Pounding around the Green Hell is hungry work. Whether you’re stopping by for a lap or two on your way through the area, or are making a dedicated multi-day trip to the Ring you will need to eat. In this article I list the 7 best Nurburgring restaurants that you need to try,
Intro
Lapping the 13-mile long Nurburgring Nordschleife takes its toll on both you and your car. Whilst you’ll need to feed your car some petrol (or some electric charge for those drivers of the future), you will also need to feed yourself some food.
Most of the worthwhile restaurants are located around either Nurburg itself or Adenau, and I have tried them all over the years.
Rather than listing all of the Nurburgring restaurants, I thought it’d be better to just list the 7 that I’d recommend the most to people who haven’t been to the ‘Ring before. Some of these restaurants I am listing for their food, some for their atmosphere, and some because they’re a Nurburgring rite of passage.
One word of note – don’t expect world-class Michelin star food everywhere you go. You’ll get good portions, decent meals, all the Bitburger you can drink, and most importantly a chance to exchange near-miss stories and lap-times from that day’s driving with your mates.
7 best Nurburgring restaurants
Below are my recommended Nurburgring restaurants near to the circuit. This list is sorted in reverse order of my favourites, counting down from #7 to #1. If you don’t agree then tough! (or get in touch and let me know why…)
#7- Devil's Diner
- Where: Nurburgring Nordschleife car park
- Price range: €€ – €€€
- What to eat: Caesar salad with crunchy chicken
- Eat here because: It’s the Devil’s Diner, in the Ring Car Park!
- Link to Devil’s Diner
If you visit the Ring for some Tourist laps then you can’t miss it. You can even see it on the Nurburgring webcams.
The American themed Devil’s Diner is right in the middle of the main Nordschleife car park, and the one-way system literally revolves around it. The Diner will be open pretty much in line with the Nordschelife opening times.
As you can imagine it gets very very busy. When the car park is full, you know the Diner will be full too. Prices are a little hiked for what you get, but captive audience and all that.
It’s no gastronomical delight, but who really cares, it’s the restaurant in the centre of the best petrolhead car park in the world. Get a seat by the window or outside and watch the cars enter and leave the circuit, or check out the marshals shouting at the clueless Brit trying to drive the wrong way around the car park.
#6 - Paddock Restaurant (Motorsport Hotel)
- Where: Nurburg
- Price range: €€ – €€€
- What to eat: Schnitzel
- Eat here because: Great schnitzel, good service, sit outside and watch the cars drive through Nurburg
- Link to Paddock Restaurant
Situated just up the hill from the main Nurburgring entrance, the Paddock restaurant is part of the Motorsport hotel. Perfectly located if you want to escape the busy car-park during tourist driving.
If you can, try and get a seat outside. You will be perfectly placed to watch the traffic drive to and from the Ring entrance, and play guess-the-car as the exhaust noises come up the hill towards you. If you can blag a seat on the street, you’ll also be able to see Nurburg castle looming over you.
Food-wise, they do some of the best schnitzel around. If you’re a schnitzel lover than definitely give it a go here. Most stuff is pretty good and service is normally efficient and friendly.
#5 - Trattoria Ventisette (27)
- Where: Adenau
- Price range: €€ – €€€
- What to eat: Spaghetti Carbonara (but most things are great)
- Eat here because: Some of the best quality food in Nurburg or Adenau, usually great service, right next to the track at Breidscheid Bridge.
- Link to Trattoria Ventisette
Just across the road from the #1 spot on this list, and just the other side of Breidscheid Bridge is Trattoria 27, or Trattoria Ventisette, or 27 Ventisette depending on what people call it.
This is an Italian restaurant near the Nurburgring that does great quality food, probably better than either #2 or #3 on this list. Even the pizza will probably be better than #2’s pizza and a more manageable size.
The service is usually very friendly, welcoming and personable. The atmosphere on a busy evening is great. It doesn’t quite have the character of some of the following restaurants but the food more than makes up for it.
Book ahead to avoid having to wait for a table, and try and get a table by the window for a view of the track.
