Lüneburg Restaurants: Our Personal Picks & Tips

General Info About Dining in Lüneburg

Before we dive in, here are a few things worth knowing:

Restaurants in Lüneburg fill up fast. After all, everyone needs to refuel after a day of sightseeing in Lüneburg. So if you have a specific place in mind for dinner, always book ahead.

Especially on Friday and Saturday evenings, or if you’re going with a larger group, we’d strongly recommend calling ahead or reserving online. Also keep in mind that many Lüneburg restaurants are closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Credit cards aren’t accepted everywhere. We’ve noted throughout where cash is the only option.

German Cuisine

Mälzer Brau- und Tafelhaus

The Mälzer brewpub is one of the most well-known spots in Lüneburg — and for the beer alone, a visit is absolutely worth it.

The house-brewed beer is fantastic. The atmosphere is cozy and rustic, as you’d expect from a brewpub, and in summer there’s a sunny outdoor seating area right in front of the Chamber of Commerce on Am Sande.

Unfortunately, the food is a different story: soggy schnitzels that taste like they were fried twice and then dunked in water; fried potatoes that have apparently never seen a frying pan in their lives. Such a shame.

The service is best forgotten too. If you have any special requests — allergies, dietary restrictions — you’re on your own.

We still happily stop in for a cold beer, because that part is genuinely great. But we won’t be putting ourselves through the food again.

• Hours: Daily 11:00 AM to midnight (Saturday also breakfast buffet from 9:00 AM)
• Address: Heiligengeiststraße 43
• Website: Brauhaus Mälzer

FRIEDAs am Wasserturm

Friedas am Wasserturm serves upscale German cuisine with a menu that changes regularly, always featuring seasonal and often regional specialties.

Once a month on a Wednesday evening, they host what’s called the Genuss-Club. For €34.90 per person, you get to sample the new menu through small tasting portions of each dish — wine pairing included.

We went for the Genuss-Club and can highly recommend it.

The ambiance is on the elegant side, and the prices reflect that.

• Hours: Tuesday to Saturday: 11:30 AM to 11:00 PM (closed Sunday and Monday)
• Address: Am Wasserturm 15
• Website: Friedas am Wasserturm

International Cuisine

Viscvle

Viscvle (pronounced “Viscule”) is one of our absolute favorites among the best restaurants in Lüneburg.

With its open kitchen, exposed steel beams, and sharp design aesthetic, Viscule would fit right in in New York or Berlin. Luckily for us, it’s right here in charming Lüneburg.

The cuisine is modern with strong influences from South African cooking — the owners describe it themselves as a “Capetonian Kitchen.”

We were seriously impressed — by both the food and the outstanding service.

• Hours: Monday to Friday: 5:30 PM to midnight; Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 AM until the last guests leave
• Address: Salzstraße am Wasser 4
• Website: Viscvle

Jahala

When we moved to Lüneburg, we kept saying: “What this place is missing is a good shawarma and falafel spot.” As if they’d heard us, Jahala opened just a few months later.

This small eatery right on Am Sande serves delicious Arabic food: shawarma, falafel, hummus, baba ghanoush, and more.

Everything is super tasty and really affordable. We keep coming back.

Hours: Daily 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Address: Am Sande 29

Italian Cuisine

Trattoria de Flaviis

Trattoria de Flaviis is hands down the best Italian restaurant in Lüneburg. At least, we haven’t found a better one.

If you want authentic Italian food, this is the place. One look at the menu makes it clear that nothing has been adapted for local tastes. There’s no Hawaiian pizza, and Bolognese is served the traditional way — with tagliatelle, not spaghetti.

Every pizza and pasta dish we’ve tried has simply been perfect, and alongside the classics there are plenty of more creative variations too.

Prices are genuinely fair for the quality on offer. Even better value is the lunch menu, where every pizza is €9 and every pasta dish is €8.

• Hours: Monday to Saturday 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM and 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM (closed Sunday)
• Address: Am Stintmarkt 2
• Website: Trattoria de Flaviis

L’Osteria

L’Osteria is chain dining done reasonably well. There are now around 100 locations of this pizzeria across Germany, and Lüneburg has its own.

The pizzas are enormous, though a little sparse on toppings. You can order a pizza with two different toppings — one on each half — and split it with someone, which is a nice touch.

Taste-wise, the pizza is pretty decent. There are also a few pasta dishes on the menu.

• Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:30 AM to 11:00 PM; Friday and Saturday 11:30 AM to midnight;
  Sunday: 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM
• Address: An den Reeperbahnen 2
• Website: L’Osteria Lüneburg

La Taverna

At first glance, La Taverna looks like a perfectly ordinary Italian restaurant — but for vegans, it might just be paradise.

All the classic Italian dishes are available here in both their traditional form and a vegan version: pizza, lasagna, spaghetti carbonara, Bolognese — you name it.

Otherwise, the food is solid but nothing out of the ordinary — a typical Italian spot.

• Hours: Daily 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM
• Address: Am Stintmarkt 12

Ristorante Buona Sera

Buona Sera is a cozy Italian restaurant housed in an old half-timbered building.

The kitchen leans toward crowd-pleasing Italian — the pizza was okay but not outstanding. Overall though, it’s a solid option.

• Hours: Wednesday to Monday 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM (closed Tuesday)
• Address: Rosenstraße 4
• Website: Ristorante Buona Sera

Asian Cuisine

Good Asian restaurants are unfortunately hard to come by in Lüneburg. We might be a bit demanding on this front, but so far none of the Asian spots in town have truly blown us away.

Buddha Thai & Asian Food Lounge

Buddha is the only Thai restaurant in Lüneburg. The interior is fairly dark, with lots of wood and — naturally — plenty of Buddha figures.

The food was decent. It’s not entirely authentic Thai cuisine, but that’s probably just not realistic to expect in a city this size.

You can tell the restaurant is genuinely run by Thai people, which shows. We’d recommend Buddha without hesitation.

• Hours: Wednesday to Monday: 11:45 AM to 2:45 PM and 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM; closed Tuesday
• Address: Am Stintmarkt 15a
• Website: Buddha Lüneburg

India House

India House is a surprisingly good Indian restaurant in Lüneburg’s historic center. By the way, there are also some lovely hotels in Lüneburg nearby.

Despite the restaurant being quite large, it’s always packed — which is a great sign in itself.

The food is really good and fairly authentic, with a large selection for vegetarians and vegans too. Definitely reserve a table for dinner.

• Hours: Daily 11:30 AM to 11:00 PM
• Address: Heiligengeiststraße 9
• Website: India House

Sushibar Lüneburg

There are quite a few sushi spots in Lüneburg, but quality-wise most of them are honestly nothing to write home about.

In our opinion, this small sushi bar in the old quarter is the best place for sushi in Lüneburg. The fish is fresh and the quality is consistent. Whenever we get a sushi craving, this is always our first stop.

• Hours: Monday to Saturday: 11:30 AM to 11:00 PM; Sunday: 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM
• Address: Schröderstraße 8
• Website: Sushibar Lüneburg

Quán Ăn Ngon

Quán Ăn Ngon is a Vietnamese restaurant in the historic district. It’s nicely decorated and serves the typical classics of Vietnamese cuisine.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite win us over taste-wise. The phở (the classic Vietnamese noodle soup) was relatively bland, and the bún bò Nam Bộ didn’t really impress us either.

Cash only — card payment is not accepted at this restaurant.

• Hours: Monday to Wednesday: 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM; Thursday to Saturday: 11:00 AM to 10:30 PM; Sunday: 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM
• Address: Obere Schrangenstraße 1
• Website: Quán Ăn Ngon

Burgers

The burger scene has made its way to Lüneburg too — and we’re very happy about that.

Peter Pane

Peter Pane is a burger chain that started in Hamburg and has since expanded across Germany.

The burgers are decent, though we didn’t enjoy them quite as much as some of the other options in town.

• Hours: Daily from 11:00 AM until the last guest leaves
• Address: Schrangenplatz
• Website: Peter Pane Lüneburg

Cafés

Annas Café

Annas Café gets rave reviews everywhere, so of course we had to check it out ourselves.

We went for lunch and had a burger and a vegan tarte flambée. The burger was okay; the vegan tarte flambée tasted a little odd, which was probably down to the vegan crème fraîche substitute.

We’ll definitely be back though — especially the breakfast menu sounds really tempting.

• Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, closed Thursday
• Address: Salzstraße Am Wasser 6
• Website: Annas Café

Bell and Beans

Bell and Beans is a classic coffee shop — but with way more heart and personality than any big chain can offer.

Alongside great coffee, they serve homemade cakes, bagels, and breakfast. A really lovely spot to start the day.

• Hours: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Saturday from 9:00 AM and Sunday from 10:00 AM), closed Monday
• Address: Glockenstraße 1a