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Birthday dinner (or other ideas) in Cologne?

Birthday dinner (or other ideas) in Cologne?

Old Feb 23, 2022, 7:21 am
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Birthday dinner (or other ideas) in Cologne?

We have a three week European vacation this summer. Due to some other commitments, we had to change things around. Now instead of a slam dunk birthday for mrs. pbiflyer in Paris, we will be in Cologne on the actual birthday date. I have spent a total of one day in Cologne in the past, so I only know the central area. She is of German decent, so that helps with activities.
We will be in Cologne for three days, so we have a bit of time, including the entire day/night of her birthday.
We will have teens in tow, so no super fancy restaurants. But maybe some special event or dining experience? Birthday falls on a Friday.
Or is there some can't miss special event/tour/experience in Cologne (or the area, we aren't stuck on staying in Cologne for the day)?
Thanks for any advice and insight.
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Old Feb 23, 2022, 1:32 pm
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
We have a three week European vacation this summer. Due to some other commitments, we had to change things around. Now instead of a slam dunk birthday for mrs. pbiflyer in Paris, we will be in Cologne on the actual birthday date. I have spent a total of one day in Cologne in the past, so I only know the central area. She is of German decent, so that helps with activities.
We will be in Cologne for three days, so we have a bit of time, including the entire day/night of her birthday.
We will have teens in tow, so no super fancy restaurants. But maybe some special event or dining experience? Birthday falls on a Friday.
Or is there some can't miss special event/tour/experience in Cologne (or the area, we aren't stuck on staying in Cologne for the day)?
Thanks for any advice and insight.
If the teens are of drinking age (in Cologne that means 16) , try Kleine Glocke (kleine-glocke.de).
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Old Feb 23, 2022, 2:11 pm
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A day out at Phantasialand including the Fantissima dinner show?

never mind - just saw your other post about going to Phantasialand already. Other thought was check back with the Chocolate Museum and see if they restart tours by summer.

Last edited by dbuckho; Feb 23, 2022 at 2:24 pm
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Old Feb 24, 2022, 6:57 am
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Originally Posted by tom tulpe
If the teens are of drinking age (in Cologne that means 16) , try Kleine Glocke (kleine-glocke.de).
My 16 year old son will be thrilled about this. Until he actually tastes the beer. He was bummed that his 18 year old sister could drink in Paris later in the trip. This will make him happy.

Are there spas in the area like in Baden-Baden? Maybe send her to one for her b-day?
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Old Feb 24, 2022, 8:09 am
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
My 16 year old son will be thrilled about this. Until he actually tastes the beer. He was bummed that his 18 year old sister could drink in Paris later in the trip. This will make him happy.

Are there spas in the area like in Baden-Baden? Maybe send her to one for her b-day?
Used to be full of Russians but not so much now I guess.
The Roman-Irish baths (Carasana: Friedrichsbad) are amazing, but also fully (and they mean fully) nude.
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Old Feb 26, 2022, 3:07 pm
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Consider one or two nights at the Grandhotel Bensberg right outside Cologne. A very impressive building and they have a casual Italian restaurant. Nice indoor pool too. All very instagram worthy which most teens will like.
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Old Mar 8, 2022, 5:25 am
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
My 16 year old son will be thrilled about this. Until he actually tastes the beer. He was bummed that his 18 year old sister could drink in Paris later in the trip. This will make him happy.

Are there spas in the area like in Baden-Baden? Maybe send her to one for her b-day?
Concerning the spa: Claudius Therme (https://www.claudius-therme.de/en/) right in Deutz might be an idea. If you want more fun (with the opportunity of a sauna as well), you might consider the Aqualand (https://aqualand.de/) which has a couple of slides and a spa-area as well.
In Bensberg, a little bit outside of Cologne, we have the Mediterana (https://www.mediterana.de/), which is nice, too.

About the restaurant / pub / brewery options: Do you have any limitations about the kind of food or the price?

And for any tour, I would like to provide the following ideas:If you want, feel free to DM me for a more deteilled exchange.
And please do not go to Dsseldorf ... ;-)
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Last edited by Askartus; Mar 8, 2022 at 5:44 am
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Old Mar 8, 2022, 7:09 am
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Thanks for the suggestions. Appreciate the insight.

