Cafés in Regensburg: Where to Drink Coffee in the Old Town
A practical pick of cafés in Regensburg's old town, from an Italian-style coffee house near the Dom to small spots for Kaffee und Kuchen.
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Start with kaffeehaus Regensburg on Kramgasse, a coffee house and bar between the Dom and the Rathaus that serves Italian-leaning espresso drinks and stays open late. From there you can walk to a handful of small cafés in the old town and across the river to Stadtamhof without much planning. This guide groups them by where they sit, names the drink or cake to order at each, and explains how the coffee-house model differs from a quick espresso stop.
Regensburg is a compact city, and the café cluster in the Altstadt sits inside a UNESCO World Heritage-listed old town, so a coffee crawl doubles as a walk between the Dom, the Rathaus and the river. If you want a full eating plan rather than just coffee stops, pair this list with our guide to the best restaurants in Regensburg and our pick of what to eat in Regensburg.
kaffeehaus Regensburg on Kramgasse: an Italian-leaning coffee house and bar
The kaffeehaus sits on Kramgasse in the middle of the old town, a short walk from both the Dom and the Rathaus. The owners describe the coffee culture as closest to Italy, using the tools of a good espresso bar and pulling a strong espresso with fine milk foam. The room itself is new but built in a traditional register, with plum-wood paneling, wrought-iron table frames and limestone tabletops.
Because it is a coffee house rather than a pure espresso counter, it also works as a daytime café with breakfast and a changing daily menu, and as a place to sit with a glass of wine or a Ramazzotti as the Altstadt shifts into evening. That range makes it the most flexible single stop on this list if you want one place to settle into for a while.
What to order at kaffeehaus Regensburg
Start with an espresso if you want the Italian side of the house, or a Café Crème from the espresso machine if you prefer something longer and softer. Filter coffee is brewed over as well, so the menu covers both Italian and German coffee-house habits. For food, the breakfast plate and the cakes and tortes baked to old recipes are the core of the daytime offer, with a daily-changing lunch card on top.
If you are coming for Kaffee und Kuchen, the German ritual of coffee with a slice of cake in the afternoon, order a coffee and a piece of the day's torte rather than treating the place as a quick takeaway counter. The breakfast and food menu is positioned for every time of day, so a late-morning visit and a mid-afternoon cake stop both fit the same room.
How kaffeehaus Regensburg works: hours, breakfast and no reservations
The kaffeehaus is open weekdays from 08:00 to 24:00 and Sundays and public holidays from 09:00 to 24:00, so it is one of the few coffee stops here that carries through into the evening. Breakfast runs on weekdays until 12:00 and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays until 15:00, which makes a weekend late breakfast realistic. The house does not take reservations and is not available for private events, so plan on walking in and waiting if the room is full.
Those hours make the kaffeehaus a natural anchor for a café day: arrive early for coffee, come back after a walk for cake, or use it as the last stop when other cafés have closed. Just check the current times on the café's own site before you build a day around it, since they can change with the season.
Kaminski behind the Grieb: a small café for any time of day
Kaminski is a small café behind the Grieb, listed as a lovely spot for breakfast, an afternoon coffee, or a glass of wine later on. Its position just off the main old-town flow makes it a good choice when you want a quieter table rather than a front-row seat on a busy street.
Treat it as an all-purpose stop: it works first thing in the morning, in the afternoon for a coffee, or in the early evening. If you want a broader set of morning options before choosing, our breakfast in Regensburg guide covers more places to start the day.
Coffee house on Wahlenstraße 1: a pretty old-town café
The coffee house at Wahlenstraße 1 is described simply as a very pretty café on one of the old town's most atmospheric lanes. Wahlenstraße runs close to the kaffeehaus on Kramgasse, so the two make an easy pair if you want to compare a modern espresso bar with a classic old-town café in one walk.
Take the stop for what it is: a pleasant room on a pretty street rather than a destination in itself. It fits best into a wander between the Dom and the Rathaus, when you want a table without committing to a full meal.
Café Bar Drei Mohren on Drei-Mohren-Straße 3: small and fine
Café Bar Drei Mohren on Drei-Mohren-Straße 3 is a small, fine café-bar, which means it covers coffee in the daytime and drinks later without changing location. The street sits just off the old-town core, close enough to the main squares to be convenient but far enough to feel less harried.
Because it is small, this is a place to drop into rather than settle into for a long session. Pair it with a walk through the surrounding lanes when you want a short sit between sights.
Bar Centro on Drei-Mohren-Straße 13: a table with a view of Bismarckplatz
Bar Centro on Drei-Mohren-Straße 13 looks out over Bismarckplatz, and the source notes that you can enjoy the sunshine there into the fall. That makes it the pick on this list when the weather is good and you want to sit outside with a view of a square rather than a wall.
The orientation is the point here: a square-facing table, a short walk from the old town's main lanes. Choose it over the smaller cafés when you want light and space more than intimacy.
