Falstaff Barguide 2024: These are the best bars and bartenders in Germany
Perfect cocktails, ice-cold long drinks and eloquent wine selections - Falstaff presents the best of the German bar scene.
With over 1,200 entries and 61 award winners from various categories, the Falstaff Barguide 2024 is the most comprehensive to date. The best of the best result both from the 16,000 votes of a passionate Falstaff community and the knowledge of our expert jury.
Numerous awards were presented in various categories, including "Bartender of the Year", "New Opening of the Year" and many more. The best bars in the country are divided into cocktail and wine bars. Falstaff congratulates all award winners 2024!
TO THE COMPLETE GUIDE
Top reviews
THE BEST COCKTAIL BARS
THE BEST WINE BARS
Host of the year
Willi Schöllmann, "Schoellmanns", Ofenburg
Unnoticed by many, the Offenburg restaurateur has transformed his hometown into a mecca for cocktail connoisseurs. However, he himself was never drawn away - probably because his success offered no opportunity to do so. The centrepiece of his ever-expanding empire is "Schoellmanns," where he offers cocktails made from local fruit brandies.
Barmaid of the year
Roxanne Helm, "Provocateur Bar", Berlin
Before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, the native of Cologne was taken on at Berlin's "Provocateur" and worked her way up to Deputy Bar Manager in no time at all. The trained hotel manageress stubbornly resists the cliché that in the bar a woman is responsible for service and a man for preparing the drinks.
Bartender of the year
Sven Goller, "the black sheep", Bamberg
With verve and innovation, Sven Goller has expanded the excellent reputation that the tranquil Bamberg has so far enjoyed, primarily among beer lovers and now to include the attention of cocktail fans. For his cocktail creations he relies on regional products such as Obstler, Rauchbier and juice from local orchards.
Most innovative bartender
Robin Lühert, "Esprit", Göttingen
Robin Lühert started out as a hotel clerk, but his enthusiasm for spirits inevitably led him behind the counter. The 34-year-old considers himself an old-school bartender, but that doesn't stop him from trend-setting creations like the Around the World, made with cognac and agave brandy. With this, he won the German Cocktail Championship in 2022.
Rookie bartender of the year
Yuto Nagasawa, "Hideaway", Dusseldorf
Unfortunately, when the celebrated Japanese mixologist arrived in Düsseldorf in 2021, the owner of the bar he had emigrated for died shortly afterwards. But Nagasawa's German following had already grown to such an extent within this short time that it was easy to find financiers for his dream of independence.
Bar team of the year
"Schumann's Bar am Hofgarten", Munich
The callousness of the service staff at "Schumann's" is notorious, yet there is probably no better bar in Germany, let alone a more authentic one - not least because of the white-coated team, most of whom are regulars: Silvio del Favero, for example, who started with Schumann on Maximilianstrasse back in 1982, is still there today.
Best Cocktail Bars 2024
American Bar
"Le Lion", Hamburg
Since 2011 the Lion Bar has a permanent place among the "50 best bars in the world". Bartender Jörg Meyer and his team complement the excellent range of cocktails and champagne to order with almost any guest request. A doorbell, which you press to ask for entry, and the elegant interior evoke the 1920s.
"Les Fleurs du Mal", Munich
When the whole industry had fallen prey to the belief that no bar could get by without a remmidemmi, Charles Schumann opened his ultrapuristic second bar. A single bartender at a nine-meter-long walnut bar - which the boss himself says he tracked down in the U.S. - is all that's needed.
Hotel bar
"Ory at the Mandarin Oriental", Munich
The undisputed eye-catcher of this atmospherically gloomy hotel venue is the gold-coloured bar, above which the ceiling lighting unfolds like a fan. The drinks are no less sophisticated, making Ory Bar a place where locals can be found in the same variety as travellers.
Restaurant bar
"Hygge", Hamburg
Named after the Danish word for cosiness, the "Hygge" in Hamburg's thatched-roof house represents an island of tranquility in the midst of the big-city hustle and bustle. Open wooden beams, heavy leather sofas and open fires create a feel-good atmosphere just like at a good friend's house. The colder the world outside, the cosier it is in here.
New opening of the year
"Le Jardin", Berlin
Yannik Walter had actually announced his retirement as a bartender in 2022. The trained communications designer wanted to start his own agency - which doesn't seem far-fetched if you're familiar with the ex-Golvet bar chef's self-designed cocktail cards. Fortunately for the industry, the offer of his own bar near Torstrasse intervened.
Bar Jewel
"Black White Bar", Stuttgart
The "Schwarz Weiß Bar" on Wilhelmsplatz is one of the most legendary and well-known bars in Stuttgart. Nowhere else in the city is so much emphasis placed on creative recipes, high-quality spirits and their perfect staging. The bar is hardly bigger than a living room - and yet it is a fundamental part of the German bar landscape.
The best wine bars 2024
New opening wine bar
"S.Zimmer", Munich
Name giver Sascha Zimmer has long dreamed of his own restaurant with wine bar. He brought the young chef duo Sepehr Alipour and Jonas Ulbrich on board for the brilliant realisation. The large selection of Super Tuscans from a wide variety of vintages has little competition in Munich, and Zimmer makes even the most expensive of his wines available to his guests by the glass.
Classic wine bar
"Wine | Culture | Bar", Dresden
Silvio Nitzsche, one of Germany's most renowned sommeliers, fulfilled his lifelong dream in 2007 with this wine bar. His "wine book" includes over a thousand items. The brilliant selection does not even manage to outshine the excellent cheese offer. For the convenience of many, there is also a clearer daily menu with open wines.
Wine bar in a wine shop
"Glouglou", Würzburg
When sommelière Anne-Kathrin Lengemann decided to go into business for herself in 2019, she borrowed the name for her restaurant from French. Translated into German, it simply means "gluck-gluck". Understatement? Yes! Lengemann's assortment boasts a considerable variety of European wines, with a focus on organic wines.
Wine restaurant / bistro
"Widow's Ball", Hamburg
Upholstered armchairs, dim lighting and a white marble counter - atmospherically, the "Widow's Ball" revives the Golden Twenties. Correspondingly unexpected is the modern approach, according to which operator and sommelier Axel Bode mainly puts wines on the menu that come from biodynamic, organic and near-natural farms.
Natural Wine Bar
"Jaja", Berlin
After the founding couple changed careers due to corona, former regular Hannes Broecker took over this natural wine paradise and expanded the business to include a restaurant. This change has not diminished the success. No wonder; Broecker gets the natural wine from the wine shop opened by his two predecessors.
