Hard Rock Cafe Hamburg. Hamburg, Germany.

Dining with a view of the Elbe.

He even leaves the smoking to the VarioSmoker on his combi oven, packing marinated ribs tightly into the Spare Rib Grid before fitting them into the SelfCookingCenter^®. The kitchen used to have a separate smoker, “but we wanted to replace it with a multifunctional unit,” the sous chef explains. Besides smoking, they use the SelfCookingCenter^® to bake cheesecake, fry eggs in the Multibaker, prepare the mise en place with pulled pork and chicken, and make bacon for breakfast and burgers, among other things. “In half the time,” Kasbohm assures us. “It makes a real difference in terms of work hours and energy consumption.” His kitchen also makes regular use of the “Breakfast” preset, which includes cooking processes for grilled tomatoes, fried eggs, toast, and mushrooms. Kasbohm and his team just have to assign the ticket to the correct rack, and the SelfCookingCenter^® guides them the rest of the way. Staff members learn how to use the combi oven in internal training sessions. They’ve felt the effects of qualified staff shortages here, too. Each team member has to spend two weeks at each station in the kitchen so that they’re prepared to cover any position. Customers can taste that the system works.

The chain offers regulars small presents - T-shirts, limited-edition pins - for their 50th, 75th, 100th, and 125th visits. Right now, they’re still waiting for someone to hit the top prize of 350 visits.

That might well happen in Hamburg - after all, the location was named “Top of the Rock,” the best franchise cafe, in 2014. The food and the service are crucial to that distinction, of course, but the ambiance doesn’t hurt, either. The center of the room is dominated by the elliptical bar; the tables scattered around it provide seating for up to 150 customers. During the summer, two terraces offer another 200 seats or so. Those terraces are where the real magic happens - they offer gorgeous views of the Elbe, the Blohm + Voss shipyard, and plenty of passing ships. An ideal backdrop for parties and live concerts. They spent a long time looking for a location like this one, and the extra work required to prepare the historically protected building was definitely worth it. Food, music, beach chairs overlooking the Elbe River - they’ve got it all now.