In Short
We can certainly recommend the cute Café Melt. It is the perfect spot for a great breakfast, a small lunch or a creamy scoop of ice cream close to the harbor. The beautiful decoration and atmosphere together with good service made our stay very enjoyable. On some days, you can get a table without reservation, if you are lucky. However, we recommend you reserve your table upfront.
A Cute Little Café at the Perfect Location
Café Melt is located in a unique location. If you feel like an aromatic coffee or a juicy piece of cake after a visit to the Elbphilharmonie or the Miniatur Wunderland, then Café Melt is your place. On hot days you can enjoy a delicious scoop of ice cream inside the café or on the harbor promenade. Café Melt is the first place you come across when you walk from the harbor towards the city center. Accordingly, it is a great address for coffee/cake and ice cream when the classic “snack hunger” is hunting you. However, the team of the café also provides nutritious breakfasts to get you ready to explore Hamburg.
The restaurant has an outdoor area on the sidewalk and a cute indoor area. Outside, it can be a little noisy, since the tables and benches are right on the sidewalk, next to a busy street. The indoor area, on the other hand, seems small but holds plenty of seating for small and large groups. Moreover, the café is super cutely decorated and invites you to take a relaxing break. Right when you enter the store, you walk past a cake counter full of delicious homemade pastries like brownies, different kinds of cakes, classic Hamburger Franzbrötchen and many more.
The staff is really friendly and quick. Overall, I thought that there were quite a lot of waitresses and waiters for the small café. However, they all seem to have their specific tasks (i.e. taking orders, mixing drinks, bringing food, etc.), which makes the whole process quite smooth.
We tested some other great breakfast places for you: Check out out reviews of Salon Wechsel Dich and Mit Herz & Zucker!
The Drinks are Delicious
We were given a table without a reservation, but this can sometimes involve a bit of a wait. As soon as you sit down, you immediately receive the menu, which was just recently updated. In our opinion, there is something for everyone. Many vegetarian and vegan options are also included.
On this day, we ordered:
- Hot Chocolate 3.80 €
- Coffee 3.10 €
- Prosecco 5.50 €
When the café is a bit more crowded, it takes some time until the drinks are brought. The hot chocolate was super delicious, it has the perfect mixture of chocolate, sweetness and milk. Also, the prosecco tasted very fresh and the coffee was particularly aromatic.
Our Breakfast Order
For our breakfast, we chose the following dishes:
- Grilled Classic Panini (Parma ham, shaved Parmesan, herb-lime cream, tomatoes, romaine lettuce) 8.50 €
- Italian Parma-roll (fresh country bread with Parma ham on homemade herb-lime cream, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes and shaved Parmesan) 11.90 €
- Avocado roll (fresh country bread with homemade herb-lime cream, avocado slices and baby spinach) with extra egg 9.90 € (+4.90 € for the egg)
After about 10-15 minutes, our food arrived. First of all, it must be said that the presentation of the food was delightful. They give the plates a lovely twist with cute flower arrangements, berries, nuts and other edible decorations. All three dishes came at the same time, both breads were cold and the panini came warm. If the breads were warm, I think it would have lifted them to the next level, however they were really delicious. For both breads, the mixture of cream and other ingredients was perfect – nothing stuck out too much, nothing felt missing. The only thing that one could criticize were the brown spots on the avocado. However, it tasted perfectly fine and I am glad that they did not throw it away but used it instead. The panini was delicious and the salad gave it a refreshing twist.
Finishing up
When we finished everything to the last crumb, we wanted to pay. Even though the service was really friendly and quick, they could not split the bill between us. We understand that this might be annoying for some restaurants and cafés, however we think it is part of good service.
All in all, we can highly recommend the café. You get delicious breakfasts, fresh cake and refreshing ice cream at Café Melt. The food is lovingly prepared and the ingredients all taste fresh. The cozy café invites you to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Hamburg.
Overall Rating
You want to know more about Café Melt? Here is their menu.
