The Gaffel Haus

Sun 21 Oct 2007

Finally we find space to write about the great German sausage extravaganza at the Gaffel Haus in Köln!

Our first evening meal in Cologne ended up being at (of all places) a Greek restaurant called Athens. It was a good, filling and amazingly cheap meal: lots of grilled meat, but we did start off with some pickled octopus and ordered some salad to pretend we were being healthy.

But we weren't in Germany to eat Greek food and as we were having beers in the Gaffel Haus anyway, it was a convenient spot for some dinner.

The staff were really friendly: they peeled us away from the bar and showed us to a table and gave us the sausage-laden menus. As I always think you should eat the local food when you're away (after all, if you're not going to do that you might as well stay at home) so I headed straight for the Köln specialties. As I love black pudding it didn't take long for me to decide on the trio of sausages: blutwurst, mettwurst and leberwurst. Naturally served with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Hmm, all the way to Germany for bangers and mash?

As you can tell, the presentation was not frilly, but the sausages all passed taste-test muster. The blutwurst (far left), which I ate first, was probably the best sausage: rich, good flavour and not laden with fat, but I also really enjoyed the other two sausages. While I only ate a token amount of the sauerkraut, the mash was pretty good too.

Andy opted for a huge 250g sausage, complete with very good sauté potatoes and sauerkraut.

After this, we were rather full of sausage and potatoes! However, as a cheap, filling, warming and beer absorbing meal you can't go far wrong with the food at the Gaffel Haus. It's not a slick experience and you're unlikely to be overwhelmed by the variety and sophistication of the food, but you will feel welcomed and well fed.

One final tip: the Gaffel Haus is in the Alter Markt which means it gets incredibly busy. We tried to go on Saturday night and couldn't even get past the door! However, nip in early on a Sunday evening and it's an altogether more civilised experience!

tagged with: cologne, köln, koeln, gaffel, sausage, germany

1. Athens Restaurant, Heumarkt 2, 50667 Köln, phone: + 49 (0)221 24 63 60
2. Gaffel Haus, Alter Markt 20-22, 50667 Köln, phone: +49 (0) 221 2 57 76 92

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