Staudi's Düsseldorf: where culinary art meets the art of being clever

When you open the listed building’s door and enter the Staudi’s restaurant, you enter a different world. Colourful art nouveau floor tiles, metro station tiles on the walls. The glass ceiling features cows and pigs, pointing to the unit’s former use as a butcher’s – another hint of a different world.
These days, Staudi’s offers ‘modern German cuisine’, as owner and chef Sebastian Staudinger describes it. His menu features dishes such as ‘Curry-pus Pommes’ – a tongue-in-cheek play on the German classic of currywurst sausage and chips, just with exquisite octopus instead of unexciting sausage. Geographically speaking alone, this is no easy location for high-end cuisine. So why here?

From a first date …

‘If I ever open my own restaurant, it should look like this,’ enthused Magda Przenioslo, who has since become a Staudinger, when she found herself marvelling at those floor tiles seven and a half years ago. Sebastian was sitting opposite here in these rooms which were home to a different eatery at the time. It was the now married couple’s first date. Years later in 2019, the two now a couple, Sebastian was nonchalantly scrolling through a real estate website in bed one evening. ‘He suddenly held up his mobile phone and said “Look, do you recognise those shop windows?”,’ relates Magda, grinning. They were both working in the food service industry and the idea of setting up their own business had been brewing for some time. So when they learned they were being given a tenancy agreement, that was that.

Staudi’s, which is named after Sebastian’s childhood nickname, opened in 2020. Four years down the line, guests need to make a reservation in good time. On weekends in particular, spontaneously dropping in and getting a table is virtually impossible. Among other things, because the chef doesn’t offer à la carte dishes – there is a fixed menu with a choice of between four and six courses, with vegetarian options available. A meal is priced between €75 and €109. Sebastian says he has occupied a niche – ‘above the “in” restaurants in terms of quality and price, but below a Michelin-starred restaurant.’ This is proving to be a hit. The restaurant is open four days a week for evening business only. That’s enough for the 33-year-old: ‘We want to be able to enjoy life and spend time with one another too.’

… to their own restaurant

For Staudi’s sommelier Stephan Körner too, this is a pioneering model, in particular considering the omnipresent staff shortages. ‘The four-day week is the future in the food service industry,’ he believes. ‘At least, if, like us, you only work with one team.’ While Sebastian is top dog in the kitchen, restaurant manager Stephan is responsible for service. As a qualified sommelier, he also makes sure the wine list perfectly matches the food. And with his second passion, bartending, he delights the guests with full-bodied aperitifs such as his own negroni, which has been stored in a barrel since day one.

METRO as partner

They buy their ingredients at METRO, with Sebastian heading to the wholesale store every Tuesday. Staudi’s features in the Düsseldorf Gourmet Festival too, where, like the entire event, it is supplied by METRO. In addition to kitchen basics such as cooking oil, Sebastian in particular sources all the vegetables he needs at METRO. ‘The vegetables aren’t all individually wrapped in plastic, and that’s good.’ The wholesale own brand METRO Professional has made an impression when it comes to dinner candles and tealights too – ‘they really do burn the longest by a long way.’

An eye for detail

And they do get through quite a few candles at Staudi’s. Which brings us to Magda’s territory – decor. She has made this her profession too, with creative workshops in the areas of, for example, dried flower arranging and ceramic design. In the dining area, she expresses her passion in all kinds of details, be it gold and azure serving trays or Magda’s home-made knife rests with a terrazzo pattern. And these cutlery rests are not only delightful to look at – they also delight the service staff. ‘They mean that, if they want to, the guests can keep their cutlery for the next course,’ explains Sebastian. ‘That saves the staff time and work.’
Culinary art meets fine art and the art of being clever – another way in which Staudi’s stands out.

👉🏼 Three professionals, three tips: restaurateur and business manager Sebastian, decor expert Magda and sommelier Stephan know what matters.