July 11, 2025, 7:20 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Culinary creations that many of us in Germany grew up with—including some rather “unique” regional delicacies—can seem quite unusual to people from abroad. From fried herring to mustard eggs: Discover on TRAVELBOOK how international users of an online travel guide have rated various German dishes.
Taste Atlas specializes in traditional dishes and authentic restaurants, while also serving as a platform where users can rate their own culinary experiences. Accordingly, the website features numerous objective assessments of various gastronomic establishments worldwide and individual foods. Recently, the section “The 86 Worst-Rated Dishes from Germany” was updated, and TRAVELBOOK presents them.
Overview
The Least Popular Dishes in Germany
The list is based on about 13,000 of a total of 14,850 reviews that Taste Atlas has deemed trustworthy. Automated votes and overly patriotic reviews from the home country of the dishes have been filtered out. The portal emphasizes that this–as well as other rankings–should not be understood as an objective judgment of culinary quality. Rather, traditional dishes are to be highlighted and users’ culinary curiosity piqued.
The ranking is also intriguing from a German perspective–bet that even many locals have never heard of some of the listed dishes? Often, it depends on where you grew up or have lived. While for some, just the term “Saure Zipfel” sparks the imagination, others might call the dish their favorite. To clarify: These are sausages cooked in a broth of wine and vinegar. By the way, the dish that marks the other end of the list with comparatively many points–the least poorly rated among the negatively listed dishes–is likely rather unknown in northeastern Germany. But first, let’s take a look at Germany’s culinary laggards.
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The Three Least Appreciated
At the top of the ranking is an entire category of food: the so-called Schmierwurst. This includes spreadable sausage varieties like Mettwurst or liver sausage–all raw sausages preserved through fermentation and gentle smoking. In Germany, it’s a staple on bread for many. Outside the country’s borders, however, there seems to be significantly less enthusiasm, as the reviews show.
Second place goes to Brathering. For this dish, herring is first fried and then marinated in a mixture of white wine vinegar, onions, sugar, and mustard. It is usually served with fried potatoes. However, this North German delicacy apparently doesn’t fare well with Taste Atlas users.
In third place is the hearty Bavarian stew classic Pichelsteiner. Traditionally, it includes various types of meat and vegetables like potatoes, leeks, carrots, onions, cabbage, and, to taste, celery, and it wouldn’t be complete without a generous sprinkle of parsley.
Sweet Frankfurt Original Not Liked
The dish in fourth place is particularly popular in and around the city on the Main River, which gives it its name: the Frankfurter Kranz–a must-have at any coffee and cake table. The cake is baked in a ring shape and consists of several layers of sponge cake, buttercream, and occasionally red jam. It is enveloped in a rich buttercream and crunchy brittle, providing a pleasant crunch with every bite. Sounds delicious, right? However, Taste Atlas users don’t seem to think so.
Let’s stay in the region for a moment. In tenth place is a dish that we already encountered in the Taste Atlas ranking of the least popular cheeses in Europe–where it even ranked third. It refers to an extremely low-fat hard cheese traditionally served with onion broth. In many Hessian restaurants, it is part of the typical appetizer selection–but it doesn’t seem to excite all foreign guests.
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The following overview is sorted in ascending order–starting with the dishes that scored the worst. Or in other words: Rank 1 receives the unofficial international unpopularity award.
25 of the Worst-Rated Dishes According to Taste Atlas
- Schmierwurst
- Brathering
- Pichelsteiner
- Frankfurter Kranz
- Bayerischer Wurstsalat
- Gefilte Fisch
- Brotsuppe
- Springerle
- Schneeballen
- Handkäse mit Musik
- Bremer Klaben
- Weinkraut
- Schlachtplatte
- Badische Zwiebelsuppe
- Herrencreme
- Pumpernickel
- Toast Hawaii
- Griebenschmalz
- Westfälischer Pumpernickel
- Anisplätzchen
- Senfei
- Pfefferpotthast
- Saure Zipfel
- Rollmops
- Saumagen
Taste is subjective, as we all know–you might agree with some placements and want to shout veto at others. But the dish in sixth place definitely raises eyebrows.
Some Placements Need Explanation
Gefilte Fisch (rank 6) is a traditional dish of Jewish cuisine. The Yiddish name says it all: It is fish stuffed with fish. More specifically, carp is usually minced and formed into dumplings with ingredients like matzo meal, eggs, onions, and sugar–as described by Taste Atlas. The broth in which the Gefilte Fisch is cooked is also essential. It cools into a jelly and is served cold with the also cold fish. Fans love it, while others find the idea alone unusual. But why it appears on the list is unclear. Although the traditional holiday appetizer is served in Jewish households here as well, it is by no means a common German dish!
Good old Pumpernickel has made it into the “Flop 20” twice (places 16 and 19). Once it refers to the compact, dark bread made from rye and sourdough, as found throughout Germany, and once to Westfälischer Pumpernickel, which can only be called that if produced in its birthplace, Westphalia.
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Among the dishes listed from Germany, Dibbelabbes received the most points from Taste Atlas. The dish hails from Saarland and is a type of savory pot cake made from grated potatoes, leeks, and diced bacon or cured meat.