EBG Rating: 8.4/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
A broad range of drinks covering bases pretty well, and more than you’d find at the average St Pauli boozer overall. This includes their own brand beers.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Among the main reasons to visit. You’ll find a well preserved wood-fit bar with stained glass adjacent to the bar and a highly personalised interior from the shark theme to seafaring artwork and nik-naks. Two rooms with a small lounge opposite the bar which is furnished the same way.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Excitable lively audience even during the day, most enjoying the novelty factor of the experience. Service is done with flair, a little bit brusque and arrogant but not impersonal.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Food, snacks, outdoor seating.

Value For Money:
❤️❤️
Possibly the main weak point, as it is more expensive than most, capitalising on its fame a little more than than is fair.

Description:
Since 1947 they boast very little has changed to the fixtures and fittings, with only the seafaring decoration inside becoming ever more lavish.

Haifisch (Shark) Bar is a famous Hamburg institution along the Fischmarkt that is simple to reach on public transport, but definitely feels detached from the action in St Pauli or Altona. Along with Schellfischposten around the corner, these old sailor hangouts have become a fixture, even a tourist destination.

This can be seen as you walk inside, with groups of excited tourists, and service which is done with that swagger and hint of arrogance you often get when servers are working in bars with a wider profile.

The interior is a thing of beauty if you enjoy rickety wood, old lamps, stained glass, low-ceilings, charming gloom and collections of tat. You might have noticed that we do.

The drinks selection is decent though not cheap, this certainly matches the higher end of what you’d normally pay around the city, but the novelty factor and quality of the interior, frustrating as it is to say, more or less overcomes the bind of having to chuck an extra euro or two at them.

For those seeking specialist beers or a more refined environment, this is not for you. For those who want to experience a unique part of Hamburg’s history, enjoy the environment of jolly, excited patrons and a dash of flair to the service, you’ll enjoy this bar a lot.