Best Casual Restaurants in Altstadt/Nord

When traveling for pleasure, especially internationally, visiting some of the better restaurants in a given town is one of my higher priorities and pleasures. I have eaten at many restaurants with Michelin stars, and I can say with confidence that Taku is in the very top rank of restaurants at which I have had the pleasure to enjoy a supremely excellent meal and dining experience. The food is imaginative, thought-provoking, delicious, perfectly executed, and memorable in all positive ways. Each course was a true delight for the taste and for the eyes. The "club sandwich" course with a kind of Tonkatsu tuna "cutlet" on perfectly toasted brioche was a real standout. The servers are exceptionally talented, hitting just the right balance of friendliness and knowledge, without being stiff or robotic or overly formal at all. Each seemed to express real personality and enjoyment. I speak okay German, and everyone was willing to switch back and forth from German to English as needed. The sommelier was a real standout, sharing his enthusiasm for the wine choices, and explaining each wine happily and well. The pour on each wine-pairing was just right too. Sometimes in restaurants you barely get enough for 2-3 sips; however, here you received a nice half-glass ~ enough to enjoy with the course and a bit after until the next course. The pacing of the meal was excellent too, with no long waits between courses. All in all, it was an excellent meal. Highly recommended.

The booking through the tablets, especially when four people need to order through just two, took away from the experience, as there was barely any human contact, and the system felt a bit unwelcoming. But the food was great, rest of the service was nice, and overall it wasn’t a bad experience.

The food was amazing and the service was really friendly and professional

Extremely high quality food and great service. One of Cologne’s better restaurants.

Outstanding food quality, we felt valued and well looked after. Thank you - we will be back.