#4 - Agnesen Hof
- Where: Bahrweiler
- Price range: €€€€€
- What to eat: Roast venison (but everything is wonderful)
- Eat here because: Date night restaurant! Hidden gem only 10 mins from the Ring, wonderful high-end food, lovely farm house / rustic feeling building
- Link to Agnesen Hof
When people ask where to eat near the Nurburgring, it’s not often the Agnesen Hof comes in to discussion. Not because it’s not worthy, but because it’s not in Nurburg or Adenau so isn’t usually considered. It is in fact in Bahrweiler, only a 10 minute drive from the Nordschleife main entrance, so easy to get to.
The Agnesen Hof is a hotel in an old, rustic, country farmhouse style building. It feels a lot more like you’re in the country side here than in either Nurburg or Adenau. And the Agnesen Hof has a wonderful restaurant.
Food here is more expensive than anywhere else on this list – 30 Euros for a main course. However you will have a wonderful meal, great personal service, sat in a building with great ambience. On a summer’s evening they also have a lovely courtyard you can sit in.
#3 - Pistenklause (Hotel am Tiergarten)
- Where: Nurburg
- Price range: €€ – €€€
- What to eat: Steak on the stone
- Eat here because: Famous DIY steak on the stone, the restaurant is covered in motorsport memorabilia.
- Link to Pistenklause
The Pistenklause is the one of the must-visit famous Nurburgring restaurants. Previously owned and run by the mother of the late great Ring Taxi driver Sabine Schmitz, the walls are adorned floor to ceiling in photographs, broken race car parts, stickers and autographs.
Sit in the Pistenklause for something to eat and you can be sure you’re sat in the seat of many great racing drivers who’ve done the same before you.
The steak on the stone is the meal to get. A big hunk of meat, raw, delivered on a searing hot stone means you can cook it to your own liking. It does also mean the whole place usually smells of cooking meat, but that’s all part of the experience (I tell myself).
Always very popular, so always very busy. Book in advance to guarantee yourself a table.
A recent change in ownership means the service perhaps isn’t as good as it once was, but for anyone new to the Ring I’d still say you have to go to this Nurburgring restaurant.
#2 - Pinocchio's Pizzeria
- Where: Adenau
- Price range: €€ – €€€
- What to eat: Pizza!
- Eat here because: The biggest pizza you have seen in your life. Always busy, always a great atmosphere.
- Link to Pinocchio’s Pizzeria
One of the most well known Nurburgring restaurants, Pinnocchios is a pizzeria situated in Adenau. Quite simply, they do the biggest pizza you’re likely to have ever seen. The 60cm ‘Familienpizza’ is enough for the whole family, and more. But that hasn’t stopped the occasional Bitburger-fuelled individual giving it a go on their own. Many have tried, many have failed…
Always worth phoning and booking in advance as it can, and does, get really busy most evenings as it’s such a favourite with everyone.
They have a big menu that is more than just pizza. On the whole the food here is good, and prices are very reasonable – a normal sized pizza can be had for not much over 10 Euros.
This is another Nurburgring rite of passage. Did you even go to the Ring if you didn’t stuff yourself with a Pinocchio’s pizza?
#1 - Cafe zur Nordschleife
- Where: Adenau – Breidscheid Bridge circuit exit
- Price range: €
- What to eat: Currywurst and chips
- Eat here because: Amazing location with views and sounds of the track, incredible currywurst and chips, no-frills, cheap and quick bite to eat during the day.
- Link to Cafe zur Nordschleife
So #1, perhaps not what you were expecting? This one is more a café than a restaurant. Don’t go here wanting a full steak dinner, because that is not what this place is about. In fact don’t go here for dinner at all, they shut at 7pm each day.
Also known as the ‘Imbiss Zur Nordschleife’ (Nordschleife Snackbar) they have a limited menu. With blue plastic table cloths and Coca-Cola umbrellas, this looks like your fairly typical European nothing special café.
So why is it my #1 place to eat? Two simple reasons:
1 – The location. Situated as closed as you can get to the Nordschleife without actually being on it. The Café is right next to Breidscheid Bridge in Adenau. In fact, if you leave the track at the Breidscheid exit you have to drive through this place’s car park.
Most of the seating here is outside. Pick the right spot and you have a view of the cars going up the right hander at Ex-Mühle. You can sit and enjoy a snack with the sound of cars flying past less than 30 metres away from you.
2 – The currywurst. For me this is a rite of passage every time I have been to the ‘Ring – get currywurst and chips at the ‘Imbiss’, as I call it. I’ve had currywurst in a few places but no where touches this place. Maybe it’s the combination of the atmosphere and location, but whatever it is I love it.
