Höfchen — Restaurant in Cologne

TL;DR Höchfen is a really nice Sichuan restaurant in the heart of Köln with efficient servers and great food. Sichuan food is a bit different from what you are used to, so be sure to prepare to be surprised and delighted by what they can cook up. I highly recommend their Bowl Tea and Sichuan Haxen, but for a beginner's main course I would actually recommend Rindfleisch in Chiliöl which is my favourite dish of all time.

Hönchen was, together with Hana's on the other side, one of the two restaurants that I really wanted to visit since I moved to Köln at the start of February. It located at the Barbarossaplatz and is a bit tucked in the corner. The restaurant specializes in Sichuan food, which is a kitchen which is very near and dear to my heart, since it is something that I make for myself whenever I can. Since this was my first time at an authentic Sichuan restaurant, I was very excited to see how those dishes are supposed to taste like.

I went alone on a Saturday night at around 21, the restaurant was mostly empty when I arrived. I was given a table near the front next to a lovely group of Chinese women enjoying a nice night eating outdoors. They were wrapping up and asked the waiters whether they could take their leftovers home with them, which the waiters happily obliged.

The restaurant uses a QR system to order, and the food arrives whenever the kitchen is done with it. There is a large selection of different dishes, including some good specialities and dishes that are authentically Chinese. In their culture, texture plays a much more important role than in Western food, so they eat parts of animals which are common here. Some examples to look out for are Cow's stomach and Duck's Blood, which feature fascinating and unique textures. I ordered the Sichuan Pickled Vegetables as an entrée and 东坡肘子 (Dong Po Pig's Knuckle) with rice. As a drink, I ordered the Bowl tea, which I had no idea what it was.

My entrée was okay and nothing to really write home about. It was nice to have some vegetables, and they had a good crunch, but pickled greens remain pickled greens. The Pig's Knuckle on the other hand was a beautiful, large piece of meat that even impressed the ladies next to me, who looked with a certain jealousy at my main course. It tasted as good as it looked with the meat almost falling off from the bone and had a really tender texture. The dish was spicy, but not overwhelmingly so, and all the flavours were balanced nicely. The sauce paired nicely with the rice, and I had to resist my urge to eat all of it with my spoon. The portion was more than generous, and I could see myself eating this easily with one extra person and still feeling full afterwards

Tea is always my indication of restaurant quality, since it is something that it is really easy to cut corners to make some easy money. What I am looking for is restaurants that really try to offer the whole experience, and Höchfen delivered this to a T. I was given a China cup with a bunch of flowers in it with a small plate and a massive jug of tea. After calling a quick helpline in the form of Chinese friends, who first spent five minutes laughing at me for drinking old man tea, I figured out that you put the plate over the cup so that there is a small slit left over that the water can come out of. They were not at all skimpy with the water, so I actually had to spend ten minutes on top of my meal to actually finish all the water.

In conclusion, Höchfen is a great Sichuan restaurant that offers high quality food for relatively affordable prices. Chinese food is typically to share, which is reflected in the generous portion sizes. The restaurant offers a masterclass in how you serve tea to your customers, and I was sad that I didn't have time to have their Sticky Rice with Bean Paste dessert, since that looked delicious. I cannot wait to come back to have the Chengdu Fondue and experience more of this...

This is one of the best Sichuan restaurants that I can find in Europe 💓 The food is so authentic and to die for. Spicy chicken and twice cooked pork are top notch! You have to try the pork hock in spicy chilly oil, it’s a cold dish and it’s my favorite. Their desserts are very nice as well, all are my favorite 🤤 Their service is pretty good as long as you don’t have high expectations. 😉 In my experience, Chinese restaurants always have similar level of service. They are not talkative or they may seem to not care much. But they are focusing on what they are doing. As long as they don’t disrespect me, I honestly think that is authentic experience if you dine in Chinese restaurant. 😆 For all of these people who complained about service. In Chinese restaurant, if the service is good, there are 2 scenarios: either the food sucks, or it’ll be very expensive. I’ve been to a very good Sichuan restaurant in Amsterdam and it’s much more expensive than here but you get 5* service 😃 And for people who complained about the amount of oil they use, please google Sichuan food and see how they actually cook their food. 🥹 I do agree that their consistency is a little off. I’ve been here around 7-8 times and sometimes the seasoning is less on point than the other. Overall, the food is still good 👍🏻 I am Vietnamese but I love Sichuan food. I’ve trying so many Sichuan restaurants in the US and Eu and we have Sichuan friends too, they often explained to me how the food should taste like so I’m pretty confident with...

The restaurant feels like home. Unlike most Asian restaurants in Germany delivering mediocre food with low price. This restaurant is delivering the modern day standard of Chinese food just like what you would have in China.

The decoration of the dining area is chinese modern style with real wood dining furniture and stylish modern chinese dishware.

The restaurant offers authentic Sichuan food tasting exactly like what I have back in China.

On my visit today I ordered three dishes.

First one is fresh Chilli pig feet, cleaned and cooked perfectly, keeping the chewy texture at the same time making sure it's not hard to chew through. Very spicy but addictive.

The second dish is cabbage with glass noodle. Pure Vegan, a little bit on the greasy side but compliments the crunchy texture of the cabbage.

The third one is the famous chili oil fish, covered in chili oil with the tangy feeling from Sichuan pepper corn. The fish is very soft and juicy. Very good balance of protein and veggie.

On the side I ordered tradition chinese tea bowl, water for refill is offered. The fresh fragrance of the mixed tea will clear up the hot and spicy with just one sip.

I can't believe modern chinese dinning finally arrived in Köln. This is what local chinese ppl have been expected for a long time.

The restaurant although just opened but very busy. Remember to reserve AT LEAST 2 DAYS ahead if you are very picky about dinning time. Or you will have to wait for a table to open up at...