Cafeography
Cologne · Südstadt

Cafés in Südstadt

Ernst roasting on Bonner Straße since 2014, cafés from Severinstraße to the Chlodwigplatz, and the Rheinauhafen by the Chocolate Museum.

Photo: Nikolai Kolosov, Pexels License

The Südstadt is not an official district. The name covers the southern Severinsviertel in Altstadt-Süd and the eastern part of Neustadt-Süd, and it caught on with the pub scene of the 1970s.1 Locals call the Severinsviertel the Vringsveedel after St. Severin, consecrated in 1237, and its shopping street, Severinstraße, begins at the medieval Severinstorburg gate.1

The Stollwerck brothers made chocolate and vending machines here until 1975, and in 1980 up to 600 people occupied the empty factory, the largest squat in Cologne’s history.1 Today the coffee runs along Severinstraße and Bonner Straße, which hold most of the roasters and breakfast cafés, and down to the Rheinauhafen on the river.

Local tip: Ernst’s café on Bonner Straße is open on weekdays only; at the weekend, einbrand at number 38 opens at 09:00, and Einspänner at number 19 at 09:00 on Saturdays and 10:00 on Sundays.

At a glance

69Cafés listed
31With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Caffe´Bar, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–18:00 · Sat–Sun 09:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Café Istanbul, until 00:00 (Daily 10:00–00:00).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (26%), wheelchair access (20%), indoor seating (12%).

Einspänner

  • Bonner Straße 19
  • Mon–Fri 07:00–19:00 · Sat 09:00–18:00 · Sun 10:00–18:00
  • +4922129493469
  • Partial wheelchair access
Map FacebookIs this you?Report

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Cologne.

Coffee chains in Südstadt

Bonner Straße’s roasters

Ernst opened on Bonner Straße in 2014 as both café and roastery. The original 5 kg Diedrich still roasts some single origins at number 56, while a 20 kg roaster in a separate facility followed in 2016; the bar offers batch brew, AeroPress and Kalita Wave filters.2 Ernst calls the café a slow bar, and the house beans are mostly light roasts.4 It opens 08:00–18:00 on weekdays.

Further up the street, einbrand at number 38 opens at 08:00 on weekdays and 09:00 at weekends, and Einspänner at number 19 starts at 07:00 Monday to Friday.

Severinstraße and the Chlodwigplatz

Cafés line Severinstraße from end to end: MoccaGino at number 19, Löwen Café at 54a, TWO AND A HALF at 126 and Cup Of Sun at 216, the last three with brunch. Café Kult is on the Chlodwigplatz itself.

Kaffeeprinzen, a roaster that works in small batches at low temperatures, opens its Koffeinbar on Martinsfeld only on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.3 WIEWALDI coffee roasters on Kleiner Griechenmarkt keeps similar short hours, Thursday to Saturday 09:00–18:00.

The Rheinauhafen

The Rheinauhafen opened as a harbor on 14 May 1898, and port operations ended in 2001; redevelopment began in 1998, and the three Kranhäuser on Im Zollhafen, office and apartment blocks shaped like harbor cranes, cantilever out from a height of 40 m.5 The Chocolate Museum opened on 3 November 1993.5

Chocolat Grand Café is in the museum building and closes on Mondays. Omo on Anna-Schneider-Steig serves specialty coffee from its own roasting and charges nothing extra for plant milk.4 The Coffice Harbour at Im Zollhafen 24, in one of the crane houses, has Wi-Fi.5

Mondays and late hours in the Südstadt

Several Südstadt cafés take Monday off: Café Walter on An der Bottmühle, CRUX on An Zint Jan, Underdog Espresso on Lothringer Straße and Cup Of Sun all open Tuesday to Sunday. The quarter traditionally starts or ends the Rosenmontag parade at Carnival.1

Late hours are rarer: Café Istanbul on Bonner Straße serves until midnight every day, and Süd und Salzig on Darmstädter Straße until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Early risers have Caffe´Bar on Ubierring, open from 07:00 on weekdays, and the Römerpark Cafehaus on Teutoburger Straße, from 09:00 Monday to Saturday.

Sources

  1. Köln-Altstadt-Süd, Wikipedia (German), accessed October 2026
  2. Ernst Kaffeeröster, Bonner Straße (Brian Williams, June 16, 2022), Brian’s Coffee Spot, accessed October 2026
  3. 11 Kaffeeröstereien, die ihr kennen solltet (Christin Otto), Mit Vergnügen Köln, accessed October 2026
  4. 11 Cafés in Köln mit richtig gutem Kaffee (Christin Otto), Mit Vergnügen Köln, accessed October 2026
  5. Rheinauhafen, Wikipedia (German), accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Cologne

Agnesviertel & Eigelstein

32 cafés

Altstadt

113 cafés

Belgisches Viertel

43 cafés

Zülpicher Viertel

45 cafés

Ehrenfeld

75 cafés

Nippes

31 cafés

Sülz & Klettenberg

43 cafés

In Südstadt, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Bakery cafés & Konditoreien Vegan & vegetarian Breakfast & brunch Wi-Fi

FAQ

Südstadt cafés: questions

Where is the Ernst coffee roastery in Cologne’s Südstadt?

Ernst is at Bonner Straße 56. It opened there in 2014 as café and roastery, and its original 5 kg Diedrich still roasts some single origins in the café, while a 20 kg roaster in a separate facility followed in 2016. The house beans are mostly light roasts, and the café is open 08:00–18:00 on weekdays.

What area does the Südstadt cover in Cologne?

The Südstadt is an unofficial name for the southern Severinsviertel in Altstadt-Süd and the eastern part of Neustadt-Süd. It spread with the pub scene of the 1970s. Locals call the Severinsviertel the Vringsveedel, after the church of St. Severin, and its main street, Severinstraße, begins at the Severinstorburg gate.

Which cafés are at Cologne’s Rheinauhafen?

Chocolat Grand Café is in the Chocolate Museum, which opened in 1993, and closes on Mondays. Omo on Anna-Schneider-Steig serves specialty coffee from its own roasting, and The Coffice Harbour at Im Zollhafen 24, in one of the three crane-shaped Kranhäuser, has Wi-Fi.

For café owners

Own a café in Südstadt?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design