Dresden Dining, Bars and Pubs

Dresden's local cuisine is what one might describe as hearty: sour roast, potato soup, Christmas stolen—those are but of a few of the typical treats of a Saxon kitchen. Good old, tasty, home-cooked food makes you feel like you're right at home with all you need for the perfect feast.

By the late sequences of the Second World War and due to the constraints of the GDR's economy, the traditional recipes were somewhat simplified. But fortunately, a fresh wind has lifted Dresden's cuisine to brand new heights since reunification! The creative use of spices and the development of various new twists anchored on an old theme (the time-old tradition of Saxon gastronomy) replaced a momentary bland repertoire of local dishes into an undeniably modern, cosmopolitan way of life amongst Dresdeners.

This new approach to cooking is particularly pronounced in the popular Dresdner district of Neustadt. This is a multi-cultural quarter, which seems to have grown into the center of all culinary excursions, due to the density of worthy chefs in the area.

In the Äussere Neustadt (Outer New Town) you will stumble across an array of well-known Dresden bars, such as the Havanna Club Bar, Frank's Bar or Studiobar.

If when you make your appearance in these hot-spots, they are crammed wall to wall, fear not, there is still a vast tally of other taverns to choose from whose credentials are by no means limited to the scope of their happy hour.

Should you have an unquenchable weakness for all things French, don't miss a trip to La Vie en Rose. Also, La Rue is worth its salt. It is set up to mimic a French street, complete with Bistro, restaurant, wine cellar and Creperie. Mind you, Italian fans will not go home empty handed either: the temperamental Ristorante Al Capone, the La Casina Rosa or the bistro-like La Pergola is at your service. Indian food is on the menu in the Scheune Café, and in the Raskolnikoff Restaurant you will be treated to a critic's choice fusion mixture of Russian-international cuisine.

Friendly Turkish establishments selling superb lunch dishes seem to be ten a penny and on every corner (Dueruem, Rothenburger Straße or Baguetterieas, Bag's, Louisenstraße); fans of Spanish Tapas will surely meet their match in El Perro Borracho which is situated in the beautiful Kunsthof.

Innumerable small and large Cafés offer the perfect spot to stay and savor a bite to eat or wake up with a coffee. Many of the taverns have a large variety of breakfast and brunch deals on the menu. To be fair, the requirements of your average 'breakfast-crazy' Dresdener, who swarm into the cafes on a Sunday are by no means easy to satisfy. In the Kontinental, in the Blumenau, the Planwirtschaft or in the Café Reale (with a bit of a Buffet) you can celebrate in style and easily get dragged into Dresden's breakfast culture. Part of the Innere Neustadt is characterized by noble, restored buildings and the ambling mile of the Königstraße. Many tourists love to be here and with good reason. Yet it is not just foreigners who enjoy the city's restaurants, such as the Czech Wenzel - Prager Bierstuben or the fine New California and Dresden's many small Italian restaurants dotted about. You will see many a local out for dinner, drinking Cappuccino, eating great big ice-creams or tourists writing postcards. Both the Schwarzmarktcafé or the Eiscafé Venezia are very enjoyable.

A significant tavern scene has also sprung up in the City Centre. Directly above the Shopping mile Prager Straße is Café Börse, which is mostly overfilled. The Barock is also ideal for the >Apres Shopping recovery process. At Zwinger and Semperoper one finds the exotic Busmann's Brazil alongside various other Cafés. The small restaurants owned by the Art'otel in Maxstraße are particularly well fitted-out, as is the Fischgalerie.

Most would agree that students are primarily a pub-going and hard-drinking species and because of this, the university campus is positively riddled with inexpensive facilities. Most central is probably the ale-house Bierstube in der Neuen Mensa and students can also expect to salivate over Hübner's, Müller's and Café B.Liebig.

Directly between Frauenkirche and Elbe is a further maze of gastronomical highlights. In the short Muenzgasse, one of the oldest lanes of the city, one can dine and stroll in beautiful surroundings. In the Café zur Frauenkirche, you are very close to the famous church and its construction and are also spoilt for choice when it comes to both German and French cuisine. Around the Hilton Hotel, you will find the Crêpe Galerie, the Australian-style Ayers Rock, the historical Kleppereck and the rather elegant Ristorante Rossini.

In the summer time it is most beautiful outside! Luckily, there is a sterling choice of beer gardens and catering with outside facilities. It is nice after a trip with the bicycle to restock on calories or to cool yourself with a Radeberger beer! This is possible among others in the Drachen, in the Lindenschänke or in the Fährgarten Johannstadt. The Kahnaletto is a restaurant which one finds not only on the banks of the river Elbe, but also on it! In the picturesque Villa Marie garden, you can see the river rushing and the famous bridge Blaues Wunder, with exquisite Italian cuisine right next door.

That in Dresden people love to celebrate and eat well is no secret. The Bunte Republik Neustadt is a multi-cultural district party at which you'll get mainly an unstrained mixture of international cuisine. The Elbhangfest is popular amongst young and old alike. All along the river Elbe, you can not only drink wine and tuck in to some decent food, but also enjoy all kinds of distractions. In winter, the Striezelmarkt is beautifully romantic, especially at Christmas and at each second stand one can try all sorts of delicious Saxon specialities, have >you ever tried a Pflaumentoffel?