7 Best Restaurants in Franconia and the German Danube, Germany

In a city famous for its cafés, Anna is a safe chain of high-quality bakeries in Regensburg and one of the best places for coffee and cake in the afternoon. Breakfast under the vaulted ceilings is pleasant as well are the sandwiches to go. The wonderful bread and pastries more than make up for the surly barista.

A modern two-level café and bar, Felix offers everything from sandwiches to steaks, and buzzes with activity from breakfast until the early hours. Light from an artsy chandelier and torchlike fixtures bounces off the many large framed mirrors.

Shaded by magnificent old trees, locals sit in this famous brewery's enormous beer garden (seating more than 1,000), sipping a Hacklberger and tucking into a plate of sausages or the pumpkin-seed breaded roast chicken

For traditional regional food, such as Nürnberg bratwurst, head to this atmospheric brewery and whiskey distillery. You can see the copper kettles where the brewery's organic Rotbier (red beer) is made.

The city council meets here—at the oldest bratwurst restaurant in the world—to decide the official size and weight of the Nürnberger bratwursts, so this should be your first stop to try the ubiquitous local delicacy. The sausages have to be small enough to fit through a medieval keyhole, which in earlier days enabled pub owners to sell them after hours.

At the world's oldest, and possibly smallest, bratwurst grill, just by the Stone Bridge, succulent Regensburger sausages are prepared right before your eyes on an open beech-wood charcoal grill. If you want to eat them inside in the tiny dining room, you'll have to squeeze past the cook to get there. The homemade sauerkraut and mustard are excellent and available for sale.

Set in the middle of Old Town, this tavern has been serving beer inside an ancient half-timber house since 1405. The real reason to come here is to try the Aecht Schenkerla Rauchbier, a dark beer brewed with smoked malt that tastes like liquid ham—it's an acquired taste but worth sampling. The best strategy is not to sip and enjoy, but to gulp down the first half; if you can choke down the first one, you'll be a fan for life.