In Short
Frittenwerk is a recommendable fries and snack restaurant in Hamburg. Especially when you know dinner is still too far away and a hearty appetite is driving you. The possibility of customizing the dishes is a big plus, and the freshness and selection of ingredients are also great. The sauces and variations are sometimes very fancy and certainly not for everyone, but there is a great selection of different side dishes and even salads. Frittenwerk sees itself as a fast food restaurant with good quality, freshness and variety and we can agree to that to a large extent.
French Fries Heaven in the Middle of Hamburg?
Frittenwerk is a franchise with many stores throughout Germany. A food truck is also part of the repertoire. In Hamburg, Frittenwerk is a pretty hip store in the city center. To be more precise, it is located directly at Jungfernstieg and offers plenty of space for fry-hungry people indoors, as well as outdoors. On the menu, there are many different dishes, such as classics like Chili Cheese Fries but also changing specials such as Poke Fries or the Canadian Poutine.
If you like changing specials and creative food work – check out our review on Otto’s Burger.
We were bitten by the snack bug on a Saturday afternoon. We had just finished our shopping tour and felt like a tasty snack, when we discovered the Frittenwerk directly opposite the Europa-Passage. The store seems pretty small at first glance, especially when it is filled with lots of fries-hungry mouths like this Saturday. However, if you look for a seat after placing your order, you will quickly see the stairs leading to the upper floor – there’s plenty of seating there. In general, the place looks very stylish and almost invites you to take some photos of it. There is even a photo wall, in front of which you can have a picture taken with your delicious fries creation. In the design of the restaurant, you can already see that sustainability is a big topic. There are huge walls with all kinds of (real) plants and real moss walls.
So how does it work?
Back to the beginning: Ordering here is not like in a normal restaurant, more like you know it from fast food chains, such as McDonald’s, Burger King or KFC. There are large screens at the entrance where you can put together your order. The menu allows for some individual creations and also vegetarians or vegans get their money’s worth. All ingredients and sauces can be customized, though it usually comes at an extra cost. The price can increase quite a bit due to the additional wishes. The fries are usually between 7-10 € and the extra requests hit with 1-4 € on top. If you’re not just craving a hearty snack, but also want something sweet afterward, you can order churros or other side dishes. There is no lack of healthy meals either: Frittenwerk offers a range of salads. So, this day, we opted for:
- Tijuana Street Fries, vegan (fries with guacamole, vegan sour cream and diced tomatoes) 8.70 €
- Chicken Shawarma (garlic fries with marinated chicken (halal), tomato avocado salad, bell pepper chili dip and lemon ajoli) 10.10 €
After sending the order, you get a receipt with a personal “call name“, that we haven’t seen anywhere else before. At Frittenwerk you do not get a number, you get assigned a movie character or other fictional characters. This way, being called is much more fun!
Depending on how many people are in line and already armed with their receipt waiting for their order, it can take about 10 minutes until you hold the fries in your hands. When “Agent X” was called, as in our case, we could pick up our order. Unfortunately, no distinction is made between “take-away” and “eat here”, so all dishes come in “take-away” form. However, Frittenwerk pays attention to sustainability here as well: All bowls are made of paper and the cutlery is made of wood.
Now for the Tasting
The fries look super tasty and crispy and the toppings seem fresh as well. This was definitely true of the Tijuana Fries. For me personally, it was a little too much sauce with sour cream and guacamole. However, I know that there are some out there who love a lot of sauce on their dishes. Regardless, the fries were very tasty and fresh. You can taste that both the fries and the sauces are homemade and thought has gone into the creation.
The chicken shawarma fries were also very tasty. Adrian decided to pay 0.40 € more to get the dish with garlic fries. This was very worthwhile, the fries have harmonized very well with the other components. The lime rounded out the whole fries snack. All in all, the Chicken Shawarma fries were delicious and a good snack, they don’t leave us wanting “one more time” though. However, since Frittenwerk offers a wide selection of different dishes, that shouldn’t be a problem!
Summary
All in all, Frittenwerk is a recommendable fries and snack restaurant in Hamburg. Especially when you know that dinner is still too far away, but a hearty appetite is driving you. The possibility of customization is a big plus and the freshness and selection of ingredients are also super. Unfortunately, we didn’t like one of the two variations, but there are certainly other creations that are great. Frittenwerk sees itself as a fast food restaurant with good quality, freshness and variety, and we can agree to that to a large extent.
Overall Rating
Fries and Snack Restaurant in Hamburg – Check out the menu of Frittenwerk here.
