Pasta · classic since 2003
Pappardelle al Cinghiale
Wild boar ragù, slow-braised for over four hours. With hand-made pappardelle and aged pecorino from Pienza.
Southern Italian Cuisine · Cologne Old Town · Since 2003
BorninNaples.LovedinCologne.
A small osteria, run for over two decades. Hand-made pasta, dry-aged meat, and a wine selection that turns lunch into a long afternoon.
Philosophy
Cooking is memory.
Every dish carries a story. The pasta is rolled fresh daily — the way nonna did it in Salerno. The meat ages three weeks in our own dry-ageing room. The wine comes from growers we know personally.
Craft over polish.
We use no jarred sauces, no convenience products and no flavour enhancers. Instead: fourteen pasta shapes, fresh daily. Stocks that simmer for thirty-six hours. A chef who tastes every dish himself.
Chef
Marco Esposito.
Born in Salerno, trained at Don Alfonso 1890 (two Michelin stars), owner and head chef of Osteria Caldera since 2003. His standard: Italian cuisine without showmanship.
Marco Esposito
Owner · Head Chef · since 2003
Twenty-two years running his own kitchen in Cologne, preceded by six years on the Amalfi coast. Focused on southern Italian classics with uncompromising product selection. Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2018, Gault Millau 14 points.
Menu
What's coming from the kitchen today.
The menu changes quarterly with the season. Our classics stay — everything else rotates with the markets.
Beef Tartare
€12,90egg yolk, capers, rye toast
Burrata
€11,50San Marzano tomatoes, basil, olive oil
Tuna Crudo
€14,90yuzu, avocado, sesame oil
Vitello Tonnato
€13,50veal, tuna cream, capers
Press & Voices
What press and guests say.
„One of the most consistent Italian kitchens in Cologne. Esposito cooks without effects but with a precision that recalls the best in Italy."
„The pappardelle with wild boar ragù is among the best plates we have eaten in North Rhine-Westphalia this year. A small osteria with very large ambition."
„Our regular for twelve years. Marco knows not only our wine preferences but also our children. This is not a restaurant — it is family."
From Our Kitchen
Four dishes. Four stories.
A small selection of our classics — photographed in our kitchen, without staging.
Pasta · seasonal
Spaghetti alle Vongole
Clams from Brittany, white wine from Campania, garlic, parsley. A dish that forgives nothing.
Main · signature
Dry-Aged Ribeye
350-gram ribeye from our in-house ageing chamber, aged for twenty-eight days. Potato purée, red wine jus, marrow butter, fleur de sel.
Pasta · winter
Tagliatelle al Tartufo
Fresh tagliatelle, black winter truffle from the Périgord, parmesan butter. Available only in the winter months.
Reserve your table.
Reservation recommended. Personal, confidential, no booking platforms. Write or call — we respond within twenty-four hours.
Adresse
Alter Markt 18
50667 Cologne, Altstadt
Telefon
+49 221 4567 890Location
We look forward to seeing you.
Adresse
Alter Markt 18
50667 Cologne, Altstadt
U-Bahn Heumarkt · 3 Min. Fußweg
Parkhaus Heumarkt · 200 m
Parkhaus Heumarkt · 200 m
Öffnungszeiten
Dienstag — Samstag · 18:00 – 23:00
Sonntag · 12:00 – 22:00
Montag · Ruhetag
Sonntag · 12:00 – 22:00
Montag · Ruhetag