Why go
Look beyond a single idea of 'German food' when choosing a meal. Italian ice cream shops, pizza and pasta show one long-running connection; Turkish food reflects another, shaped by postwar migration. A town's food streets can tell you about its people as clearly as an old market square.
The full story
Italian ice cream makers were among the early arrivals who brought their specialties to German customers in noticeable numbers during the late 1920s. After the Second World War, contact with Allied troops and the arrival of workers from abroad widened the range of food available. Italian pasta and pizza became ordinary choices rather than occasional novelties. Turkish immigrants also had a major influence on everyday eating, while Greek and Chinese restaurants spread widely. Later, diners increasingly encountered Indian, Vietnamese and Thai cooking. These changes did not simply add a separate 'foreign food' category: they altered what many people in Germany consider a normal quick lunch or casual dinner. For a visitor, that means a bakery or traditional regional restaurant is only one part of the food picture. Compare the options on an ordinary commercial street or near a station to see how Germany's postwar migration history appears in daily life.