About a Hamburg Coffee House

“We used to go to Condi’s on Sundays” – many Hamburg residents will fondly recall their first visits to Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten. After a long walk around the Inner Alster Lake or through the elegant shopping streets of the city centre, they met at the Condi for a coffee and a chat. They would sit in the so-called “hay loft” – through which those on horseback used to pass at the turn of the 20th century to enjoy the hospitality of Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten – and squint at the glistening waters of the Inner Alster Lake. The air smelled of freshly brewed coffee, and their hearts beat faster when the Condi ladies came to serve them with attractive-looking cakes and pies in their white aprons and bonnets.

In front of the door was the Condi carriage – a pony wagon with a coach and lantern. In the back? A giant box of chocolates decorated with an even bigger ribbon. Even back then, the inscription “Home delivery – cakes, pies, pralines and ice cream” promised our guests they could enjoy sweet treats at home.

With the opening of the cake shop “Café Condi” in 1934, Fritz Haerlin, who took over the business from his father Friedrich Haerlin in the same year, managed to successfully revive the style of the Biedermeier era of the 19th century. The works of art, chandeliers and lamps which still adorn the Café Condi in Hamburg in its new look today are the originals dating back to 1830, which have been lovingly reconditioned.