#ZubzzDotComTakesGermany!
First international review of the year - Hello Germany!
Your girl (as always, I mean me) started the year with a trip to Köln - English name Cologne - the fourth most populous city in Germany. It was a multi-purpose trip - I had a really special someone to visit aaand I’ve been planning to do my first out-of-Africa review (If you remember, I did Lagos Nigeria last year) for a while.
It’s still really cold so now might not have been the best time to visit, but with the plans I have for you guys this year, it was now or never .
My trip consisted of a lot of other activities, for example I got to visit the Cathedral, which is so beautiful and gives serious Harry Potter vibes but naturally I prioritized the food (not just German Cuisine, in general), and even though I missed out on all the planned visits to a big part of German culture - Beer Gardens (rain, too tired, plans, it’s too cold, still tired, freezing), I still managed to get a list of 10 restaurants that deserve your coins.
So! In no particular order, these are my 10 must-tries and must-visit restaurants in the beautiful city of Cologne:
1.Breakfast By The River
📍Art’Otel
Breakfast with a view. The Rhine River may not be the prettiest river during this time of the year but I was told it’s a whole lot prettier when the sun comes out. I like the view anyway, and the hotel is so pretty on it’s own it makes up for whatever the lake may be lacking. Breakfast is €18.50 which is about ¢115-¢130. It was worth the price - there were a lot of options + any buffet that has good salmon is an automatic yes to me. Really friendly staff too, and most speak English.
2. Currywurst with Fries
📍Cafe Krone, Rhein Center
So 4 of my reviews came from the Rhein Center(It’s a mall). I know, it looks just like our sausage khebabs doesn’t it? It’s similar, but it tastes so good. Could be because of where I went too(maybe the chef is super talented) but it was so soft without being mushy and well spiced - straight fire😍. My cocktail was Prosecco based - name: Hugo. Perfect lunch pairing. The currywurst was €7.80(about ¢40-¢45) and the Hugo cocktail €5.50(¢35-¢40). Apparently currywursts are street food, and you can get them at just about any restaurant or street corner.
3. Truffle Pasta, Carpaccio and 1L Wine Bottles
📍Vapiano
First of all, the standard wine bottle is 750ml, those are the ones we have in Accra(Pointing it out because it turns out most people don’t know this). I don’t know why a 1L wine bottle is such a source of joy but it really is.
From the pictures you can see the restaurant is a type of serve-yourself, but more like a pick-what-you-want-wait-for-it-to-be-done-and-take-it-to-your-table-yourself. You pick your type of pasta, pick your salad ingredients, pick basically everything (there is a set menu though). They’ve pretty much eliminated the use of waitstaff - I wonder if something like that would work in Ghana. Anyway the food! That truffle pasta was so good. The carpaccio was okayyyy, but that extra 250ml of wine was appreciated (don’t listen to me, 2 glasses in and I was done). If your trip isn’t a solo one and you’re looking for somewhere nice to go, it’s a first choice pick. Prices are decent too, my pasta cost almost €10 (¢65-¢70) and the wine was somewhere around €24 (¢160-¢170). Worth a solo trip too btw, I had a great time on my own.
4. Noodles
📍Jade, Rhein Center Food Court
I loooove noodles. Noodle soup, fried noodles, noodles of all types. I went to get a power bank at the Rhein Center and somehow (*fake gasp*) ended up in the food court. Jade caught my eye first because noodlesss, but then I realized they had all these options for literally next to nothing. All this (noodles + rolls) cost me a little around…wait for it….€3. I knowwww. Plus the noodles were so nice and the spring rolls were so hot and crispyyy. They have these super cheap food packages, so much for so little. I was hoping I’d find another branch somewhere close to my hotel but no such luck. German Front Yard vibes, am I right?
5. Schnitzels und Bier
📍Reissdorf em Keuchhof
That’s German for schnitzel and beer. Before my trip, one of my favorite Germans gave me a list of must-trys which included schnitzels. I absolutely love the name 😂. Sh-knit-zel.I had dinner with an amazing German family at an original German restaurant and I finally got to try it - it really does live up to the hype.
It’s a coated(breaded) and deep fried flat slice of meat(usually pork) with sauce. So goooood😩.
