Culinaric

Culinary delights

Specialities from all over the globe, cheerful cafés and bistros, authentic pubs and inns, smart bars and restaurants – the amazing choice guarantees something to suit every taste and every budget. Hannover’s indoor market – the “belly of Hannover” – is home to a spectrum of flavours and international specialities.

Queen of the vegetables and high-spirited dexterity

© Isabell Adolf

The traditional regional cuisine tends to be solid and substantial. In spring, asparagus is very popular: this finest of all vegetables tastes equally good with melted butter or hollandaise sauce and is normally accompanied with cured ham, a pork or veal escalope or salmon. When autumn comes around, it is the start of the curly kale season, which is traditionally enjoyed with a regional spicy sausage speciality. Regional delicacies also include a platter of cold cuts. Yeast cake topped with butter and almonds is traditionally served with afternoon coffee, while “Welfenspeise” a typical local desert consisting of blancmange and zabaglione, takes its royal name in reminiscence of Hannover’s role as the capital of the Kingdom of Guelph in the 19th century.

“Lüttje Lage”, a drink that is exclusive to Hannover, originates from the annual Marksmen’s Funfair. The ritual has a strong alcoholic focus and requires two special glasses: one filled with Lüttje Lage beer, the other with clear schnapps. The trick is to raise both glasses to your lips so that the schnapps and beer can be drunk in one go. The Lüttje Lage tradition dates back to the days of beer brewer Cord Broyhan in the 16th century. The Broyhan Haus is now a gastropub in the city’s second-oldest half-timbered building. Visitors who are interested in the history and technical aspects of brewing are advised to book a tour of Herrenhäuser brewery. In addition to the major traditional breweries, Hannover also has a large number of microbreweries which serve their customers first-class home brew.

Souvenirs from the countryside

A trip to Lake Steinhude need not end when you return home as there are all kinds of regional treats you can take back with you, for example from the traditional eel smokeries. Some Steinhude smokehouses also offer guided tours – which are best accompanied by a drop of clear schnapps distilled at Warnecke’s in Bredenbeck am Deister.