Edit (07/24/22): Unfortunately, after my latest visit I need to update my post and also my rating. **TLDR: Friendly staff but food not as advertised in the menu, and no effort was made to put things right.** Our last visit at Variato was very disappointing in 4 ways: 1) The plate we ordered (NY Style Pancakes) consisted of the pancakes with fried egg, bacon, sirup and a huge amount of roasted onions (too much for my taste but this does not affect the rating). There was no black sesame as written in the menu and also no side salad as the picture in the menu suggested. 2) My first question why the black sesame was missing was answered shortly: the chef says, there is no sesame in this dish although the menu says otherwise. 3) My second question regarding the misleading photo in the menu was noted but possibly only forwarded to the manager, see next point. 4) This is my major point of critique: apparently no one in the restaurant was in charge of properly processing the complaint. I asked how my complaint was processed and got as response from to the person handling our bill that the manager got sent a message as (s)he was not in the cafe today (on a Saturday). After over a week I still haven't been contacted even though the cafe should have my contact data from the reservation I made. This leaves me with a bad impression of the way customer feedback is handled. ---- Old post (04/10/22): Reservation recommended! Had a delicious breakfast. If unsure what to try out I'd recommend the Vanilla Chai Latte and the cinnamon rolls.

First told us our reservation was canceled because the system broke, then they let us sit, we order, and after one hour wait we ask if they can at least bring the drinks while we wait, and she gives us a look like “ehh i don’t think i cannot do it”… then after another half hour she tells us that the coffee machine is broken (i’ve seen a couple coffees around the room but whatever) and that our food is in preparation, just to come back after one minute and tell us that nope the food is still gonna take a while. They literally kept us there one hour and an half without serving us anything until we eventually left, and meanwhile you could see the waitresses talking on the phone, going for a smoke or chatting like they were the ones having a brunch. By far the worst service of my life, I’ll stop my review here because I do not want to become offensive.

Had a delightful breakfast menu. The taste is very good. The salmon could have been smoked, which increases the taste. The pomegranate syrup gave a good touch to the salad. The chocolatechip Frappuccino was missing the taste, either the coffee was less or ice took most of the taste away. The lattee was also of average taste.

Lovely cafe away from the main tourist areas. The food was delicious and the portions were just right, and the coffee was decent. The service was lovely and patient despite the fact that my partner and I only spoke very basic German. Ordering on the app was incredibly easy and convenient.

It took 2h to get our food, in this time we didn’t even receive our drinks. The girl supposed to prepare the coffee was never behind the bar. We asked for a water and coca-cola and they failed to bring it to the table for 2h. Worst service ever.

I enjoyed the whole experience with delicacy, good music and spacious place at a reasonable price. The Cookie dough is a must try type of thing in Cologne, taste can be customized too. The friendly staff makes one feel like very welcomed. Highly recommended.

The service is horrible, you will wait forever until they bring you your beverage, then the fun starts - they bring you the food you didn’t order and ask if it’s yours. Then they finally bring a half of your order, and the second part is lost completely. My friends had already finished their brunches when I was still sitting hungry. After talking to stuff they promised to fix it and brought another dishes we didn’t order )))) they presented a tasty desert to ask sorry, but I’m still waiting for my shakshuka

Looks amazing! But my experience in the past was not successful. I have ordered The Classic One dish, and it was as sweet as a sugar with caramel under sugar 😝 I could not eat it. I asked to make me a discount or exclude the dish from a bill but the manager did nothing even did not apologize.

We came in for a birthday brunch. Got distracted taking photos and forgot our gifts. Called in 20 mins later and were told to come back around for the gifts. We got there, and no one could find the gift bag that we were told to come pick up. It's been a whole year, and every time I call, the response is always :We don't know. So my gift bag that was left at the reception just walked out of the building

We really used to like this place. However, it has really gone downhill. You have to wait forever for someone to bus the table and for the food although no other customers are there. The bathrooms are nasty and there’s no toilet paper or soap. The system to order online doesn’t work. And if you come after 1pm they run out of everything (eggs!!!, ice, etc.).

As is our standard, we went for pancakes for breakfast once during our stay in Cologne, and this place came up as one of the best for that. The pancakes are not as heavy as we are used to, probably because there is less sugar in them. We didn't think it was a bad thing though, and they don't taste less because of it. The toppings were plenty and all in all it was a good breakfast. The restaurant itself is very sterile though, not a lot of effort was put in making it look and feel attractive. However it is clean, and in the end that is the most important. Ordering can only be done by QR code on the table and the staff are distant. All in all, the food is good but the "experience" lacks. I think it would do good if a bit more effort was put in decorating the place and have ordering by QR as option and not the standard.

Best pancakes and cookie dough ever! 😃😃 We try this place for brunch during our visit to Cologne. What a surprise! It’s amazing and a must if you are looking for a typical american breakfast

Unbelievably slow, took over an hour to get our food with no apology. Found egg shell pieces in the meal. And non-existent service (also need to order through a QR code). The food was good, but overall very bad experience. We asked to have the drinks for free because of this, and they accepted -- hence 2 stars instead of 1. But this was only because we specifically asked. I don't recommend this place.

Although there were empty places and no one from the service was really trying to allocate new guests, we sat down at a table, but then we neede to stand up again and wait until someone assign us a table. The food was in my opinion overpriced, because the portion was rather small and the quality was not there. The eggs with tomato was missing salt and you get two small pieces of bread with them. The pancakes with white chocolate tasted also simple. The coffee was good. We actually wanted to try the place because of some youtubers recommending it.

After ordering and waiting 40 min, they said that the order did not go through. It happened to at least 3 other tables next to us. It seems that it is an ongoing issue but they did not bother to check on anyone. Waited super long, the food was average. In the end, no card payment possible.. had to go to the bank..Would not recommend at all.

Great spot, good service and lovely junk breakfasts ♥️

Hello, so today i was in a beautiful place that i saw in social media and since i am new here i wanted to try it and try something new , i came here in VARIATO CAFE it was so good , first the drink was really good , the food was so delicious i‘ve tried pasta it was so good , the service were so nice to me they can speak english and german, so i didn‘t find a problem to speak to them they were so helpful . As a new citizen in Köln it was a really good and very Magnificent experience. Thank you VARIATO for this great and amazing experience

Variato, Variato! My sweet tooth has never been more satisfied. First class desserts and even better service! The staff were friendly, courteous and professional and the atmosphere was warm cozy and CLEAN!. The menu is innovative and has a variety of options I felt like a kid in a candy store. I recommend the Royal Biscoff Cookie Dough and the San Sebastian cheesecake (both delicious and Instagrammable btw!) They also serve breakfast dishes with a creative twist and the coffee is ever so pleasant! Try the Moroccan Shakshouka and thank me later :D Price-performance ratio is outstanding, fast Wi-fi and pleasant background music makes for the perfect experience. Highly recommended!

I genuinely adored this place, it was calm and the food was amazing. The service was great and it was a very enjoyable experience. I would definitely recommend.

Heard a lot of good things about the sweet items on the menu, but decided to go for a hearty breakfast, which was alright. Interesting ordering system, but works well.

Was the best but you have to reserve even on Sunday no matter what time

Very nice little venue with minimalist and modern interior design. The food, coffee and prices are great. Pretty good place for a sunday brunch.

Went to variato while I was in Germany visiting a friend. They have a menu with a variety of stuff in it, I tried the Royal Biscoff with a drink from there and it was really really good! Would definitely recommend it. Drinks are good too. The customer service was amazing, they were patient with us although we didn’t speak German and one of the people there was able to speak and understand English so it made it easier to order. In general a great experience