Cafeography
Hamburg · St. Pauli

Cafés in St. Pauli

Marktstraße in the Karoviertel, the green bunker on Feldstraße and roasters off the Reeperbahn.

Photo: Frank Rietsch, Pexels License

St. Pauli grew outside Hamburg’s walls on the Hamburger Berg, where the city put the trades it did not want inside; ropemakers arrived in 1633 and gave the Reeperbahn its name. The suburb took the name of its St. Pauli church in 1833 and was fully incorporated in 1894. It had 22,377 residents on 2.3 km² at the end of 2024.1

The Heiligengeistfeld in its middle hosts the Dom funfair three times a year and FC St. Pauli’s Millerntor stadium, and the Hafenstraße, occupied from 1981, became the center of the quarter’s squatting tradition.1 Its cafés keep their distance from the nightlife strip. They cluster in the Karolinenviertel, known as the Karoviertel, north of the Heiligengeistfeld, around Wohlwillstraße, and on the streets between the Reeperbahn and the harbor.

Local tip: Pair the bunker with Marktstraße: Moin Karo at number 119 opens at 08:00 from Monday to Saturday, and most of the street’s cafés are open by 10:00.

At a glance

57Cafés listed
22With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
01:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Kandie Shop, from 08:00 (Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00 · Sat–Sun 10:00–19:00).
  • Closes latest: Lieblings Café Bar, until 01:00 (Mon–Thu 09:00–17:30 · Fri–Sat 09:00–17:30, 21:00–01:00 · Sun 09:00–17:30).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (35%), vegetarian options (23%), partial wheelchair access (21%).

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Coffee chains in St. Pauli

The Karoviertel and Marktstraße

The Karoviertel takes its name from Karolinenstraße, named in 1843 from a list of women’s first names. Marktstraße, probably named in 1841 because it led to the Neuer Pferdemarkt, is its unofficial main street and is known for second-hand, fashion and design shops.2

It is also the quarter’s café street: Panther cafébarkitchen at number 3, CAFE BY DOKUWA at 21, La Maison at 36, Verlan Cafe at 102, Moin Karo at 119 and Gretchens Villa at 142. On Karolinenstraße, Goldenblack at number 16 opens at 08:30 on weekdays.

The bunker on Feldstraße

The flak bunker on Feldstraße was built in about ten months in 1942, partly by forced laborers.2 A private owner added five floors and planting, raising it from 38 m to 58 m, with about 4,700 plants on the roof garden. Hotel, café and roof garden were due to open on 5 July 2024, after about €60 million of work.3

At its foot, Matcha Dream and café panda are on Feldstraße itself. West of the bunker, the Alte Rinderschlachthalle at Neuer Kamp 35, a former cattle slaughter hall, was converted into a venue and start-up space in 1996–98; Juicy Project and Gaumengold are across the street.2

Playground Coffee and the side streets

Playground Coffee started as a counter in a burger restaurant and has roasted since 2014.4 Its St. Pauli café at Detlev-Bremer-Straße 21 roasts on site.5 Veljko Tatalović, who co-founded Public Coffee Roasters, now runs Playground, which also has a coffee bar in the Grindel quarter and a kiosk at the Rathausmarkt.6 On the same street, Lieblings Café Bar at number 50 reopens on Friday and Saturday nights, 21:00–01:00.

Mother’s Fine Coffee on Kastanienallee stays open until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Wohlwillstraße has Kandie Shop at 16, Café Stark at 20 and Graupi Bistro & Café at 54, open to 22:00 on most days.

Down to the harbor

The Landungsbrücken are the largest pontoon landing system of their kind in Germany, and the Alter Elbtunnel, opened in 1911, still takes people under the river through two tiled tubes with lifts.1 Between the harbor and the Reeperbahn, Buttercrumbs Bakery is on Bernhard-Nocht-Straße.

Sources

  1. Hamburg-St. Pauli, Wikipedia (German), accessed October 2026
  2. Karolinenviertel, Wikipedia (German), accessed October 2026
  3. Grüner Bunker in Hamburg öffnet (Christine Hintersdorf, June 20, 2024), Hogapage, accessed October 2026
  4. 3 Cool Coffee Shops to Visit in Hamburg (Tanya Nanetti, November 16, 2022), Barista Magazine, accessed October 2026
  5. 5 Kaffeeröstereien in Hamburg: auf zum besten Kaffee der Stadt (August 17, 2024), Accor ALL, accessed October 2026
  6. Public Coffee Roasters: eine Tasse Individualität (André Krüger), Hamburg Tourismus, accessed October 2026
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In St. Pauli, also browse: Breakfast & brunch Outdoor seating Bakery cafés & Konditoreien Vegan & vegetarian Wi-Fi

FAQ

St. Pauli cafés: questions

What is the Karoviertel in Hamburg’s St. Pauli?

The Karoviertel, or Karolinenviertel, is the northern part of St. Pauli, named after Karolinenstraße, which got its name in 1843. Marktstraße is its unofficial main street, known for second-hand, fashion and design shops and for cafés such as Moin Karo at number 119 and Gretchens Villa at 142.

When did the green bunker on Feldstraße in Hamburg’s St. Pauli open?

The roof garden, hotel and café of the Feldstraße bunker were due to open on 5 July 2024. A private owner raised the 1942 flak bunker from 38 m to 58 m with five new floors and about 4,700 plants on the roof, investing around €60 million.

How old is the Alter Elbtunnel near the Landungsbrücken in Hamburg’s St. Pauli?

The Alter Elbtunnel opened in 1911 and is still in use, with two tiled tubes and lifts that carry people under the Elbe. It starts by the Landungsbrücken, the largest pontoon landing system of its kind in Germany. St. Pauli itself was fully incorporated into Hamburg in 1894.

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