Tubingen restaurants
 

We will be spending several days in Tuebingen at the end of the month, visiting our son who is studying at the university. I know it's a relatively small town, but does anyone have suggestions for good restaurants? Anything from upscale to casual, and especially places to get a sandwich for lunch, is what we're looking for. Thanks!

There is always Subway :-)

Well, that could be a great lunch option.

Oh Cowboy, come on! :-)

I have eaten at, and have recommended to others, Weinstube Forelle, just off the main square. A very traditional and atmospheric mid-price Swabian restaurant with great food. I believe it is listed in the Fodor's guidebook (not that I'm a walking ad for the book, I just happen to recall finding it in there).

I meant to add, if you are looking for some day trips from Tuebingen, do not overlook Burg Hohenzollern, one of the most fabulous (but lesser-known) castles in Germany, and Kloster Bebenhausen, a beautifully-preserved monastery just outside Tuebingen.

Thanks for your suggestions, Hausfrau. We'll make a note of the restaurant, and both day trips you recommended are already on our list. Any other advice you have will be much appreciated!

Second the recommendation for Weinstube Forelle. Our hotel was just a few steps from this wonderful little restaurant. Our food was great and we had a lovely conversation with a friendly German couple seated near us!

In Waldhausen, there is a fantastic traditional restaurant called Gaststaette Waldhauser Hof - for some great Spaetzle.

The Brewery Neckarmueller is right on the Neckar and has good German food. There is a fairly kitschy Mexican restaurant directly next door, but I would only suggest that for your son when he gets desperate for a taste of home (it's certainly not authentic).

I was always fond of the Restaurant Am Schloss, for traditional regional German cuisine.

Tangente Jour by the Stiftskirche is a good cafe for a quick lunch/coffee.

Schoene Aussichten is also good for a lunch and coffee.

Thanks so much for your suggestions, Bettyk and Woyzeck. These are the kinds of restaurants we are looking for. Our son told us just today that he has heard great things about the Restaurant Am Schloss, and since we are staying at the Hotel Am Schloss, that should be an easy one!

We had lunch at the Am Schloss and the food WAS good. I just remember the Forelle being especially tasty. Maybe I was hungrier!

jentrav, how much time do you have? LOL. I lived in Stuttgart for 2 1/2 years so I have plenty of ideas...A few more of the "greatest hits" in my opinion include the Mercedes and Porsche museums in Stuttgart, the Residenzschloss (the "Versailles of Swabia")and its gardens in Ludwigsburg, and the small towns of Bad Wimpfen and Schwaebisch Hall (for their traditional half-timbered buildings and storybook settings). Heidelberg is larger and a bit more touristy (and maybe more exciting for your son), but well worth a visit. That's just the tip of the iceberg, of course!

Don't feel the need to cram in Heidelberg if you don't have time, since Tuebingen is a perfectly lovely university town. You won't be missing that much - especially if you only have a few days there.

Hausfrau makes some great suggestions for Stuttgart and the surrounding area if you have time.

Thanks for the Stuttgart suggestions, hausfrau. The weather isn't loooking great, so we have decided to hit the museums in Stuttgart if it's too dreary to be outside. Any suggestions for a place for lunch? We have about 4 days in Tuebingen (and for day trips). We have several itineraries, including Bad Wimpfen and Schwaebisch Hall, and plan to be flexible, depending on the weather.

Woyzeck, even though we have never been to Heidelberg, we agree with you...we think Tuebingen will be representative of a university town, and we have plenty of time there!

If you are trying to hit both car museums in one day, your best bet is probably to eat at one of the museum cafes. The food will certainly be decent. I say this because the museums are located in suburbs on opposite sides of Stuttgart.

The Residenzschloss in Ludwigsburg would still be a good rainy-day option even without the gardens. There is an excellent English tour at 1:30 every day; it gives a great snapshot of Baden-Wuerttemberg history and the palace itself is beautiful, on the order of a mini Versailles.

I will cross my fingers that you get some good weather!

We are back from our week in Germany, and thanks to all for your restaurant recommendations. Our absolute favorite was the Forelle; we had an excellent dinner and the staff was wonderful. We also enjoyed dinner at our hotel, the Am Schloss (their breakfast was fantastic as well). For a change, we had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant overlooking the river, called La Torre Neckartor...great food and service. We also enjoyed a drink at the bar of Tangente Jour - didn't have a chance for a snack there. Nice, friendly service.

Hausfrau, thanks again for your recommendations for Stuttgart, though we ran out of time and never made it there. We instead did some day trips - one to the Bodensee, another to Strasbourg and another to Hohenzollern. We survived the mostly cold, gray weather, and most importantly, driving on the autobahn!

Thanks again to all of you for your great advice.

jentrav, did you enjoy Hohenzollern? It wasn't the prettiest of days when we were there, but we found it and the surrounding countryside lovely.

Where did you go on Bodensee?

So glad you enjoyed the Forelle! (It's nice to know that several years later, it is still getting rave reviews, so I can keep recommending it.)

I too would like to know what you thought of Hohenzollern.

Sorry to hear it was gray for most of your visit. March is always risky. That's spring in Germany for you!

Back to you both, bettyk and hausfrau, with some answers to your questions. We all loved Hohenzollern and had (for a change) a warm sunny day there. You're right: the countryside was spectacular. We parked at the nearest car park, and instead of taking the shuttle, walked the 10-15 minutes up a nice paved path to the castle. I thought I was in good shape, but I was huffing and puffing! Still it was a pleasant walk with plenty of space to stand and admire the view and take a break.

The castle itself is beautiful and interesting. One can only visit the castle with the guided tour, which is just fine, except that probably due to it being the slow season, there were no tours in English. However, the guide was really kind, and though there were about 20 Germans in our group, he always gave a summary to us in English. Also, at the information office, they loaned us their tour books in English so we could follow along. All in all, a great 1/2 day trip from Tuebingen.

Our day-long trip to Bodensee included a first stop at Uberlingen, which was very pretty, especially nice along the waterfront. It was Palm Sunday, and people were getting out of church with beautifully decorated boughs of boxwood, something you don't see here, or something I've never seen. Of course, stores weren't open, but we stopped for a nice coffee. Next we stopped at Meersburg, which wasn't much, and I would skip. Our final stop was Lindau, which is beautiful and I imagine quite touristy in the nice weather. Still, the views of the Alps were spectacular. The day was quite cold, and we found a wonderful, warm and cozy Italian restaurant for lunch. My husband speaks Italian so that made it even more fun. I could have stayed all afternoon. Nevertheless, it was an easy drive back to Tuebingen.

We spent 3 nights in Uberlingen last September and also found it charming. We drove over to the lovely church in Birnau just a few minutes away.

I'm a little surprised you didn't think more of Meersburg. We spent several nights there in 2007 but took one day to go over to Mainau Island which is spectacular if you like flowers.

We also thought Lindau and its painted buildings beautiful but agree it is crowded with tourists and there was a big traffic jam going over to the island when we were there.

We had amazing weather on all 3 trips except for a very brief shower in Meersburg when we first arrived!

bettyk, I think perhaps because it was a Sunday morning, gray and quiet, that our perception of Meersburg was affected. As you know, sunshine and lots of people can really affect one's perception! :)