Frankfurter Würstchen

Frankfurt institution founded in 1894, still best known for the Rindswurst (all-beef sausage) that Karl Gref created so Jewish Frankfurters could eat a hot sausage at the Messe. The factory in the Ostend produces around 8 tons of Rindswurst a week alongside classic Frankfurter Würstchen under the city's IGP rules — finely emulsified pork, beech-smoked in the traditional Frankfurt method. The shop at Hanauer Landstraße serves the sausages hot over the counter with mustard and a bread roll, the way commuters have eaten them for over a century.

The Kleinmarkthalle is Frankfurt's covered market hall, open since 1954 on Hasengasse in the city center. Around 150 stalls sell meat, fish, cheese, produce, and prepared food. Several butcher stalls specialize in Frankfurter Würstchen and will poach them on the spot, handing them over in a paper wrapper with a bread roll and mustard. This is the most direct way to eat them in Frankfurt: standing at the counter, no plate, no cutlery. The market draws both professional chefs doing their morning shopping and office workers picking up lunch. Hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday until 4pm.

Zum Gemalten Haus has been serving apple wine and Frankfurt kitchen in Sachsenhausen since 1908. The exterior is covered in painted murals — the origin of the name. Inside, long communal tables, ceramic apple wine jugs, and a menu built around the classics: Handkäse mit Musik, Grüne Soße, Schnitzel, and Frankfurter Würstchen poached and served with bread and mustard. The clientele is a mix of locals from the quarter and visitors who came specifically for the Äppelwoi experience. The kitchen does not deviate from the Frankfurt canon. Open every day, lunch and dinner. No reservations taken — you queue or share a table.