Cafe Assiette

Had coffee on Anzac Day it was great and staff were terrific.

I want to say it’s a less known gem but that would be a lie now. Packed out today and almost full most other times when we head up. While tourists and locals alike make their way to Hahndorf Inn or German Arms, we often come here instead. The feed is just as good and satisfying.
Their menu offers all the German cuisine you went to Hahndorf for ranging from the great German Platter to a giant pork hock or huge hot dogs. We ordered the German platter to share today, with four types of sausages, a kassler chop, bread roll, sauerkraut, caramelised onions and potatoes it was a feast too big for both of us (despite my husband having seemingly endless room in his stomach as it is).
We sat outside on the decking area but if you want a cosy feel the dark wood, fireplace and all can be found inside. Staff are friendly and service is good, we had our dog with us and they offered to bring a bowl of water out for him.

The food was really good — I had a schnitzel plate that was delicious and plentiful. In fact we all had good food. The seating is comfortable and they were open later in the afternoon than most other places. There’s also outdoor seating if you get the right kind of weather for it. I thought the prices were perfectly reasonable.
But most impressively, they were extremely accommodating to us and our fussy baby. We got hot water for the bottle, then they gave us the back room for feeding the baby and even turned on the air conditioning there. They also let us stay after all the other customers had left, while they were cleaning up, and no one even once made us feel like we had to rush out. In fact everyone on staff was happy, friendly, and pleasant the entire time.
Wish I could have said the same for the baby.

Coffee & cakes were a prerequisite before leaving Hahndorf after our day’s outing so our group of 5 stopped in here.
It was an interesting visit during which we had the feeling that the staff wanted to finish up for the day (it was just after 3pm but admittedly it was a public holiday so the whole township had been busy all day). The hot drinks & cakes were tasty but none stood out as a clear winner. I’d be interested in trying this place out again on a quieter day (or at least in the morning).

I have walked past Café Assiette so many times but, due to the title ‘café’ and the sign boasting ‘The Best Coffee in Town’ I’ve never been bothered by entering. I don’t know about you, but in Hahndorf I care not for coffee, but for beer and sausages! And this little cottage setting, whilst gorgeous, looked more like a place for cake than Kransky.
Well, turns out I was very wrong! Café Assiette offers beer and sausages in spades — and good ones! With German beers and a large range from Lobethal Bierhaus, they satisfied my hop addiction nicely. Plus my choice for lunch, the Bier Brat, had beer AND sausage! Yum!
The sausages here are delicious, the pretzels fresh, fluffy, crunchy and chewy all at once, and the potato salad full of all the things it should be… capers, mustard and giant pickles. I certainly recommend this as an alternative to the Main Street pubs if you want to get your German fix when you’re next in Hanhdorf.

Food was great as well as service time considering how packed they were. However they did not have my ordered meal, traditional German pork, when asked what i would like instead i chose the Kasslar chop. The meal brought out was the Kransky. I was okay with this but i am allergic to tomato so if the waitress had misheard what i said in a different meal that would have resulted in tomato on the plate i would have been very disappointed. The chips my son had were spectacular and the German pretzel was superb. Straws were hidden but for customers to grab themselves leaving my sister blind to where they were and me having to reach over spoons, sugar and such to get to them.

A Hahndorf Gem
Café Assiette in Hahndorf on a wet winters day, best place to be, three open fire places, cosy, comfortable and inviting. From an extensive menus, which includes a range of salads, seafoods, pies and burgers, plus a wide range of traditional German dishes, we chose for lunch, a Vienna burger, handmade foot long Vienna sausage, fried egg, bacon, grilled onion, tomato, BBQ sauce, mustard, cheese and pickle sauce, plus a Smoked Salmon salad with onion, cucumber and dried tomato. Both meals were extremely generous in size, excellently prepared and presented, in the salad the salmon was generously layered throughout, not just on top, what a treat! The Burger looked sensational, with ample amounts of cheese, bacon, eggs, tomato, greens, mustard and pickle sauce, plus the foot long sausage. For dessert we enjoyed home made Apple Strudel, light moist and delicious, all meals competitively priced. The coffee is award winning Mahalia’s roast, from Robe, one of the best available. As always, a delightful interlude in Hahndorf.

I really really loved the food here but the service was a massive let down. It took over 15 minutes for our coffee to come out with only 3 people in the place when we ordered them with food. The food actually came out before the coffee but it was amazing breakfast. I had the sandwich and my wife had an eggs benny. When I asked about coffee there was no sorry or update just a yes they are coming. When they came out finally after we were part way through the food they had missed one. When we queried the status of the coffee they went away and came back about 5 minutes later saying they missed it but we still need to pay. No issue paying but a further 5 minutes to just decide it was not recorded is a little silly. The last coffee finally arrived 10 min after we finished eating. I do understand they may be under staffed as I can see them running around frantically but they seem to be making more of a scene about being busy rather than just getting the job done effectively. Again I stress amazing food and the coffee is great and smooth but service was a real let down.

Extra points for Café Assiette’s Caesar Salad, they even remembered the anchovies which made me smile a smile reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat.
There was one thing I found slightly strange about the service, perhaps even slightly uncomfortable, which was the super service a girlfriend and I received from a particular waiter when we ate in here. He was just overly attentive, introducing himself, checking on us every 10 minutes and then when we were leaving he said he was so pleased to meet us. So I guess the service was good, too good.
You can sit inside or out, it’s probably nicer inside but I’m one of those people who doesn’t like the staff watching me eat, so out in the courtyard under the leafy vines housing caterpillars it is!
PS. I’ve heard the German Sausage is ultra satisfying.

This quaint little café is a great place to go for a cuppa on a cool day because it has a nice, warm open fire inside.
The ‘mugaccinos’ are awesome, particularly with Café Assiette scones, which are nice and fluffy and come with fresh cream and jam. Or you can go with the more traditional Devonshire-​style tea.
The apple strudel is made on the premises and is also quite tasty.
The café also serves breakfasts, such as the Assiette Big Breakfast, with all the usual hearty German trimmings. Assiette
also serves wood-​fired oven pizzas and is gluten-​free and vegetarian friendly.
The service can be hit-​and-​miss on a busy day but the staff are pleasant enough, and the prices are reasonable.