Restaurants to try Luxembourgish cuisine
Whether it’s Judd mat gaardebounen (slow cooked smoked pork collar with beans) or wäinzoossiss mat moschterzooss (sausage with mustard sauce), and kniddelen mat speck (dumplings with bacon bits), Luxembourgish cuisine is getting rarer to find on menus in the Grand Duchy.
We’ve hunted out some of the places that offer a selection of local specialities on their menu, if you want to tuck into some traditional Luxembourgish cuisine.
If we’ve missed a place, let us know and we’ll add it as a reader recommendation.
If you fancy trying out some of these dishes at home, our “dining in” section has recipes for many of them.
Restaurant Um Dierfgen – Luxembourg City
Set over two floors and a sunny terrace, with simple décor and wooden tables, this is THE place for a good selection of local dishes, not just dumplings and sausage in mustard sauce, but feierstengszalot or slices of beef with salad and potatoes, roasted ham and tête de veau (calf’s head). They also have popular local dishes including steak tartare, and rabbit in mustard sauce, plus plenty of seafood options. Vegetarians can try the non-meat version of kniddelen.
Am Tiirmschen – Luxembourg City
A nice sheltered terrace and a rustic interior, complete with exposed stonework, timber-framed ceilings, and wicker chairs, make this place near the Corniche a perfect spot for some bouneschlupp mat mettwurst (bean soup with smoked sausage), choucroute a la Luxembourgeoise (pork, bacon and smoked sausage – only served September to April), and a big variety of kniddelen, plus Judd mat gaardebounen and sausage in mustard sauce. They also serve up the famous local potato cakes, gromperekichelcher, as a starter.
Bistro de la Presse – Luxembourg City
Don’t be scared by the puppets hanging from the ceiling in this charming bistro, where the walls are filled with old photos. You’ll get Luxembourgish dumplings with bacon and cream, or with raclette (melted cheese), and sausage with mustard sauce, plus a home-made Luxembourgish platter with local meats and cheeses. What’s more you’ll dine with views of the Grand Ducal Palace.
Brasserie du Cercle – Luxembourg City
Cosy in the winter with furs and blankets, but light and airy in summer, this brasserie on Place d’Armes has a good selection of Luxembourgish dishes from sausage in mustard sauce, kniddelen and Judd mat gaardebounen to Luxembourgish cooked ham, and gromperekichelcher with bacon, cheese and a fried egg. It also has a good choice of flammkuch.
Mousel’s Cantine – Clausen
A popular Clausen eatery, not least because of the unfiltered Clausel beer it serves, it also does a nice line in Luxembourgish cuisine, including sausage with mustard sauce, Judd mat gaardebounen, and some very reasonably-priced kniddelen, including a veggie version with mushroom. You can also try pork/ham as choucroute or jambonneau (roasted ham hock and knuckle). The restaurant isn’t that big, but it has a nice terrace.
Around the corner, Brauerei - Big Beer Company serves gromperekichelcher with apple compote, flammkuchen, wainzossis, and kniddelen with bacon.
Beim Zeutzius – Luxembourg City
A simple charm emanates from this café which is surprisingly spacious inside and has a few tables outside. You’ll get feierstengszalot and Luxembourgish ham with salad, plus kniddelen, sausage and mustard sauce, and even a spot of kachkeis (Luxembourgish cheese), plus a good selection of local beers.
Juegdschlass and Sieweburen – Biergerkräiz and Rollingergrund
These two restaurants are the ying/yang of the Bämbesch forest, one in Rollingergrund and the other in Biergerkräiz, both great family restaurants with terraces and playparks nearby. They’re often featured in our lists, but this time it's for their Luxembourgish cuisine.
At Juegdschlass you’ll find Judd mat gaardebounen, feierstengszalot and sausage with mustard sauce, and in season they dish up a tasty wild boar stew. You’ll get the same dishes at Sieweburen plus tête de veau, and side orders of gromperekichelcher. Both places have a children's menu too.
Brasserie du Musée – Rumelange
Part of the mining museum in this Red Rock regional town, with a lovely big terrace and a playground, this restaurant serves up jambonneau, Judd mat gaardebounen, sausage and dumplings. It’s a good choice if there are people in your party who don’t want to try the heartier local cuisine, and prefer pasta or a salad.
Koeppchen – Wormeldange
Perched on a hill overlooking the Moselle, with two lovely terraces, this is the place to snaffle up some friture de la Moselle (fried freshwater fish in a Riesling batter) which it has been dishing up since 1907. You can also tuck into some sausage, kniddelen or feierstengszalot, plus there are plenty of other options including burgers, veggie dishes, and horse steak.
Brideler Stuff - Bridel
As you might expect from this traditional restaurant with a staggeringly long menu, there are some Luxembourgish specialities on offer, plus a huge number of regional dishes. Choucroute and jambonneau grace the menu together with Judd mat gaardebounen, black pudding, sausage in a mustard sauce, and of course, kniddelen. If you have a big enough group (50 people plus) they will prepare a Luxembourgish buffet where your guests can try a little of everything.
La Belissima – Kehlen
A huge terrace area, and a nice light and airy indoor setting, this wouldn’t at first glance look like the place to try Luxembourgish food as the menu is very Italian with pizza, pasta and tagliata, plus a fair number of Portuguese specialities including bacalao. However the Luxembourgish specialities section does include bouneschlupp, feierstengszalot, bauerenträipen or black pudding and the usual suspects – sausage in mustard sauce, kniddelen and Judd mat gaardebounen.
The best of the rest
Le Bistrot, not far from Merl Park, has a fairly glamorous setting with chandeliers and deep banquettes, and serves up calf’s head, plus pork shank braised in Battin, and local trout, breaded and baked. In Bertrange, Lentze Park is a popular family place that dishes up feierstengszalot, plus friture du lac (battered, deep fried freshwater fish), calf’s head and sausage with mustard sauce.
Head to Mont Chalet in Dudelange for some kuddelfleck or tripe in tomato, which looks surprisingly delicious, plus some great bouneschlupp, feierstengszalot and traditional lentil soup with smoked sausage. You can also try Rieslingspaschtéit, a type of sausage roll with a white wine jelly.
Kniddelen and wäinzoossiss are on the menu at Beim Adelheid in Beaufort which has a big terrace and a nice interior with wood and red leather. Aux Tanneries de Wiltz has a lovely setting in a beautifully renovated stone building plus a peaceful terrace and a seasonal Luxembourgish menu which currently includes bouneschlupp and trout.
If you’re dining on a budget then check out Café Beim Kuerb at Pontpierre where the long selection of kniddelen is about €12 a dish, and you’ll find sausage and feierstengszalot also on the menu. More Luxembourgish dumplings, sausage and other delicacies at Um Scheff in Remich too.
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