural ingredients with no artificial additives or preservatives. The café offers a relatively large amount of space and features a mix of simple bistro furniture and pretty elements such as a vintage buffet on the wall and a checkerboard-patterned floor in the counter area. Ice cream is also available there. We opt for sour cherry or passion fruit sorbet.  

Ice cream in hand, we cross the street: The bleu blanc rouge of Les Halles St. Honoré opposite is reflected in the windows of Café Dulce. Let's see what French specialties await us there. But first, a quick detour to the entrance of the Nord Carree. At the beginning of the year, the restaurant at Nordstraße 25, which was previously located on Friedrichstraße, opened its doors here.My Poffertjes set up its hollow grill here. It smells like a Dutch market. And apparently, not only are the small, fluffy pancakes baked here and topped with various toppings, but also the typical Dutch stroopwafels. However, we are still eating our ice cream. So next time!  

Les Halles St. Honoré, Nordstrasse 31 

Les Halles St. Honoré is hard to ignore, and not just because it is so strikingly decorated in the colors of the tricolor. Because the Pempelfort halls approach the brasserie theme with French nonchalance and formidable products. What's more, you can not only dine here, but also come for a "plat du jour" at lunchtime or a "petit déjeuner". D'accord! You can also stock up on a baguette de campagne, a brioche or a hearty croque monsieur at the bakery counter for breakfast at home, or all three (which is our choice). Add some patisserie, for example tartelletes aux fruits or a classic apple tart. And a little cheese, sausage, wine? Les Halles St. Honoré is explicitly not just a café and bistro, but also a small market hall. The warm cuisine that you can enjoy in the relaxed location tempts you with classics such as boeuf bourguignon or escargots de Bourgogne for starters. 

The density and internationality of the food on offer at this, the shorter end of Nordstrasse, is truly enormous. Will this continue after the junction? On the corner of Nordstraße and Duisburger Straße, where McDonald's was once located for many years, you will now find Marketim Gourmet. The fresh food counter sells meat, olives and meze and the range of fresh fruit and vegetables really makes you want to cook for yourself again. For dessert, you can stock up on the finest Balkava. For now, however, we head further up Nordstrasse in search of ready-made delicacies.  

Funkybowl, Nordstraße 46 

Now we take a look at another culinary newcomer on Nordstrasse. The Funkybowl is already a real enrichment! Here you can have 100% vegan bowls put together to your liking. Choose a base: couscous, mashed potatoes, wholegrain rice with or without quinoa, white rice, wild herb salad or zucchini noodles. Then decide on one of the homemade sauces, which is difficult when you have garlic-ginger, curry-mango or rocket-mustard to choose from. And finally, you are spoilt for choice between more than 30 toppings, from roasted cauliflower and caramelized onions to wakame seaweed salad and beet hummus. Also on the menu: fresh wraps and salads and other bowls whose compositions have already been tested for their taste and feel-good factor by the provider, which also operates a branch in Berlin. For example, the "Funky Monkey" with grilled vegetables, sweet potatoes and pomegranate seeds. There are a few seats in the store, but the concept is clearly also designed to go.  

The opposite of vegan bowls applies at Himmel & Ähd diagonally opposite. They are still keeping a low profile here, but when the autumn sun sets, the Füchschen-Alt will certainly be flowing abundantly again in the brewery pub at Nordstraße 53. So it's a good thing that you can create a suitable basis in Himmel & Ähd. This doesn't necessarily have to be the eponymous dish, i.e. fried black pudding with mashed potatoes and onions, as the typical Rhenish menu is far from exhausted.  

A train on line 701 rattles past. On Nordstraße, like in a hidden object picturethere is something going on everywhere. Even under the red awning with the golden letters on the corner of Nordstraße and Schwerinstraße, it's busy.  

