Schiffercafé Holtenau
Das Schiffercafe
An old harbor café beside the Kiel Canal lock in Holtenau, where you can watch large ships pass through the lock while eating house-cured herring and fried fish.
Located at Tiessenkai quay in Holtenau, right beside the lock of the Kiel Canal (North Sea–Baltic Canal), where you can watch large ships come and go. It serves breakfast, coffee and cake, and North German fish dishes made with seasonal local ingredients: house-cured herring, crispy fried fish, fish cakes, mussels and crab. In the evening you can also have a glass of white wine. Hot dishes are served only at set times; fish sandwiches and cakes are available at other times. Expect about €12–25 per person. From the city center, take a bus for about 25 minutes, and combine the trip with a stroll through Holtenau’s old harbor.
Opening hours
From October 12, 2026: Monday–Tuesday 9:00–19:00 (no hot dishes); Wednesday–Sunday 9:00–21:00; hot dishes Wednesday–Thursday 17:00–20:00, Friday–Sunday 12:00–20:00
Nearby sights
- Kiel Canal Holtenau Locks
- Kiellinie
- Botanical Garden of Kiel University
- Kunsthalle zu Kiel
- Zoological Museum of Kiel University
- Kiel Maritime Museum
- St. Nikolai, Kiel
- Falckensteiner Strand