Düsseldorf eats in three languages: Rhenish (Sauerbraten, Halve Hahn, Killepitsch), Japanese (ramen, izakaya, konbini on Immermannstrasse) and brewery-tap Altbier. Three days of markets, brewhouse kitchens and Rhine-side counters.
Düsseldorf's only permanent daily market, trading since the 1800s on the Altstadt's southern edge. Around 60 stalls: Rhenish asparagus in spring, cheese from Jean Marie, oysters at Fischhaus Krey. Mon-Fri 08:00-18:00, Sat to 16:00, closed Sunday.
Düsseldorf's oldest restaurant, opened 1628, where Napoleon reportedly ate in 1811. Rhenish kitchen classics: Sauerbraten with Rotkohl and Klösse, Haxe, Himmel un Ähd (black pudding with mash and apple). Mains €18-28, kitchen from 12:00.
Düsseldorf mustard has been milled here since 1726; Löwensenf's extra-hot ABB variety is the city's condiment signature. The Altstadt shop stacks stoneware crocks and offers spoon tastings of horseradish, honey and Altbier mustards.
The 500m stretch behind the Hauptbahnhof holds Japan's largest food footprint in continental Europe: Takumi ramen shops, Nasca izakaya, Shochu Bar, and Shochiku Dayoshi bakery. Ramen bowls €12-16, most counters seat 20 and don't take bookings.
The Altstadt's most traditional brewhouse, brewing on-site since 1862. Alt is drawn from wooden casks into 0.25l cylinders and replaced automatically by the aproned Köbes until you rest a beermat on the glass. Opens 10:00 daily.
The Altstadt's youngest Alt brewery, opened 2010 on Kurze Strasse, with a glass-walled brewhouse behind the standing bar. Serves a lighter, less bitter Alt than Uerige plus a proper Halve Hahn: rye roll, thick Gouda, mustard and raw onion rings.
Family-run since 1838 on Oststrasse, the oldest continuously operating Alt brewery in the city and the only major one outside the Altstadt. The Latzenbier and the Sauerbraten mit Rosinensauce are the two things regulars come for. Kitchen 11:30-23:00.
Opened 1983 on Oststrasse, the restaurant that started Düsseldorf's ramen culture, still run by the same Osaka family. No reservations, cash-friendly, 40 seats and a permanent evening queue for shoyu ramen and gyoza. Closed Tuesdays.
The neighbourhood market of Unterbilk, the district locals call Little Paris. Wednesday and Saturday 08:00-13:00: regional bakers, a Dutch cheese van, flower stands, and coffee drunk standing between the stalls on the cobbled square.
Düsseldorf's food-truck culture clusters around the Medienhafen lunch rush: bratwurst, Currywurst mit Pommes rot-weiss and Turkish döner from Bosporus-style grills. Rot-weiss means ketchup and mayonnaise together — the Rhineland default.
A hatch-in-the-wall selling the blood-red herbal liqueur invented in Düsseldorf in 1858 from 98 fruits, berries and herbs at 42%. Locals drink it as a single cold shot standing on the pavement outside Et Kabüffke.
Finish the Runde where Gatzweiler has brewed since 1850. The Köbes keeps chalking strokes on your beermat and refilling until you cover the glass; settle in cash at the table. Traditional Rhenish plates until 22:00.