Gaffel am Dom, Cologne

Gaffel am Dom is a traditional, yet modern brewery and tavern situated in Cologne's historic Deichmannhaus since 2008. This seven-storey neoclassical edifice is named after Wilhelm Ludwig Deichmann, one of the co-founders of the Deutsche Bank, and was built in 1914 replacing the original building erected in the mid 19th century.

As for the brewery, Gaffel Becker & Co was founded in Cologne in 1908 by the Becker Brothers. Being a member of the Cologne Brewery Association, it is authorized to produce its own brand of the traditional regional top-fermented beer – Gaffel Kölsch. The brand's name derives from the Cologne Gaffels, who were the political arm of the guilds and merchants in the city back in 1396. "Gaffel" was the old Cologne expression for a two-pronged fork that the local merchants brought from Venice in the 11th century.

Behind the majestic façade you will find a typical Rhenish beer-house where Cologne's metropolitan flair meets a village-like tranquility in a mix of traditional brewery attributes (lights, large copper elements and numerous original pieces of historical beer advertisements) and innovative dispensing and cooling technology. Fine dry Gaffel Kölsch here is delivered via an uninterrupted cold chain from the brewery to the tap, using the Gaffel cellar barrel system guaranteeing absolute freshness.

Spread on three floors, the house can seat up to 700 guests; the outdoor section has 300 seats. The spacious, light-filled rooms with long bars, benches and tables on the one hand, and cozy nooks, small booths and secluded rooms on the other, produce an ambiance that is bourgeois, hearty, comfortable and, as is so typical of the Rhinelander, positive and cheerful. The menu features hearty regional specialties, including a large variety of German sausages.