As far as the dinner, not really a limit. Probably not michelin star price, but expensive is okay.
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Old Mar 8, 2022, 8:46 am
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
As far as the dinner, not really a limit. Probably not michelin star price, but expensive is okay.
OK, so from the top of my head, I would recommend the following restaurants for a nice dinner (I skipped over the obvious ones like all the standard brewhouses and chains):
  • Johann Schfer (https://www.johann-schaefer.de/) for nice beer (own recipe) and good "Gastro Pub" food
  • Gasthaus Scherz (www.scherzrestaurant.de/) for a very decent Vorarlberger (Austrian) cuisine. And austrian wines. Did I mention, that with the age of 16 you are allowed to drink wine here as well?
  • Braustelle Ehrenfeld (www.braustelle.com/) - one of the oldest craft beer breweries in Cologne, also brewing their own and very good version of an "Alt" beer. Good pub food as well.
  • Hansa Stube (https://www.excelsiorhotelernst.com/...r/hanse-stube/) - a more formal (french inspired) dinner experience in the 5star Excelsior hotel (for more pictures of the interior, see here). Very good wine selection.
  • Hardy Kugel (https://www.facebook.com/hardykugel.de) - a franco-german brasserie with interesting southern french dishes and actually a real boules lane inside the restaurant
  • Kintaro (https://www.kintaro.de/) - one of the best japanese restaurants in the county. Run by a japanese sushi chef and his Cologne-born wife sind the early 90s who are very friendly. Many japanese people eat here, which is a good sign. Also Bon Jovi was here ...
  • Limbourg (https://limbourg.restaurant/) - modern cuisine with interesting and quite sophisticated dishes. Very interesting und unusual interior
  • Kabul (Restaurant-Kabul) - One of the few afghan restaurants I know about in our area - very friendly hosts and unusual dishes from a quite unknown cuisine
If a michelin star may be possible: I try to lure people to my neighbourhood into the Cuisine Rademacher (https://la-cuisine-koeln.de/). But this is a very biased recommendation, cause we go there once a month. And Chef Marlon and I exchange Whisky and other spirits ...

Finally: if you do not hesitate to take the subway for a little ride (20 - 25 min from the city center, line 9 to Knigsforst): Our second home is the Rather Hof in Rath/Heumar (Rather Hof) which is a very good pub with franconian beers served in an ice cold stone mug. And good prices, since it is no in the city center. There have been times, when we went there 3 times a week ...

We do often eat in restaurants in the region (Cologne, Bonn, Dsseldorf, Aachen, ...) so I do have more restaurants on my list (both good and bad), so again: Feel free to ask, I am happy to help.
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Last edited by Askartus; Mar 8, 2022 at 8:52 am
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Old Mar 8, 2022, 3:03 pm
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This is perfect! Thanks.
We are not telling our 16 year old son the drinking age until we get there.

BTW, strangely enough I am a fan of a (currently) division 2 club, Darmstadt 98!
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Old Mar 25, 2022, 9:21 am
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One more request, well two actually.

Best place for schnitzel? My daughter was disappointed with the place we went to in Munich.
Best Beer Garden? I like the Augustinekeller in Munich.

Thanks!
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Old Mar 27, 2022, 2:47 am
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Regarding the Schnitzel: Do you want an original austrian (i.e. veal) Schnitzel? Or what we germans make out of it? (Our austrian friends are always shoked when they see what passes as a Schnitzel here) ;-)

So I have 2 options:
- Oma Kleinmanns (https://www.beiomakleinmann.de/). Located in one of the party areas in Cologne (Zlpicher Strae), it is a quite old restaurant which earned its reputation for its good value-for-money Schnitzel. The namesake granny (Oma = Grandmother) has unfortunately passed away some years ago, but the restaurant is still very popular. I am not sure, if they have veal available - most Schnitzel there shall be made from pork.
- Grubers Restaurant (https://www.grubersrestaurant.de/). As I mentioned before, the chef there was born in Vorlarlberg, Austria. And of course they have great veal Schnitzel.

For a beer hall ... this is a tough one, as most of the restaurants attached to a Klsch brewerey are smaller than the typical "Hofbruhaus"-style beer hall or the Augustiner in Munich.
The one that comes quite near to that experience is "Gaffel am Dom" (https://gaffelamdom.de/en/homepage/) right next to the main train station and the "Klner Dom". On Fridays you might want to reserve, because there is an event called "Klsche Tn im Gaffel am Dom". This is a sing-along concert, where the whole restaurant will sing Cologne-style songs together (see https://gaffelamdom.de/veranstaltungen/#BjoernHeuser).

Some Klsch-restaurants / -bars we like (but are way smaller then a beer hall usually is) are
- Peters Brauhaus (https://peters-brauhaus.de/en/) right in the middle of the old town. Small, friendly, good Klsch, ok food.
- Malzmhle (https://brauereizurmalzmuehle.de/?lang=en) a few steps east of the old town. Was my favourite Klsch "Brauhaus", but turned a little bit touristy over the last years. They have a quite interesting craft beer bar next to the restaurant.
- Hellers Brauhaus (https://www.hellers.koeln/brauhaus-hellers/) again in the "Kwatier Latng", on of the party areas, like the "Oma Kleinmanns". Nice brewhouse, ok food and a good variaty of beers (they also brew an Dsseldorf-style Alt there, which is a brave thing to do in Cologne).

