I’ve been very reliant on a certain German to see me through after nights out in the centre. Herman ze German is located near Trafalgar Square and is very convenient if you’re travelling from Charing Cross or Embankment stations. They open till late…and the exact time seems to depend on the night and how many people show up.
I like their simple menu featuring only three types of sausages – Bratwurst (pork and veal), Bockwurst (smokey pork) and Chilli beef (spicy beef and pork). That said, I would love them more if they also served a Käsekrainer but I think that’s really Austrian. They also have meatballs but I’ve never visited when they had them available.
That’s a plain currywurst above. While I do like their sausages as is, in a bun with mustard/ketchup and crispy fried onions, their currywurst has to be my favourite. The curry sauce that comes slathered on top of the cut-up sausage comes in three levels of heat: mild, hot, and burner, but from what I could tell, I think there’s just one curry sauce and then varying amounts of a chilli powder sprinkle.
This is my usual order though – a currywurst with fries (it’s a little over a fiver altogether).
I have no idea how they make fries that are cooked with no oil. They don’t have the same texture as fried fries but you do feel less guilty eating these. Very addictive too when dipped in that curry sauce and do try to get them to sprinkle those crispy fried onions on top if you can.
Herman ze German
19 Villiers Street
London WC2N 6NE
Wed, 22 Aug, 2012 at 18:42
I’ve often walked last but yet to try. But have you the sausage logo?!! I probably gotcha dirty mind but…!!!
Wed, 22 Aug, 2012 at 18:43
I’ve often walked last but yet to try. But have you seen he sausage logo?!! I probably got a very dirty mind but… It looks so phallic!
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:03
Hehe..yeah, I didn’t want to mention it. Yes, but it is a sausage-fest inside!😀
Wed, 22 Aug, 2012 at 21:56
I keep walking past it too, will have to try it out sometime! Rather enjoyed the one I had in Berlin.🙂
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:14
I still need to travel to Berlin to try the real thing!
Thu, 23 Aug, 2012 at 02:36
Are they using an airfryer to make the fries?
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:14
I have no idea. They must have a giant airfryer though to make the quantities they need.
Thu, 23 Aug, 2012 at 14:09
Oh wow, what a coincidence, I blogged about Currywurst this week too, haha! Mine (at a fancy hot dog stand here in Melbourne) weren’t very authentic – yours look much more authentically German! Yummmmm!
xox Sarah
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:20
😀 Currywurst day!
Thu, 23 Aug, 2012 at 14:11
Oh BTW cheese kranskys are really widespread in Germany too, they just call them: “Kaeseknacker”. So I don’t think they’re exclusively Austrian.🙂
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:20
Oooooh, so something from the general Austro-Hungarian empire? Wonder if they exist in Hungary too?
Thu, 23 Aug, 2012 at 17:37
I hugely enjoyed the currywurst I had in Berlin. Will have to visit soon.
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:21
And I need to visit Berlin!
Thu, 23 Aug, 2012 at 20:40
I want to try currywurst in Germany one day!
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:36
As do I! Well, I mean in Berlin!
Fri, 24 Aug, 2012 at 20:30
Currywurst is one of the iconic dishes of Germany, it had its beginnings in Berlin after the war … the fast food places used to spice up their rather bland, ersatz wartime sausages with tomato ketchup and curry powder which were given to them by the British Army.
I get bratwurst and frikadelle at Tesco … can’t find any sauerkraut here, though; have to use coleslaw instead.
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:37
Try Lidl for sauerkraut.
Ah… now I understand where the ketchup and curry powder came from! Thanks!
Fri, 24 Aug, 2012 at 23:10
Good to know about this place – Charing Cross is the station I use when I come into London, so it’s handy to have something that’s open ’til late and is good, but dirty enough to feel like a late-night naughty. That looks like it would be perfect!
Mon, 27 Aug, 2012 at 22:41
Exactly! Good but ever so slightly dirty. Oh yes!
Tue, 28 Aug, 2012 at 08:32
I must have walked past this a thousand times and never eaten there!! An oversight as I LOVE German sausages. Agree though – bring on the kasekrainer!
Mon, 3 Sep, 2012 at 19:05
Love the kasekrainer!
Sun, 2 Sep, 2012 at 12:45
I am looking forwards to checking this out. Thanks for the tip!
Mon, 3 Sep, 2012 at 19:05
I hope you like it!
Fri, 12 Oct, 2012 at 13:03
Su- Lin thank you for your article, it is great to read ! And thank to everyone else for their comments. I think we have to organise a bus trip to Germany and all the famous Currywurst places.🙂
Thu, 3 Oct, 2013 at 21:15
Currywurst was invented by Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949 as an affordable but filling meal for the people of Berlin at a time when food was in short supply.
When you order your Currywurst you can ask for it skin on “Currywurst mit Darm” or without skin “Currywurst ohne Darm”. Sausage casings were in short supply in the Soviet-controlled side of the city. If you grew up in East Berlin, you like sausage without skin; if you grew up in West Berlin, you probably prefer sausage with skin.
I’m not from Berlin, I prefer Currywurst without skin and in my opinion the best place to get it is from Fritz & Co (a Currywurst stall) on Wittenberg Platz in the Schöneberg area of Berlin.