The Tigerpalast offers live music, song and even acrobats, but reservations need to be booked well in advance. It's onsite trendy Tiger-Gourmetrestaurant is Michelin starred. Complementing an innovative range of dishes, such as artichokes with experimental foam or fried lobster cannelloni, is a comprehensive wine list. On the same site, the more informal Palastbar-Restaurant is a great alternative for when the main restaurant is fully booked.

Situated in the Bockenheim neighbourhood, Andalucia is one of those very rare places that serves traditional Spanish home cooking at its best. Its comfortable atmosphere and affordable prices attract students but also a wide range of clientele, from Spaniards and big families to business people. Within its atmospheric interior of wooden tables and landscape paintings, Andalucia serves traditional tapas and à la carte dishes.

Located in Frankfurt's city, the excellent Greek restaurant Ariston offers an extensive choice of traditional and fine Greek cuisine in elegant atmosphere. It's all excellent value. Forget gyros and suflaki and expect fine Hellenistic dishes.

This 1930s speakeasy-style joint now has two branches in Frankfurt. This one at its original location in the city centre and a second down by the river at Rotfeder Ring 13 (tel: (069) 2400 9796). Both serve up classic American food, from meaty hamburgers to slabs of steak. The dessert menu is massive and the cocktail list impressive too – ideal for a big feed after a day’s sightseeing.

Die Leiter, The Ladder, is one of Frankfurt’s swankiest restaurants and is a place to be seen as much as a place to eat. The food is a mixture of classic French and Italian dishes, with a long wine list to complement its vast array of dishes. There are German plates on the menu, but the grub is really about Latin influences. The wide selection of digestifs should round off an evening nicely too.

Attached to the excellent cinema of the same name, this neighbourhood restaurant serves up exquisite food. The cooking verges on the experimental, with dishes like salsify soup with blood sausage wonton and cod steamed in red curry marinade, but diners can also find superb pizza and salads if they’re after something a touch more affordable.

Hidden in the Sachsenhausen quarter, this Austrian restaurant is not overloaded with Alpine kitsch but decorated in a genuine country-house style. As one might suspect, Wiener Schnitzel is served in this authentic Austrian 'Gasthaus', but there are also a few typical traditional dishes with a twist. The menu is not short of Austrian wines or its famously strong Schnapps.

A Sachsenhausen institution, Lorsbacher Thal serves up traditional, local dishes, such as goose leg with red cabbage and venison goulash with dumplings. As well as the hearty fodder, the restaurant is famed for its strong apple wine. This stuff is among the best in the city, and visitors can often be found sampling the different types after lining their stomachs. There are cosy tables inside and a pleasant courtyard that’s ideal in high summer.

Hugely popular with locals and tourists alike, Romanella is a great little budget Italian that covers all bases for those after pizza, pasta or super fresh Mediterranean vegetables. As well as its standard dishes, it also serves more creative Italian plates, including an impressive line-up of seafood. The monkfish is especially good.