Six street food restaurants – from chips to quesadillas
Great street food kitchens you should know about.
The word street food conjures up images of bustling streets in Singapore or Vietnam – places where tiny takeaway restaurants and food stalls fill the air with bubbling and sizzling sounds and the rich aroma of a kaleidoscope of dishes. But doesn’t a cardboard tray of French fries also count as street food? And where do burgers and shawarma fit in? We have put together a selection of street food kitchens in Düsseldorf whose takeaway fare should please even the most discerning palate.
Casita Mexicana
In 2010, three brothers from Guadalajara – Daniel, Roberto and Nicolai Buchmann – opened their first street food restaurant and called it Casita Mexicana. They use only authentic Mexican recipes from their mother and grandmother and serve up burritos, quesadillas and tacos with a variety of freshly prepared, spicy fillings. Choices include marinated chicken, pork, beef and gambas as well as five vegetarian options, two of which are also vegan-friendly. In addition, you can feast on classics such as guacamole, cheesy nachos and crema de atún – all freshly prepared on site. Over the years, the business has grown and you can now find four Casita branches in Düsseldorf and two more in Cologne – a testament to the quality of their cooking. Our tip: Do a tequila tasting! Casita Mexicana offers not only authentic Mexican food but also a fine selection of tequilas and mezcals.
Hala Empanada
The clue is in the name here. Taking inspiration from the street food scene of Buenos Aires, this restaurant specialises in empanadas. After a trip to South America, founders Joshua and Finn put their heads together with two of their friends and devised a plan for an exciting new addition to the local street food scene. Their concept revolves around empanadas baked in the traditional style and made from only the best ingredients. If you want to sink your teeth into some of these delicious pastry parcels, you can do so at various street food festivals and events or at Hala Empanada’s permanent sales base, the KIT Café on the Mannesmannufer embankment. For those who have never tried an empanada, we recommend the mixed platter. It includes six different empanadas and lets you sample the range of fillings that are offered here, wrapped in perfectly flaky pastry. The restaurant has adopted a green distribution concept and uses mainly vegan or vegetarian ingredients. The food is prepared freshly on site and contains no additives. Hala Empanada follows a simple recipe: All you need is love, attention to detail, and sustainability.
hala-empanada.de
Shawarma City
Shawarma City opened on the corner of Alexanderstraße and Oststraße around three years ago and has since dominated the streetscape with sometimes seemingly endless queues in front of the snack bar. Whether it is the best shawarma in the city is something everyone has to decide for themselves. It is definitely worth a recommendation. The skewers are filled with freshly marinated meat every day. The marinade consists of a homemade spice mix, lemon and orange juice and garlic. Together with vegetables pickled in brine, the meat is rolled off the skewer into thin flatbread, and voilà!
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Pelican Fly
In terms of location, Pelican Fly is about as central as they come. This takeaway kitchen has set up shop in the former Berliner Imbiss bistro on Graf-Adolf-Platz and draws in passers-by with its bright 1980s flair. Even from a distance, it’s easy to spot what this place is all about: French fries and wine. The duo who has taken over this bistro, Fabian Veldmann and Antonios Askitis, has opted to serve up the region’s favourite takeaway fare – currywurst and French fries. Askitis is a trained sommelier whom many in Düsseldorf will know from his work at events and on social media under his #asktoni brand. Naturally, he is behind the bistro’s wine menu, which features a selection of unpretentious wines that simply taste great – not just when paired with French fries. In the summer, this place has an open-air night club vibe, with outdoor speakers playing tunes just loud enough to drown out the traffic noise.
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Urban Gorilllas
Urban Gorillas on Oberbilker Allee is a great place for anyone who wants to explore the world of vegan food from a new angle. For the owners, eating vegan is more than a fad. Their mission is to inspire others to change how they eat and to show that plant-based cooking can be delicious, varied and creative. Creativity is also at the heart of the restaurant’s interior design and furnishings. Upon entering, guests find themselves delving into an urban jungle complete with monkeys, pelicans, parrots and lush green foliage. And the range of colours on the walls is nothing compared with the range of choices on the menu! Most dishes are inspired by American fast food classics and include juicy burgers, crunchy wraps, fresh bowl dishes and flavourful finger food. If you have a hankering for a burger, you can pick your favourite vegan patty, which have a great texture and are made from beetroot, carrot or onion. Falafel patties are also available. At this restaurant, you will be spoilt for choice and it will likely take more than one visit to explore all that the menu has to offer.
Bulle Burger
Bulle Burger is all about kitchen craft. The buns are baked in-house, all ingredients are chopped by hand, the patties are homemade and the food is sold and served out of a small window looking out onto Oststrasse. Bulle Burger does not subscribe to the XXL burger model with heaps of extra toppings and drenched in sauce. The focus here is on ingredients of the highest quality. The chefs use exclusively organic meat, fresh vegetables from local farms and crunchy buns that are baked at Bulle Bäckerei, the bakery linked to the restaurant. This sustainable concept really delivers the goods, especially when it comes to flavour. House specials include the cheeseburger and the smash burger, served with a seasonal salad and delicious sauce. All burgers are very much designed in a street food style and can be ordered to take away.
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Text: Visit Düsseldorf
Photos: Visit Düsseldorf/Duy Tran
