VEDDELER FISH RESTAURANT

History of the Veddel fish restaurant

On 15.12.1932 the Veddel fish restaurant was opened by Louis Matthes in Tunnelstr. 33. At that time, there were some residential buildings on the current site of the old customs clearance buildings and the current location of the Veddel fish restaurant, in which a large number of shops and restaurants were located. It was a very lively place, which was also called “little St. Pauli” at that time. The menu already included fried fish at that time, but dishes without fish were also offered. In addition to the inhabitants of the Veddel, many dock workers were also among the guests.

During the devastating bombing raids on Hamburg in 1943, many buildings in the north of Veddel were destroyed or at least severely damaged. However, the businessmen on the Veddel did not let themselves be discouraged in this difficult time and rebuilt their shops in wooden barracks. Today’s guest room of the Veddel fish restaurant was such a replacement building and has been preserved to this day in its original appearance from 1943.

By the way: Fish knives were not available for purchase at that time or were simply too expensive! That’s where the tradition comes from, which we still maintain today: In the Veddel fish restaurant, we eat with two forks!

Shortly after the war (1946), the building was added to the guest room, which today houses the kitchen, storage, office, social room and filleting room. From then on, the Matthes family lived on the upper floor. From the storm surge on 16. and On February 17, 1962, the Veddel fish restaurant was hit hard. The guest room was about 2 meters under water. The marking on the pillar in the middle of our guest room still reminds us of this today. But even after the destruction in the war, there was only one motto: It must go on! And so the Veddel fish restaurant was reopened just a few weeks after the storm surge.

In 1967, Louis’ son, Gerd Matthes, took over the Veddel fish restaurant together with his wife Anneliese. Gerd had previously joined his parents’ business after his apprenticeship as a fish worker with Daniel Wischer and brought the oven, built in the 1920s, to the Veddel fish restaurant. The oven, which is now about 100 years old, has been the heart of the restaurant since then and still is the guarantor for our unique fried fish!

In 2006, it was time for Anneliese and Gerd Matthes to say goodbye to the Veddel fish restaurant and go into well-deserved retirement. When Wolfgang and Marion Göttsche, guests in the restaurant at the time, learned from Gerd that the Veddel fish restaurant was for sale, the decision was quickly clear: Wolfgang and Marion, who wanted to reorient themselves professionally anyway, did not hesitate for long and took over the traditional business and successfully continued it. Of course, all original recipes from the 1930s were passed on. For example, fried fish and potato salad taste just as good today as they did almost 100 years ago. But time moved on and it was another generational change of time: On 01.04.2021, Marion Göttsche, who most recently ran the Veddel fish restaurant alone, passed it on, at the age of 72, to her son Christian with his wife Olivia. Even today, tradition is the order of the day! All recipes are unchanged, the dining room continues to be exactly the same as it has been for almost 80 years.

It is also worth mentioning that the city of Hamburg saw no other option than to demolish the Veddel fish restaurant and assign it a new location after a citizens’ resolution in October 2021 on the development of the area of the current restaurant and the customs clearance buildings. The guests, some of whom have been loyal to the Veddeler for many decades, and also the team, did not put up with this! In just a few months, well over 22,000 guests and friends of the Veddel fish restaurant have signed a petition to preserve the restaurant at its traditional location and in the historic building. This response prompted the government of the citizenry to decree the preservation of the Veddel fish restaurant at its traditional location in June 2022 and called on the building authority to include the Veddel fish restaurant at the traditional and current location in the construction planning.

Now one can say: The Veddel fish restaurant has survived the 2nd World War, the flood of the century and the current construction plans of the city. And very important for the future: Son Jonas is determined to take over the Veddel fish restaurant in about 10 years and thus maintain the family business! Jonas already enjoys working in the restaurant when his time allows.

Here everything remains as it was and is – Backfisch for ever!