5 Best Restaurants in Heidelberg and the Neckar Valley, Germany

Heidelberg's oldest (1863) coffeehouse has always been a popular meeting place for students and professors, and offers traditional Swabian food, pastries, and ambience. A historic change is that the café no longer produces café founder Fridolin Knösel's Heidelberger Studentenkuss. This iconic "student kiss" is a chocolate wrapped in paper showing two sets of touching lips—an acceptable way for 19th-century students to "exchange kisses" in public. They are now being sold exclusively in Knösel Chocolatier, a small, charming shop, owned by the Knösel family, just down the street.

Little more than a hole in the wall, this former cooper's workshop has been transformed into a candlelit pub. No matter when you go, it seems to be filled with people seated around the wooden tables (so dinner reservations are usually a necessity). The menu features regional specialties from Baden and the Pfalz, such as schäufele (pickled and slightly smoked pork shoulder); leberknödel (liver dumplings); and slices of saumagen (a spicy meat-and-potato mixture encased in a sow's stomach).

This lively old tavern dates from 1703 and is inextricably linked with Heidelberg's history and university. Young and old alike crowd around the wooden tables in the wood-panel room, decorated with historic photos and maps, and piano music adds to the din Wednesday through Saturday nights. From salads and pasta to hearty roasts and steaks, there's a broad selection of food, and beer is served from 7:30 am until closing. Upstairs are modern, pleasantly furnished guest rooms.

Traditional Italian fare is on offer here, including antipasti, pasta dishes, pizzas, and special daily offerings. The restaurant is in a central location in the main square, and in warm weather you can opt for a table outside on the cobblestones—perfect for people-watching with your meal.

There are three adjoining eateries here: the Weinstube for a glass of good Swabian wine with a snack, the Restaurant for a full meal at lunch or dinner, or let yourself be tempted by the good-looking cakes from their own bakery in the Konditerei/Café.