29 Best Restaurants in Frankfurt, Germany

With sepia-toned murals of merrymaking above the dark-wood wainscotting, this Apfelwein classic succeeds in being touristy and traditional all at once, and it's a genuine favorite of local residents. The kitchen produces the same hearty German dishes as other nearby taverns, only better. Cider is served in large quantities in the noisy, crowded dining room with many large, communal tables. Reservations are recommended on weekends. Warning: it serves no beer! The family also operates a hotel upstairs.

Reminiscent of a traditional coffeehouse, this café has been offering all types of sweets and pastries, along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner since 1915. Open daily, it's on a quiet, tucked-away street that's steps from the main shopping area, Zeil. In warm weather, there's a lovely outdoor garden.

This tiny, unpretentious place in a quiet Westend neighborhood seems an unlikely candidate for the best restaurant in Germany, yet that's what one French critic called it. Fresh seafood, the specialty, is often flown in from France, as are the wines (the wine list boasts 600 choices). It's closed weekends, during the Christmas and Easter seasons, and during much of summer—in other words, when its patrons, well-heeled business executives, are unlikely to be in town.

For more than 30 years, this simple restaurant has been serving traditional dishes accompanied by potatoes cooked every way imaginable. The potato-and-broccoli gratin and the potato pizza are excellent, as are the Hessian potato pancakes with toppings including mushrooms, smoked salmon, or a fried egg. For dessert, try potato strudel with vanilla sauce. The charming decor includes colorful art deco dishes and lamps.

Many say the M Steakhouse serves the best steak in Germany, all of it imported Nebraska prime beef. Prices are in line with the quality of meat, and the sides complement the dishes perfectly, but if you're looking for non-meat options, you won't find them here. A set of steps leads down into the restaurant's beautifully lit outdoor patio, a perfect setting for a private romantic dinner. The main dining room inside is warm, welcoming, and intimate. The same restaurant group operates Surf 'n Turf a few blocks away, with similar prices and ambience, and seafood dishes in addition to the steaks.

Housed in a former wine cellar that dates from 1893 in one of the alleys off Fressgass, Vinum specializes in regional wines, by the glass or bottle to accompany a regional prix-fixe menu. The burnished brickwork and low lighting adds to the charm. The wine-themed decor includes such items as glass bowls filled with wine corks.

Come to this Bornheim favorite for the delicious selection of tapas, paella, and other Spanish specialties. The dark interior has wooden tables brightened by fresh-cut flowers and candles, making it a good spot for an intimate dinner. In summer you can dine outside, German style, at long tables.

There aren't many classic Apfelwein locales left, but this is one of them. It's just as it has been since the end of the 19th century: walls covered with giant paintings darkened with age, giant stoneware pitchers called Bembels, glasses that are ribbed to give greasy hands traction, long tables that can seat 12 people, schmaltzy music, hearty food with daily specials, and, as is traditional, no beer. Try this one if you want to truly capture the spirit of Old Sachsenhausen.

The ambience of an old-time Viennese café pervades this popular spot, where there's a lovely garden in summer—as well as some of the city's best freshly baked pastries and cakes year-round, best teamed with a Kaffee mit Schlag (coffee with whipped cream). It closes early, by 7 pm.

This sleek establishment at the Palmengarten is accessible either from the botanical garden or from the street, offering fresh-baked pastries throughout the day and a limited prix-fixe lunch menu that changes daily. It closes at 7 pm. The Palmengarten also has the Linden Terrace for snacks in season, and the elegant and pricey Restaurant Lafleur for dinner.

The restaurant on the ground floor of the Städel art museum changes from a casual bistro at lunch to an elegant restaurant open until midnight. Lunch features pastas and panini, or a three-course prix-fixe business lunch. The dinner menu changes every two months to take advantage of seasonal items such as chanterelles, but always includes German favorites such as schnitzel and a few international favorites. The café is open between lunch and dinner for coffee and pastries.  The same company operates café locations at the Frankfurt airport.

This is a traditional-looking restaurant that has been reinvented with a modern vibe; it also claims to have the largest Apfelwein and cider selection in Germany, some of which is used to marinate meats. More than 200 labels are represented, including those from other countries, and cellar tours are offered to diners who request one. It's on the eastern edge of Sachsenhausen, on the border with the Bruckeviertel (Bridge Quarter) neighborhood.  Reservations essential on weekends.

This friendly Apfelwein restaurant offers typical decor, with traditional wood paneling and coat hooks on the wall. It's popular with locals, who come for regional favorites, including dishes with the ubiquitous Frankfurter green sauce, but also a rarity: beer. Save room for appelkranzen, battered and fried apple rings dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with ice cream.

