Munich Restaurant Recommendations

I recommend this one that I heard about from a posting on Rick Steve's website. It is very good! Enjoy!
Wirtshaus in der Au
Lilienstr. 51
81669 München


Telefon: +49-(0)89-44 81 400
Telefax: +49-(0)89-44 82 400

Email: info@wirtshausinderau.de
Internet: www.wirtshausinderau.de

We enjoyed Augustiner am Dom at Frauenplatz 8 while we were there last summer. It is in the shadow of the cathedreal Frauenkirche or Dom. Stopped there twice. It also serves the best Bavarian beer you can get, Augustiner.

I still have my list from my last trip:

****LENBACH:
(6 Ottostrasse, a few blocks north of Karlsplatz). Designed by Sir Terence Conran, this very large restaurant reminded us of our lounge clubbing days. The entry is marked by the large fire torch and the interior is themed around the seven deadly sins. You walk on a cool blue lit catwalk to your table. This turned out to be one of our favorite restaurants. We especially enjoyed their fresh fish and pasta dishes. Very good quality dishes with moderate prices so I would highly recommend this place.

***BLAUER BOCK
Less expensive gourmet food in a stylish, modern ambiance just south Marienplatz near the food market area. The lunchtime specials featured fresh seasonal ingredients which means truffles in the winter and asparagus in the spring. Absolutely one of the best-value gourmet food in downtown Munich. Interesting and inventive dishes. Service was very good, our young waiter did his best though not quite impeccable.

****SCHUHBECK’S Südtiroler Stuben
Elevated Bavarian-Austrian gourmet cuisine with a great wine list & sommelier. We reserved on the same day so we got their second dining room which was fine & OK with us since we're there for the food. The food was really memorable except for the fact that they still have the challenge of turning the classic german overcooked meat into a gourmet dish. The men's restroom has very interesting pictures. The notes that we carried says:
Modern Bavarian & Austrian cuisine at its best. An elegant restaurant offering modern cuisine with Bavarian roots.

**DALLMAYR: near Marienplatz
A classic elegant Munich delicatessen and restaurant serving gourmet European dishes. Its the Fauchon of Munich. Great place to take your aunt and grandma for easter brunch.

**HOFER less expensive traditional Bavarian beer garden food inside Munich's oldest townhouse next to Dallmayr 1 min from Marienplatz. For lunch, we prefer dining in the small overcrowded courtyard than in the restaurant's triple floors around it. Food list: Jungschweinbraten (roast from the young pork), Steirischem Backhendlsalat (salad of baked chicken from the Austrian region Steiermark), Tafelspitz (boiled beef filet). Dessert: Kaiserschmarrn ( sugared pancake with raisins), Topfenstrudel (curd strudel), Marillenknödl (apricot dumplings)„Wirtschaftswunderspeisen“the so called retro food like Falsches Lachsbrot (fake salmon on bread) or Russische Eier (eggs Russian style

**RATSKELLER:
A classic favorite basement restaurant in Marienplatz serving typical traditional german fare for the masses.

*BRENNERGRILL: A large restaurant/pub in the Maximilianshoefen. The interior is a noisy large hall with stone columns, rustic wooden tables & banks. More known for their steaks and grill dishes than their Italian dishes and pasta. Not a high culinary place but the bar provides complimentary antipasti.

**KAEFER SCHAENKE
The main and original location is on 73 Prinzregentenstrasse. Some people declare it to be an expensive tourist restaurant while others may consider it to be a Munich high end institution. They charge for everything down to the slices of bread you picked up. The Kaefer delicatessen and food market below the restaurant however is a real treat and is well known for their high quality goods. They also have a cheaper bistro branch in Munich with better food than they serve in their ubiquitous airport food stalls.

BISTRO TERRINE on Amalienstrasse 89 in Schwabing owned by the numero uno gourmet restaurant Tantris. The food starts with authentic French cuisine but it travels to Italy and Asia to be more inventive. The interior is a classic Art Nouveau bistro. Very good value lunch specials.

DUKATZ
Just north of the Marienplatz. Good, fresh mediterranean cooking earning a Bib Gourmand sign (good & inexpensive)from the Guide Michelin.

KATZLMACHER (Kaulbacherstrasse 48)
Italian in Schwabing. The restaurant interior looks like a rustic mountain lodge high in the Italian Alps but it's actually inside a postwar building. The cooking comes from Marches, Friuli,& Emilia-Romagna: vegetarian calzone, grilled swordfish with red-wine vinaigrette, duck breast carpaccio, eel in champagne sauce, and fritto misto del pesce (seasonal mix of fried fish).

G MUNICH
(2 blocks from Sud Bahnhof)
52 Geyerstrasse.
A hip Munich eatery with a big aquarium and white leather. Chef Holger Stromberg is supossedly to be one of the country's hottest culinary names for his modern German cuisine with unusual ingredients.


OSTERIA ITALIANA
(62 Schellingstrasse). We never made it there but here's the notes that we carried with us:
A classic, this up-market Italian eatery has long been a favourite haunt of politicians and glitterati. The food is simple but exquisite. For a special treat try the bollito misto—mixed meats carved at the table.

PALAISKELLER
So not recommended by our hotel concierge even though I was very tempted to go there due to the notes we brought with us which says: Friendly smiling waitresses in the bustling cellar of the elegant Palais Montgelas serving well-prepared cuisine of Bavarian & German dishes including their Tafelspitz.

I'll offer a few restaurant alternatives featuring hearty german fare:

--Altes Hackerhaus on Sendlinger strasse near Marienplatz--awesome food, huge selection (try the Obazter appetizer), excellent beers and terrific apple strudel. Good service and really cool, Bavarian interior

--Donisl, on Marienplatz. Many pork dishes, good beer, oompa band atmosphere, great prices

--Andechser am Dom--near the Frauenkirche, behind Marienplatz. their schnitzel is the best we've ever eaten, many other pork dishes, terrific beers.

