The Restaurant
Restaurant Alter Keller occupies a half-timbered building tucked into a side lane behind the Marktplatz, with a street-level dining room (thirty-two covers) and a vaulted cellar that opens for private events of up to twenty-four. The family has operated the restaurant for three generations; the current proprietor-chef has been in the kitchen since 2001.
Alter Keller is widely considered Rothenburg's best steakhouse, and the Sunday-roast programme — Tauber Valley beef aged in the cellar, carved tableside — is the house signature. The non-beef menu runs Franconian classical (pork shoulder, Schäufele, game in season), but the reason the restaurant has its reputation is the dry-aged beef selection. Cuts run from 250g to 800g; the rare Tomahawk cut (1.1 kg) is offered nightly for two.
The wine list is a serious 180 references, led by Franconian reds and a small but well-curated South American section for beef pairing. Service is warm, direct, and capable of the slight theatre the meat service requires — the tableside cutting of a Tomahawk has been the most photographed moment at Alter Keller for twenty years.
Why This Is Rothenburg’s Birthday Pick
For a birthday that should include a shared centrepiece — a tomahawk, a côte de boeuf, a tableside carve — Alter Keller is Rothenburg's answer. The kitchen understands the birthday ceremony: a candle in the dessert, a printed menu card with the diner's name, a discreet glass of local sparkling Bocksbeutel on arrival if the occasion is noted at reservation. Private cellar dining for groups of twelve to twenty-four is available.
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