If you would like to experience an unusual and not touristy experience while drinking a nice Klsch:
- Frh im Veedel (https://www.fruehemveedel.de/). Do NOT go to the main Frh brewhouse right in the middle of the town - all tourists are lured there and almost every tourist-group and bachelor party goes there. The "Frh im Veedel" ("Veedel" is the cologne term for "quarter" or "neighbourhood") is one of the older brewhouses with a unique feeling. Especially when you just sit in the old wooden benches opposing the counter, drink a Klsch and talk with the locals.
- Braustelle (Home/Neuigkeiten - Helios-Braustelle) in Ehrenfeld. They started brewing craft beer even before it was known as "craft beer" in Germany. Peter Esser owns this, the smallest brewery of Cologne and he also brews a (very good) Alt there. And he is famous for experimenting with cask-finishes and unsual ingrediences. The food is quite good and, since it is a small subway ride from the city (or a short walk), not as expensive as in the city center.
- Lommerzheim (Lommerzheim ? ..fr manche mehr als eine Gaststtte..) in Deutz. Located on the "schl sick" ("the wrong side") of the town, but one of the most famous pubs in town. We do actually have a song about this one. When Bill Clinton was attending the G7 summit, he wanted to visit here, but Mr. Lommerzheim did not want to close down for a couple of days for the Secret Service to check everything there. So Bill Clinton went to the Malzmhle. After Mr. and Mrs. Lommerzheim died, the interiour of the bar was bound to be preserverd in a museum, but Pffgen (another Klsch brewery) renovated the whole place, but preserverd the vibe of the place, and reopened. Their menu is quite small, but the pork chop is amazing. And they have a nice cellar, where you can sit, too.

For all recommendations: To ensure that you get a table, better reserve. The restaurants are quite small and popular. And be prepared that you might get seated next to strangers (or as we call it: Friends you havent met yet).
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Old Mar 28, 2022, 7:42 am
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Thanks again for the great list.
As far as beer gardens, while I said I like Augustiner, it was not for the size, more just the ambiance. Smaller is fine, actually even preferred. Just a nice outdoor place to sit and have a beer in a garden like atmosphere.
And I know this is blasphemy in the area, but do most places serve a dunkel beer as well as Klsch?
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Old Mar 28, 2022, 12:27 pm
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
Thanks again for the great list.
As far as beer gardens, while I said I like Augustiner, it was not for the size, more just the ambiance. Smaller is fine, actually even preferred. Just a nice outdoor place to sit and have a beer in a garden like atmosphere.
And I know this is blasphemy in the area, but do most places serve a dunkel beer as well as Klsch?
Youre very welcome.

For a visit to an open air beer garden, I would suggest:
- Johann Schfer Biergarten (https://www.johann-schaefer.de/biergarten) right next to the Rhein next to the modernized area of the former harbour
- Hellers Volksgarten (https://www.hellers.koeln/volksgarten-hellers/) in the southern part of the city in the middle of a park. Very famous and very crowded even in bad weather.
- Geibockheim Kln (https://www.geissbockheim-fckoeln.de/) which is in fact next to the training facility of FC Kln. Whose logo shows a goat or a "Geibock", hence the name. If you fancy a stadium tour, this might be a place to end the day.
- In Ehrenfeld we like to visit the Herbrands (https://herbrands.de/?page_id=59), a very established venue with a rather large beer garden
- Again on the "schl sick" (the "wrong side")we have the Snner Biergarten (https://www.suenner-keller.de/) adjacent to on of the oldest Klsch breweries where they also do brewery tours.
- And Again the "Rather Hof" which has a nice, small, quiet garden where one can enjoy a Franconian beer like Fssla. Or a Klsch. Or both.

For darker beers like Alt, Dark Lager or Dark Weizen (Dunkelweizen) your best chances are at Hellers, Rather Hof or Braustelle.
One of the disadvantages of the cologne beer scene is, that most of the bars / restaurants are limited about their choice of beers because they are subsidised by a Klsch-only brewery. And in that case you will only find beers from that brewery on the menu plus a "Weizen" and sometimes a non-alcoholic-beer option.
It is getting better (Snner for example do brew a darker, malty beer sometimes), but it is definitly not normal to have a range of beers, yet.
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Old Apr 1, 2022, 1:53 pm
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Originally Posted by tom tulpe
If the teens are of drinking age (in Cologne that means 16) , try Kleine Glocke (kleine-glocke.de).
Ate there two nights ago (on Schnitzel Wednesday) and it was quite good. Had a few Klsch's, but were still a little full from the night before at Frh.
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