Manufactum Brot & Butter — Restaurant in Dusseldorf

I had one of the most upsetting and discriminatory experiences I’ve ever encountered at this café.

My friend and I—two Asian women—were the only non-white customers in the café. A tall, older white woman with short hair, who appeared to be a staff member or possibly the manager, served us. From the very beginning, her attitude was cold and dismissive. She tossed the menus onto the table and asked “Drink?” with a tone that was clearly unfriendly.

When we asked if they had iced drinks, she said “No” with no explanation. I then asked for hot chocolate, which she confirmed. As I was about to order coffee, she interrupted with “Cappuccino? Latte?” rushing me with clear impatience. When we tried to order food, she simply turned away before we finished, and we had to call her back to complete the order.

Still, we tried to enjoy the meal. But when it came time to pay, her behavior became even more inappropriate.

We tried to get her attention several times—she saw us—but deliberately avoided us, looking at the floor and walking past us again and again. Meanwhile, she continued to serve other (white) tables, some of which were mid-meal. We were ignored for over 20 minutes.

Eventually, we got up and walked to the counter. She looked annoyed and said, “You want to pay?” with no smile or greeting. There was a nearby card terminal, but she insisted we follow her across the café to her POS machine. Other customers had been allowed to pay directly at their tables.

She said the amount without eye contact, didn’t say thank you, and when we asked for the receipt, she sighed heavily and gave it to us in complete silence.

And then, as we were about to leave, she muttered, “bitte.”

Now—while “bitte” in German can mean “please” or “you’re welcome,” the way she said it was cold and careless. In German service culture, it’s more common and polite to say “bitte schön,” “danke schön,” or even “tschüss” to customers at the end of their visit. Her tone made it feel like she was trying to end the interaction as quickly as possible without even basic respect. It didn’t feel like a kind farewell—it felt like dismissal.

We had actually planned to look at the kitchenware items displayed nearby to buy a gift for a friend back home, but we were so upset by the experience, we couldn’t even focus.

This kind of treatment directly affects a business’s sales, and more importantly, it damages the dignity of customers.

If this woman is not the owner, she should be held accountable for her behavior. If she is the owner, I truly question how a place can welcome international guests with this level of disrespect and discrimination.

This was blatant racial bias, and no customer should ever have to experience this.

I hope this review helps others make informed choices, and that changes are made so future guests are treated with basic...

Two young Asian woman visited this café and unfortunately experienced very uncomfortable and seemingly discriminatory service.

We were served by a female server with short cropped hair. She tried to leave before we had finished placing our order, and we had to stop her ourselves to complete it. After finishing our meal, we waited over 20 minutes to pay. We repeatedly tried to make eye contact and signaled to her, but she ignored us while sighing and continued to serve other tables two to four times without approaching ours even once, despite the fact that we had clearly turned our bodies toward her and were waiting.

Eventually, we had to stand up and walk to the counter ourselves to finally be able to pay. Even then, her attitude remained very indifferent and cold. Throughout the payment process, she stayed silent, sighed deeply, and handed over the receipt without even saying a polite “Bitte schön”—just a curt “Bitte.” Even her sighs felt extremely rude and disrespectful. Overall, it was impossible not to feel that we were being deliberately ignored.

We don’t believe this was simply a service mistake. Perhaps we were treated this way because we were young and Asian? As customers, we felt completely disrespected, and the experience was deeply upsetting and disappointing.

While this café may have good reviews, such discriminatory behavior must be addressed. Every guest deserves to be treated...

Nice place just few steps away from the Koenigsallee (famous shopping street in Dusseldorf). It is really difficult to get a table since usually crowded. The bread and the cold meat are really tasteful as well as the marmalade and the butter. Everything is pricey. The quality of the food is better anyway of the quality of the warm drinks: I was expecting more “coffee taste” in my latte macchiato and also the hot chocolate of my wife did not leave the sign. Anyway if you want to have a nice “different” breakfast maybe this place could...