Even though I didn’t get to try any beer gardens I did get to “try” 4 glasses of authentic Cologne beer(kölsch) straight from the brewery. I don’t even like beer but I kept filling my glass because this was good. This night was one of the highlights of my trip - super fun. The cutest part was when the food came and I didn’t even ask but everyone somehow came to the conclusion that they would wait for me to take pictures of their food before eating. I was so emotional because wow, how sweet 🥺).
You definitely need at least one authentic German dining experience on your trip and this is definitely the place.
Prost! (that’s German for cheers and yes, I speak it now)
6. Subway!
📍Rhein Center Food Court
Sandwiches for days 😍. Most people already know who they are but for those who don’t, they’re a sandwich franchise known for their long (and good) sandwiches. Basically fast food, not gourmet sandwiches. Their prices are decent too, I got a chicken terriyaki sub for around €4 (about ¢30) and they have vegan options like the one being made in the picture. I think Subway would do really well in Accra, don’t you think? Fingers crossed one opens very soon 🤞🏾
(If any investor is looking for a franchise to invest in, I just gave you one. Free sandwiches for life. )
7. Sushi
📍Sushi Welt, Rhein Food Court
Just like our newly opened sushi place, Sushi Welt’s concept revolves around already made sushi on a conveyor belt. There is a full list of the options available color-coded by meat used (seafood, chicken, no meat just vegetables etc). You pick what you want and pay at the end of your meal. Sushi prices start from €2.5 for 2 rolls. The rolls are really big, so pro - the average person will get full on 4/6 rolls, and con - you mouth needs to be able to stretch pretty wide. Anything that cuts wait time by literally 100% automatically has my vote but the sushi in general is really nice.
8. Extra Large Pizzas
📍L’Osteria
The plan was to see a movie and get lunch after, but someone read the times wrong and when we got there the cinema was closed. Luckily L’Osteria was right opposite it so lunch became the main plan. It’s such a cute place, and they were the first place I went to that had both a German menu for residents and an English one for tourists. Can’t tell you how appreciated that was. We ordered a shrimp pizza (it was about €12(about ¢80) and it was huge! The picture is just half the pizza - the other half went on a second plate(and those are regular sized utensils).
They were a little skint with the toppings though, I could count the shrimp on it, but still, very impressive.
9. Pretzels
📍Merzenich
Also on the list - Pretzels! I used to eat those tiny bite-sized pretzels in the past and I wasn’t really a fan so this wasn’t a priority. Merzenich is about 2 minutes from the entrance of the cathedral and they have multiple bakery stands all under the same roof. Even though I picked the first one that caught my eye and ran away (because the man selling them was laughing at me with his cohorts in German because I asked for a “pretzel” when there are so many different types) I picked really well - it was delicious! It didn’t taste anything like those hard little salty ones, quite the opposite. I’m now a big fan of pretzels.
10. Doner Kebab
📍Instanbul Restaurant
Walking back to my hotel I came across this Turkish restaurant. Doner kebabs aren’t German but they’re definitely a German favourite so I just had to. The owners(I’m assuming) were so nice and one even invited me to come back and eat there later. I love owners that go above and beyond.
I feel like it’s obvious from the picture but let me just sayyyy, it was so good. That first bite hit the right spot - it was such a flavour overload(in a good good way). I mean, I picked my vegetables and my sauce so I’d say I deserve at least 40% of the credit wouldn’t you agree? Jokes aside, tastewise it’s part of my top 3.
…now if I could just find a place in Ghana that makes it this good, my life would be set(any suggestions?).
Honorable mentions because uber necessary:
#1 My hotel - Azimut Cologne
I stayed at Azimut for the first part of my trip and it was really decent - Very quiet and clean place. I didn’t try anything else from their bistro but the breakfast buffet was really good. €15 per head, all inclusive.
and
#2 Lieferando
Lieferando is a German food delivery app. You input your location and it gives you a list of restaurants that can deliver to you (they handle the orders). I got duck in sweet and sour sauce and pizza from dominos😊. There’s both a website and an app and they accept cash for some restaurants (you’ll have to check), PayPal, visa and a few other modes of payment I’m not too familiar with (all cashless).
So that’s my 10 day trip summarized into 5000 words.
It was a little bit hard navigating certain areas with not a single word of German under my belt buttt I would say I did pretty well😬. If I’m going to make this a permanent thing I either need a multilingual partner orrr I need to sign up for some classes. Generally it was a fun trip and I can’t wait for you people to see where we’re doing next😊.
Xx, Zubzz