Some of Frankfurt's best Mexican cuisine is found in this festive little place. Warm and colorful, this restaurant serves a variety of fruity margaritas and is well known for its extensive selection of tequilas. The dimly lighted dining room is fairly small; reservations are recommended on weekends.

This modern restaurant, bar, and lounge near many of the city's largest banks makes it a natural for business lunches, but it also attracts many young professionals for after-work socializing and dinner. The moderately priced menu of contemporary dishes includes nearly two dozen varieties of pizza.

The menu is typical of Old Sachsenhausen—apple wine and sauerkraut are served—but the interior is bright and modern and the Frankfurt specialties are a cut above the rest. As proprietor Kay Exenberger puts it, "We're nearly as fast as a fast-food restaurant, but as gemütlich (quaint) as an apple wine locale must be". It's so popular that reservations are a good idea, even at lunch, and everything can be wrapped up to go. Many rave about the chocolate pudding with vanilla sauce.

Frankfurt's Westhafen (West Harbor), once busy and commercial, has been transformed into an upscale neighborhood of apartments, a yacht club, and waterfront restaurants. One of the most chic is Frankfurter Botschaft, with a glass facade and a big terrace overlooking the Main River. The city's elite descend here for business lunches or a cocktail on the terrace at sunset.

The Nordend is noted for its trendy establishments, and this corner restaurant, which is often crowded, is one of the best. The name translates as "megalomania," which may refer to its menu, which changes daily, incorporating German, Greek, Italian, and French elements. Reservations are essential on weekends.

The atmosphere is right out of One Thousand and One Nights at this restaurant near the train station, with belly dancers performing every Saturday night and urging patrons to join in. The Middle Eastern menu is largely vegetarian and heavy on garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Save room for dessert, either baklava, flaky pastry layered with honey and nuts, or amar eilden, apricot pudding dotted with raisins. Those who are so inclined can retire to the lounge and smoke flavored tobacco from a water pipe.

This eclectic vegetarian and vegan spot, a rarity in Frankfurt, serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks made only with organic ingredients. Centrally located a few blocks from the Dom, the café has low lighting and rough-hewn wood tables; the rock 'n' roll and Motown tunes are played here at a volume low enough not to discourage quiet conversation.

This small restaurant and wine bistro is a favorite of both locals and visitors. The menu, dramatically different from those of its neighbors, focuses mostly on seafood, including lobster. The fish and shellfish are prepared in a variety of styles, but the strongest influence is French, as is also the case with the lamb Provençale, one of the nonseafood specialties. For dessert, try the vanilla ice cream with warm raspberry sauce. There's an extensive choice of regional wines by the glass. Reservations are strongly recommended on weekends.

On the 53rd floor of the skyscraper that houses the Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, this popular cocktail bar and high-end restaurant captures unbeatable views through 25-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, from where you can take in all of "Mainhattan". The cuisine is part global and part regional and is served at dinner as a chef's-choice prix-fixe menu ranging from four to seven courses (wine extra). Lunch is an open menu with no minimum, as is the lounge for drinks and bar snacks, which opens at 9 pm. Both the restaurant and the Tower Lounge are open until midnight.

Breakfast is the main attraction at this café near the Römerberg and Dom. The dining room is large, and in the warmer months there are also tables on a garden patio. The kitchen serves until 11 pm. Reservations are accepted for dinner only, and not for the terrace. This is a cash-only restaurant.

At this friendly spot, diners share long wooden tables beneath traditional clothing mounted on the walls. The house specialty is a raw steak brought to the table with a heated rock tablet (Stein is the German word for stone) where you do your own cooking. The house beef broth is the perfect antidote to cold weather. By the way, if you order a beer, specify a Kleines, or small glass; if not, you'll automatically get a liter.

This staple among businesspeople and steak connoisseurs (and with a menu similar to M Steakhouse, which has the same owners) is in a residential area near the Grüneburgpark. The restaurant feels intimate and warm, with dark leather, wood paneling, and small tables scattered throughout the main dining room. The beef is imported from Nebraska, and each cut of meat is presented to guests before taking their orders. The waitstaff are knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly, making this as great a place for a romantic dinner for two as for a casual business lunch.

Hailed as a sort of pan-Asian supper club, this large restaurant with Asian decor has a bar scene that's just as good a reason to visit as its exceptional menu of both Japanese and Chinese dishes. Beef lovers will find plenty to choose from, including sliced hangar steak with Japanese barbecue sauce, and there's a smokers' lounge, rare in smoke-free Frankfurt, featuring Japanese vodka.

There are few inner-city restaurants that brew their own beer, and the Twelve Apostles is one of the pleasant exceptions. Enjoy homemade pilsners in the dimly lighted, cavernous cellar, and sample traditional international and Croatian dishes.