Café Legato on Am Ölberg 3 by the Holy Trinity Church
Café Legato on Am Ölberg 3 is described as having a feel-good atmosphere right next to the Holy Trinity Church. The location puts it in the quieter edge of the old town, close to the church square rather than on a main shopping street.
Use it as a pause on a walk through the eastern side of the Altstadt, when a church-and-coffee combination is what you want rather than a full meal. It is a café first, so plan it for coffee and cake rather than dinner.
The café-bar opposite the Dreieinigkeitskirche on Gesandtenstraße 14
Opposite the Dreieinigkeitskirche at Gesandtenstraße 14 there is a café-bar that is very small, beautifully tiled, and topped with an Art Nouveau glass ceiling. That makes it the most distinctive room on this list if you care about interiors as much as the coffee.
The trade-off is space: a tiny, tiled room fills quickly, so it suits a short stop rather than a long afternoon with a laptop. Come with that in mind and the glass ceiling is the reward.
Freiraum at Simadergasse 1: a hidden café with a courtyard
Freiraum on Simadergasse 1 is tucked away and has a cute courtyard, which makes it the choice when you want a table away from the old-town bustle. Hidden cafés like this reward a small detour rather than a planned visit, so slot it into a wander through the lanes.
Courtyard seating is the draw, so it is best in mild weather when sitting outside is the point. If your priority is a quick espresso on the way somewhere, a main-street café will serve you faster.
Café Mea in Stadtamhof on Am Brückenbasar 6: green shutters across the river
Café Mea in Stadtamhof on Am Brückenbasar 6 is described as enchanting, with green shutters on the far bank of the river. Stadtamhof is the quieter side of the water, so crossing the bridge puts you in a calmer setting than the Altstadt lanes.
The walk across the bridge is part of the appeal: you get a different view of the old town and a café that feels removed from the main tourist flow. Make it the second half of a coffee day rather than the first stop.
The museum café at Dachauplatz: coffee in the cloisters
At Dachauplatz the museum café has an enchanting garden and sits between the cloisters of the Gothic Minorite church. That setting is unlike any other café here, and it suits a quiet coffee and cake stop rather than a quick takeaway.
Because it is attached to a museum, it fits naturally into a morning or afternoon when you are already in that part of town. It is a good option for a group that wants space and a garden rather than a tight old-town room.
What Kaffee und Kuchen means and what to order
Kaffee und Kuchen translates literally as coffee and cake, and it is the German afternoon ritual of sitting down with a hot drink and a slice. In practice you order a coffee, usually an espresso, cappuccino or Café Crème, and choose a cake or torte from the display or the menu.
In a classic coffee house the cake is often the deciding factor, so look at the selection before you commit to a table. If you are avoiding animal products, check our vegan Regensburg guide for places that make the choice easier.
How ordering and paying works in a Regensburg café
In most German cafés you order at the table for drinks and food, and the server brings the bill at the end; in a busy espresso bar you may order and pay at the counter instead. Cake is usually chosen from a display case, so it helps to look before you sit down.
Germany still runs on cash in plenty of small cafés, so carry some euros even if you plan to pay by card. Ask before you order if you only have a card, especially in a tiny room where a card machine may not be part of the setup.
Picking your café: three clusters to walk between
The first cluster is the square between the Dom and the Rathaus, where kaffeehaus Regensburg on Kramgasse anchors the day and Wahlenstraße 1 is a few minutes away. This is the densest set of options and the easiest to combine with a look at the cathedral and the town hall.
The second cluster is the Drei-Mohren-Straße area, where Café Bar Drei Mohren and Bar Centro sit close together; choose the first for a small, fine room and the second for a table facing Bismarckplatz. The third is across the river in Stadtamhof, where Café Mea offers a quieter, greener setting. If you want more structure than a café crawl, a Regensburg food tour or a look at the city's brewery scene can fill the rest of the day.
Which café fits your day in Regensburg?
Choose kaffeehaus Regensburg if you want one flexible stop with Italian-style coffee, breakfast until late morning on weekdays and until mid-afternoon at weekends, cake, and an evening that runs to midnight. Pick Freiraum or the tiled café-bar on Gesandtenstraße if the room matters more than the menu, and cross to Café Mea in Stadtamhof when you want the quieter bank of the river.
Whichever you choose, build the walk around a cluster rather than crossing the city for a single cup, and keep a few euros in cash for the smaller rooms. For the meals around the coffee stops, start with the best restaurants in Regensburg and work outward from there.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do people speak English in Regensburg cafés?
In the old-town cafés that see visitors all day, staff generally manage English, and menus are often available in English as well as German. In a very small room, a few words of German for ordering coffee and cake go a long way, and pointing at the cake display works everywhere.
What is Regensburg famous for?
Regensburg is known for its well-preserved medieval old town on the Danube, its cathedral and its stone bridge. For a coffee-focused visit, the Altstadt's dense cluster of cafés between the Dom and the Rathaus, plus the quieter Stadtamhof bank across the river, is the main draw.
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