The second leg of my German coffee shop tour was in Stuttgart – Germany’s Autohauptstadt (Car Capital). We were four days into our trip at this point, and I wasn’t sure if it was still jet-lag or something but the coffee just wasn’t hitting like usual. It seems as though Germans prefer their coffee a bit milder than what I gravitate towards, which often left me wanting a stronger coffee flavor (or really just some more caffeine!). Stuttgart helped me to realize that during our final stop, Munich, I’d need to either order larger drinks or have multiple coffees throughout the day.

My coffee shop experience in Stuttgart was a bit hit and miss. On one hand I had an amazing cappuccino, and on the other I almost felt like I was drinking something from Starbucks! And similar to Frankfurt, some shops opened a bit later than what I expected which threw off some of our plans.

As a reminder: I don’t give out stars or number ratings to the coffee shops that I visit. Those kind of reviews aren’t super helpful and in my opinion also VERY subjective. Everyone has different tastes, meaning my favorite place could be one that someone else hates! So instead I provide details about what you can expect, what I ordered during my visit, recommendations/tips, and my overall thoughts to help you can decide if you want to try it out yourself. Want to see what other coffee shops I’ve tried so far around the world? Check out the rest of my Will Travel for Coffee series!

Wake Up. Drink Coffee. Travel. Repeat.

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Planning a trip to Stuttgart? Check out my 2-day itinerary!
My review of my first ever Michelin star meal at Restaurant Delice.
Looking for somewhere to stay? Check out my Stuttgart hotel guide!

Poffers Café

We’d made it to day 4 of our Germany trip and we were a little pastry-ed out, so we made our way to Poffers Café for a sit-down breakfast. Poffers is located a little outside the city center in Stuttgart East, which is a pretty residential neighborhood and less touristy. It was a Tuesday morning so there were plenty of tables available, but they’re very popular and I’ve heard that on the weekends reservations are recommended. After being seated, you have the option to order from the waiter or an app on your phone using a QR code at the table. Unlike some of the other smaller restaurants/cafes we went to while in Germany, they do take both cash and cards.

Now for our orders. I got an oat milk cappuccino, which was arguably the best one I had during our trip. Jasper got himself an apfelshorle – this one was slightly different than others he had in Germany, with a reddish color and more sour taste. We both also got the signature poffertjes for breakfast – I went the savory route (ham and chives) while Jasper went sweet (baked bananas and maple syrup). If you’re like me and had never heard of poffertjes before, they are tiny Dutch batter pancakes! I definitely want to try and recreate them at home, as they were light, fluffy and delicious. Just a heads up: they had an English menu for the food, but not for the drinks.

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L’amore di caffé

Even with all the research I do, sometimes a detail falls through the cracks. In this instance, I got the hours wrong for our original planned coffee shop stop for our last day in Stuttgart meaning we had to pivot. Since we were leaving for Munich that morning we didn’t really have time to waste, so we walked along the Königstraße and stumbled upon an Italian espresso bar. I’m still surprised by the number of Italian coffee shops we saw in Germany, considering difference in German vs Italian coffee tastes/preferences. I was very jealous that the man at the counter was (at least) tri-lingual – he spoke Italian, German and English during the time we were there.

Now I definitely wouldn’t consider this your traditional Italian coffee shop, based on the drinks we were able to order. I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of iced coffee options on the menu! I went with an iced caramel macchiato while Jasper got a caramel frappuccino (the only coffee-based drink he likes). We weren’t expecting how sweet the drinks were going to be, and paired with our croissants it felt like we were having dessert instead of breakfast! I’ve been slowly pivoting away from the super sweet coffee I used to prefer, so while the coffee flavor was there the drink overall wasn’t really my favorite. If I went again I’d probably stick with a straight espresso or cappuccino.

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For Next Time

I never seem to have enough time to visit every coffee shop I want to during my travels, meaning I constantly have a list of other spots to check out. Here are a few coffee shops that are currently on my radar for my next visit to Stuttgart!

misch misch coffee – Tübinger Str. 95, 70178 Stuttgart.
A cozy specialty coffee shop that I’m bummed I didn’t hear about sooner!

NATAN | Cafe and Bar – Katharinenstraße 15, 70182 Stuttgart.
Non-profit bar (all profits go to humanitarian projects) with modern decor and a vegetarian menu.

Mela-Kaffee – Königstraße 7, 70173 Stuttgart.
A popular brunch spot where reservations are highly recommended.

Manufactum Brot & Butter – Lautenschlagerstraße 16, 70173 Stuttgart.
This breakfast and lunch spot is actually located inside of a luxury German retail chain!

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Have a coffee shop you think I should review next? Let me know in the comments!
See the little button to your right? You could buy me my next coffee!