Café Florian, Nordstraße 56 

Seasoned Düsseldorfers love to sit at the high bistro tables in front of Café Florian. After all, they are sure that sooner or later someone they know will walk past. And that's true from early morning to late evening - there's always time for a good laugh here. Abed Mansour opened his Parisian-style café-bistro-restaurant over 30 years ago, at a time when he was still largely alone in the Düsseldorf gastronomy scene with his Francophilia. Café Florian is now run by his son Marcel. The great thing about the Belle Époque-style location is that, despite its fame, it has remained what it always was: a neighborhood hangout. Here you can drink your freshly tapped beer outside after a shopping spree. Or you can make an appointment for breakfast, which reflects the international orientation of the cuisine in a variety of different combinations - from the "Scottish breakfast" to the oriental breakfast to the "Düsseldorf breakfast". And how about one of the classics you can order at Florian in the evening? "Mansour's Bouillabaisse", for example, or the grilled veal liver with truffled mashed potatoes, but also Mediterranean dishes such as the Lebanese antipasti plate. The audience is a colorful mix. A place without which Nordstrasse would not be Nordstrasse. 

The same can be said for the Da Forno ice cream parlor and Schwerinstraße. So we take a quick turn. A few ice cream fans are already sitting on the corner under the large chestnut tree, and the terrace of the ice cream parlor with over 100 years of history is full. Founding father Pietro is said to have been moving around with a handcart since 1912. A detour to Schwerinstraße, which is noticeably quieter than the lively Nordstraße, is actually worthwhile for other reasons: You can paint your own ceramics at Manufattura - and then arrange the delicacies you purchased during your tour of Nordstrasse on it at home. The espresso to top off your meal will be provided by "Die Kaffee" private roastery run by BaristaOlga Sabristova, where you can choose from more than 20 different types of coffee and espresso. You can also visit the in-house café or the terrace for a tasting beforehand. The pallet furniture and coffee sacks converted into cushions invite you to linger in comfort. But then back to Nordstraße!  

Pure Pastry, Nordstraße 80 

A must in pastel! The tartlet, macaron and praline creations from Pure Pastry are visually wonderful. And their taste is in a league of its own. You've never tasted one of these little masterpieces? It's about time! After the stand on Carlsplatz, Pure Pastry on Nordstraße is the second store that Tim Tegtmeier, "Patissier of the Year 2015", has opened. Everything is handmade, from the tartelette to the cakes and tarts (such as the New York Cheesecake Red Fruits) to the fine breakfast pastries. Tegtmeier also makes his own ice cream. He acquired his knowledge as head patissier at the former three-star restaurant Vendome, among other places. We are modest and order a super light and fruity yuzu mango tartlet and a pistachio tart. And then we can't control ourselves: a salted caramel macaron and a coffee and cardamom macaron are also a must.  

A little less French, but no less melt-in-the-mouth, is Leonidas at Nordstraße 69, purveyor to the court of the Belgian royal family. A chocolate sign with the inscription "I love my mom" can be taken as a hint, especially in the Mother's Day month of May. Fancy something sweet with more volume? At Bäckerei Schüren, Nordstraße 77, you can get banana bread in three varieties - chocolate, fig or natural. And lots of organic baked goods. 

Barrique, Blücherstraße 1a 

The Barrique is officially no longer part of Nordstraße. However, housed in a corner building, it marks the de facto end of the street: behind Blücherstraße on the right, Münsterstraße joins Nordstraße. And what could be better than to round off our enjoyable tour with a delicious fruit brandy or grappa at Barrique? Or a single malt whisky? Many of the distillates and liqueurs can also be bottled in Barrique in the desired quantity from the glass amphorae lined up on the shelves. High-quality vinegars, oils and dressings are also sold here, some in bulk, flanked by delicatessen products such as pasta, spices and delicious salsas as well as sparkling wine, champagne and over 400 bottled wines. When it comes to wine, Barrique owner Stephan Link is particularly passionate about giving advice. With his help, you are sure to find the perfect accompaniment for the three delicious courses that you will soon be serving to your friends: created with ingredients from the Nordstrasse, of course!    

Cover picture: Düsseldorf Tourismus