I strongly second DAX's recommendations. The Lenbach is THE place to eat in München - no need for Italian of French fare.

We have eaten at many of the places mentioned here but our favorite in Munich is Ratskeller and we also enjoyed Augustiner am Dom. Enjoy J

La Fiorentina
Goethestr 41 @ Pettenkoferstr, near your hotel

Inexpensive Italian restaurant with real no-nonsense Italian food. Don't let the basic or rustic interior fool you: This is one of Munich's best trattorias -- just without an attitude.
The owner's mamma still lives on Sicily and sends the day's menu for her son's Munich trattoria by fax each morning. No kidding.
The menu is sometimes hard to decipher after mamma's scribbles got photocopied (no worries if you don't know much German, it would not help you anyway), but the staff is used to help.


Hofbräukeller
Wiener Platz (Subway 4 or 5, Max-Weber-Platz)

The Hofbräuhaus' little brother, minus the tourists and minus many € for food. Several typical Bavarian entrees for €5.55. Nice beer garden in the back. Nice neighborhood, also for some shopping.

Our favorite was Peterhof, right across from the town hall. This informal restaurant has home-made sauerkraut and mustard, plus wonderful breads from a nearby bakery.

Ratseller in Marienplatz was one of our favorites. Hofbrauhaus was good too (and more fun!!). Both were very affordable (50 euro for two maximum).

We loved Munich.

Ratskeller (Marienplatz) was a family favorite for us.

Since you are bringing kids, you may be interested in a decent self service Italian chain restaurant called VAPIANO. They serve quite a good selection of pasta dishes for 5 to 8 euro. It's a well designed place and your kids may appreciate their new self service concept where the multiple young chefs cook right in front of you after you have chosen your pasta dish. The cooking pan is right on the counter where you place your order. You pay at the end of your meal using their white plastic card that records all the pasta, dessert and drinks that you picked up at the counter. There are 2 branches of Vapiano in Munich: In the nice Fuenfhoefe on Theatinerstrasse and also in the food market hall by the Viktualienmarkt.

jgg, I know there have been a few previous threads about Munich restaurants. If I find them in my files, I'll post the links. In the meanwhile, here are a few that our family (2 teens at the time) enjoyed:

Restaurant Zum Klösterl
St.-Anna-Str. 2
80538 München
Tel.: 089 - 22 50 86
This is a short walk from Marienplatz, very close to Maximillianstrasse. The food is lovely and my fairly adventuresome crew liked it a lot. It was very crowded, so I'd recommend reservations. We went very early and were able to get a table by promising to be finished in 2 hours, when the reserved party would need the table.
http://www.zum-kloesterl.de/

We also ate at Ayinger's which is right across from the Hofbräuhaus. It is cozy and comfortable and has traditional food. It serves its own beer.
Ayingers Speis & Trank
Platzl 1a

Here are some previous threads:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35048203

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35003696

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34969615

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34912972

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34903319
("upscale" - has previous threads)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34820942

Thanks everyone for the recommendations and the threads. This is all very helpful. More recommendations welcome!!

Our family of four loved staying in the Hotel Uhland's family suite. They are very helpful there, and it's a charming building on a beautiful tree-lined street in a nice neighborhood. Be sure to borrow the bikes and take a ride around the neighborhood.

Ask as the front desk for hotel recommendations. There are several very good places within walking distance from the hotel.

We ate at an Italian restaurant close to the Uhland,and I think it was the one mentioned by Cowboy above:
La Fiorentina
Goethestr 41 @ Pettenkoferst

Bookmarking.

We'll be staying at the Hotel Uhland during Oktoberfest this year.

We were there during the Christmas Markets and ate tons of sausages, pretzels, potato pancakes, spaetzle, etc. at the markets. On our last night, we walked up to the Hof Brau Haus and found it too smoky for us although I hear it was turning non-smoking right after we left. We crossed the street and got right in to the Hard Rock Cafe!! Younger son said his cheeseburger hit the spot!! Of course we grabbed our t-shirts, pins and coffee mugs on our way out the door!

We also grabbed sandwiches/fresh fruit/Cokes from a little store called Yorma's. They had locations inside and out of the main train station. We sometimes grabbed a bite to eat for the train ride or when we came back in town exhausted, we would grab something on our walk back to the hotel. Nothing fancy at all, but convenient and fun. (and the fellow working there told my son that he had a pretty mom - he got lots of brownie points for that one!)

Besides Hard Rock's Cafe, another american chain restaurant in Munich is Trader Vic's. It is located in the basement of Bayerisches Hof Hotel at the Promenadeplatz. Whether they're willing to admit it or not, some american Fodorites may find an american based chain restaurant to be an oasis where they serve familiar dishes that "hit the spot" as the previous poster mentioned.

I would really recommend the Pork knuckle (not too big) from Ratskeller under the townhall. Otherwise any restaurants are good and you can't really go wrong, besides thinking you can get a decent meal in the Hofbrauhaus - which you cant! Take a leap try eating where you fancy.

bookmarking

I was trying to remember the name of Yorma the other day They have tasty little sandwiches there. I would never eat a sandwich from 7-11, so I was skeptical, but they were good.

bookmarking... thank you.

gruezi

bookmarking as well.

I'm getting hungry!

Bookmarking - I can't wait to sample the food in Munich!

Gee, Meredith, I would like to tell you where I go and how we have our huge portions of liver, Kasspatzn or just a simple Cordon.

But then, I would want to be able to get a seat and decent food whenever I want.

Ah c'mon, logos, spill your restaurant secrets. I won't tell anyone, I promise!