Even on an overcast day, the view from the observation deck of the Main Tower, Frankfurt’s highest public viewing platform, is impressive. (Robin Hoecker / S&S)
It’s the place to go to get high.
Located atop Frankfurt’s fourth-tallest building, the Main Tower Restaurant and Bar offers a different view of the city than from the airport or the train station.
Attentive bow-tied waiters deliver gourmet meals and expensive cocktails, but the restaurant’s main draw is the view. Looking down from the 53rd floor, a rounded glass wall delivers staggering panoramas of Frankfurt’s silvery skyscrapers, also cleverly known as Main-hattan.
A high-speed elevator ride covers the 613 feet from the lobby to the restaurant in exactly 45 seconds.
For a full 360-degree view, take the elevator one floor higher to the observation level. At a height of 656 feet, the open-air deck is the highest public viewing platform in the city. On a clear day, visitors can see as far north as the Taunus mountains and as far south as the Odenwald.
Once inside the restaurant, the 26-foot glass walls give patrons the feeling of sitting in the clouds, floating over the city with the ant-sized people below. Even in bad weather, the restaurant offers a cozy atmosphere. Patrons can sip coffee over candlelight while raindrops roll in beads across the windows.
Although there is no posted dress code, better leave the flip-flops at home. The restaurant is a classy joint full of business-suit types and well-dressed couples gazing into each other’s eyes.
For those who can afford the pricey menus, the Main Tower Restaurant would be a special and romantic place to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary. Meals range from the three-course vegetarian menu, which costs 48 euros, to the more elaborate six-course Mainhattan menu, which includes lamb, calimari risotto and rabbit, priced at 98 euros.
If you are one of the unfortunate who doesn’t have extra hundred-euro notes lying around, no worries. Just pay the 3 euro elevator fee, order a slightly overpriced drink and soak up the view. If you dress right, you can at least pretend that it’s your favorite hangout.
While the menu does include a handful of beers, the bar specializes in cocktails, which hover in the 10-euro price range. For those with a refined taste for alcohol, the bar has a range of options, including eleven varieties of single-malt scotch.
It may not be the place to hang out every Friday night, but the Main Tower is at least worth a one-time visit. Guests can come down after having had at least a taste of the high life. Just pray that the elevator works, otherwise it will be more than 1,000 steps back to the lobby.
Main Tower
Frankfurt, Germany
Drinks: Range from 3 euros for coffee or beer to 10-euro cocktails and pricey bottles of wine.
Food: Three- to six-course meals cost anywhere from 48 to 98 euros.
Clientele: Well-dressed and high-class in the restaurant, but anyone can go to the bar and have a drink.
Location: Neue Mainzer Strasse 52-58, Frankfurt, Germany
Web site:www.maintower-restaurant.de
