Introduction
Cologne is the culinary hub of the Rhineland and possibly the best city to eat in Germany. With 13 starred restaurants in 2012 for a total of 18 stars, Cologne has more combined Michelin stars than any other German city, and ranks 6th out of all European cities. Cologne is second only to Berlin in Germany in terms of total Gault-Millau toques, a ranking that gives more weight to city size (and Berlin is three times more populous than Cologne).
Gourmet Restaurants
The Michelin Red Guide is the international reference in terms of restaurant evaluation. The guide awards one to three stars to a small number of restaurants of outstanding quality.
One star indicates a "very good cuisine in its category", a two-star ranking represents "excellent cuisine, worth a detour," and three stars are awarded to restaurants offering "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey".
The Gault Millau Guide is the other influential French restaurant guide. It is known as Gayot in English-speaking countries. It rates restaurants on a scale from 1 to 20, awarding one toque to restaurants with a rating of 13 or 14, two toques for those scoring 15 or 16, three toques for 17 and 18, and four toques for the top score of 19/20. Five toques are awarded in some countries like France for restaurants scoring 19.5/20. The Gault Millau rating is shown in brackets after the Michelin star(s).
Restaurants listed here were taken in a 20 km radius from central Cologne.
Michelin-starred restaurants
The following restaurants have been awarded stars by Michelin Germany 2012.
Vendäme 
(19/20), inside Schloss Bensberg, Kadettenstraße 1 - 51429 Bensberg. (French creative)
Gourmetrestaurant Lerbach (Nils Henkel) (19/20), Lerbacher Weg - 51465 Bergisch Gladbach. (French classic)
Le Moissonnier (18/20), Krefelder Straße 25 - 50670 Köln. (French creative)
La Vision (17/20), inside Hotel im Wasserturm, Kaygasse 2 - 50676 Köln. (French creative)
Gut Lärchenhof (18/20), Hahnenstraße - 50259 Pulheim. (French creative)
Alfredo (17/20), Tunisstraße 3 - 50667 Köln. (Italian)
Ma�tre im Landhaus Kuckuck (17/20), Olympiaweg 2 - 50933 Müngersdorf. (International)
Zur Post (17/20), Altenberger-Dom-Straße 23 - 51519 Odenthal. (French creative)
Schloss Loersfeld (17/20), Schloss Loersfeld 1 - 50171 Kerpen. (French classic)
L'Escalier (16/20), Brüsseler Straße 11 - 50674 Köln. (French classic)
La Société (16/20), Kyffhäuser Straße 53 - 50674 Köln. (French creative)
Taku (15/20), inside Excelsior Hotel Ernst, Domplatz - 50667 Köln (Japanese)
Husarenquartier , Schloßstraße 10 - 50374 Lechenich. (French modern)
Other restaurants
Kult (17/20), Wickenpfädchen 9 - 51427 Refrath. (International)
Bitzerhof (16/20), Immendorfer Hauptstraße 21 - 50997 Köln. (International)
Das Fachwerkhaus (16/20), Burggraben 37 - 51429 Bensberg. (International)
La Po�le d'Or (16/20), Komödienstraße 50 - 50667 Köln. (French classic)
Poisson (16/20), Wolfsstraße 6 - 50667 Köln. (Fish & Seafood)
Wein Am Rhein (16/20), Johannisstraße 84 - 50668 Köln. (International)
Zur Tant� (16/20), Rheinbergstraße 49 - 51143 Porz-Langel. (French classic)
Check also
Top 25 European cities by Michelin stars
Top 25 European cities by total Gault-Millau toques
Best restaurants in Europe by country
Europe's best 25 restaurants by San Pellegrino
Travel Community
Ask your travel questions on the Germany Travel Forum
