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Munich claims to be Germany's gourmet capital. It certainly has an inordinate number of fine restaurants, but you won't have trouble finding a vast range of options in both price and style.
Typical, more substantial dishes in Munich include Tellerfleisch, boiled beef with freshly grated horseradish and boiled potatoes on the side, served on wooden plates. Schweinebraten (roast pork) is accompanied by dumplings and sauerkraut. Hax'n (ham hocks) are roasted until they're crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. They are served with sauerkraut and potato puree. Game in season (venison or boar, for instance) and duck are served with potato dumplings and red cabbage. As for fish, the region has not only excellent trout, served either smoked as an hors d'oeuvre or fried or boiled as an entrée, but also the perchlike Renke from Lake Starnberg.
You'll also find soups, salads, casseroles, hearty stews, and a variety of baked goods—including Breze (pretzels). For dessert, indulge in a bowl of Bavarian cream, apple strudel, or Dampfnudel, a fluffy leavened-dough dumpling usually served with vanilla sauce.
The generic term for a snack is Imbiss, and thanks to growing internationalism you'll find a huge variety, from the generic Wiener (hot dogs) to the Turkish döner kebab sandwich (pressed and roasted lamb, beef, or chicken). Almost all butcher shops and bakeries offer some sort of Brotzeit, which can range from a modest sandwich to a steaming plate of goulash with potatoes and salad. A classic beer garden Brotzeit is a Breze with Obatzda (a cheese spread made from Camembert and paprika served with freshly sliced rings of onion).
Some edibles come with social etiquette attached. The Weisswurst, a tender minced-veal sausage—made fresh daily, steamed, and served with sweet mustard and a crisp pretzel—is a Munich institution and, theoretically, should be eaten before noon with a Weissbier (wheat beer), supposedly to counteract the effects of a hangover. Some people use a knife and fork to peel off the skin, while others might indulge in auszuzeln, sucking the sausage out of the skin.
Another favorite Bavarian specialty is Leberkäs—literally "liver cheese," though neither liver nor cheese is among its ingredients. Rather, it's a sort of meat loaf baked to a crust each morning and served in pink slabs throughout the day. A Leberkässemmel—a wedge of the meat loaf between two halves of a bread roll slathered with a slightly spicy mustard—is the favorite Munich on-the-go snack.
So small it's easy to miss, this former dairy shop now offers a limited but fine selection of Italian fare, with a menu of fresh antipasti and pasta that changes daily. The high wooden tables and counters fill up fast at this lunch-only spot, so arrive early for the quieter, cooler window seat or take your food to go.
There are a number of fine Italian restaurants around the city, but this is certainly one of the best, with excellent, often experimental meat and fish dishes and lovely pastas that are slightly more budget-friendly. Be sure to reserve a table in good weather so you can sit on the charming patio in the back.
This welcoming Italian spot serves excellent traditional homemade pastas as well as a variety of meat and seafood dishes, including Sicilian prawns in a spicy tomato sauce. The atmosphere is casual but the service is top-notch, and the owner, Guido, and his friendly bulldog, Malesh, are always on hand to greet guests.
This cozy, low-key Italian restaurant serves a rotating menu of excellent pasta dishes, many featuring seafood, and the spritzes here are particularly good.
On a side street between Gärtnerplatz and Isartor, Nero serves up excellent thin-crust pizzas with fresh ingredients imported straight from Italy—try the Diavolo, with spicy Neapolitan salami—as well as solid pastas and great steaks. The restaurant's high ceilings and large windows give it an open, spacious feel, or you can sit upstairs in the lounge for a cozier experience.
Munich's oldest café, dating from 1775, is home to an Italian restaurant that is serviceable, if somewhat overpriced— excepting the pizza, which is a relative bargain. The real draw is the outdoor seating, either on the terrace in full view of Theatinerkirche on Odeonsplatz or in the quiet, tree-shaded beer garden in the Hofgarten.
In the setting of an old apothecary, diners can enjoy specialties from Venice and other northern Italian regions, such as rabbit-stuffed ravioli and whole salt-crusted sea bass, created by chef Gianni Ianniccari. Service is good-humored and conscientious, and the menu changes regularly.
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