The Palmengarten-Gastronomy

In 2002 Margareta Dillinger, Johnny Klinke and Robert Mangold founded Caféhaus Siesmayer GmbH, to enrich the culinary offering of the Palmengarten. The founders, directors and general managers of the Tigerpalast Varieté Theater, who have acquired an extremely high status in Frankfurt’s cultural life and on the culinary scene since 1988, have been operating the gastronomy at the Palmengarten as tenants since 2003. At first, Caféhaus Siesmayer was opened as a transition café at the Galerie West of the Palmenhaus, followed soon by the KiKo Kids Kiosk north of the water features and playgrounds. In May 2004, the new Caféhaus Siesmayer opened its doors at its current location in Siesmayerstraße, on the edge of the Palmengarten. Thanks to its construction, opened on both sides, the Siesmayer is accessible for both the visitors to the Palmengarten and the Frankfurt citizens. Its concept is reminiscent of the classic Caféhaus structures in Austria, in which guests can enjoy the entire range of culinary arts throughout the day from breakfast, through lunch, coffee and cake to an early dinner. In the café’s own bakery, all products are made freshly and from the best ingredients, like the dishes in the kitchen based on many organic products. In the bakery the focus is on French pastry and cake recipes, in the kitchen the regional, classic German cuisine with Mediterranean influences takes centre stage.

In summer 2012 the core of the new gastronomy in the Palmengarten was created after extensive refurbishment work with the reopening of the Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten. The planning for the refurbishment of the Gesellschaftshaus, based on a study by the architects Kramm and Strigl, was awarded to architect David Chipperfield within the framework of an architectural competition in 2002. The necessary resources for the refurbishment were made available by the municipal administration and the city council of Frankfurt in 2003. After the completion of all the refurbishment works, 125 all-year jobs were created at the Siesmayer and in the Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten to operate these classic social venues in Frankfurt. This project, carried out by Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten GmbH & Co. KG, founded by Dillinger, Klinke and Mangold for this very purpose, likewise takes the traditional visitor structures of the Palmengarten, which require differentiated culinary solutions because of their diversity, into due account.

The concept by Robert Mangold provides for the function rooms on the first floor to be available as both banquet and business premises for different conferences, presentations, meetings. The high-quality premises and private terraces offer an ideal setting for weddings, jubilees and private celebrations. The Festsaal in the Gesellschaftshaus deserves a special mention. This historical ballroom, with its parquet floor and its wonderful stuccoed ceiling including frescoes, has been restored in such a way that it can be used for events with up to 1,750 persons, so that the role of the Gesellschaftshaus as first address for celebrations in Frankfurt can be restored. In the function rooms and in the Festsaal the guests can choose between three different culinary lines for their menu or buffet.

The culinary offering is rounded off by the 2-star gourmet Restaurant Lafleur, a member of Relais & Châteaux. The Restaurant Lafleur, which owes its name to the top wine estate “Château Lafleur” in Pomerol and has been a member of the Relais & Châteaux Association since 2015, serves outstanding and exquisite dishes by 2-star chef Andreas Krolik from Tuesday to Saturday evening. In the walk-in Weinkontor, top wines, primarily from Germany, France and Italy, are stored. Maître Miguel Martin has been in charge of the wellbeing of the guests since 2012 and guarantees a delightful and relaxed evening with his experience and his charm. Since January 2018, the restaurant Lafleur also belongs to the restaurant association "Les Grandes Tables du Monde".