upscale german restaurant info
 

i would like to get some more upscale restaurant suggestions for munich, dresden and berlin preferrably under 100 euro per person (but can be more if quality of food and experience warrants).

we generally dress for dinner, so jacket and tie are not an issue. we are not trendy and would prefer the more classic dining service altho we're not adverse to boisterous and slick if the food is well above average.

also the 100 euro PP is not carved in stone in either direction. if you can recommend spots for substantially less, i'll bite...so to speak.

i'm trying to be as specific as i can with the question. i realise it's subjective, and while i'm not a snob, i'm not interested in the german versions of OUTBACK or THE OLIVE GARDEN.

thanks in advance for your replies which have always held up well in the past.

Restaurants in Dresden are usually under 100 Euro per person - also the most upscale ones. Before I reply to your question (Dresden only) - are you looking for restaurants in the city centre or also in the surrounding? Will you have a car? How many meals? (I'd like to know how many I should recommend ;-) ).

ingo, i was hoping you would reply...

yes, we will have an auto and, i should have made this more clear: we are looking for ONE special dining experience in each of the three cities. we will be spending 3 nights in each.

i have no problem with driving outside of dresden, if necessary. i would also like your current recommendations for the other two more budget conscious evenings.

I assume you mean 100 euro without wine. We spent new year's eve in Munich and were very impressed by the exquisite food and impeccable service (I'm sure you'll be too) at the Michelin star restaurant "Am Marstall" across the street from Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski(which BTW is not that great of a hotel)

The restaurant Mark's inside the best upscale Mandarin Oriental Hotel is a good award winning restaurant choice.

A very wellknown gourmet restaurant & shop in Munich is called "Kaefer". It has 2 restaurants and a bistro. The one we like is the Kaefer on Prinz....strasse(I think PrinzRegentstrasse). They use only gourmet materials and charge extra for everything down to every slice of dinner bread, the gourmet shop below the restaurant has a a lot of charm/atmosphere if you want to wander before dinner. The gourmet competitor is the traditional Dahlmeyer(sort of a lesser Fauchon of Munich) just east of the Rathaus in Marienplatz which also has a nice dining room above the shop. BTW, the Rathauskeller in Marienplatz has a nice atmosphere if you want to sample traditional german meals instead of the nouveau continental meals. Dinner at the upscale Bayerischer Hof hotel restaurant is also great for traditional german fare. Many people enjoy lunch at the Spatenhaus but that's probably getting close to a german Olive Garden.

In Berlin I've only been to one star restaurant: "Facil" at the Hotel Mandala in Potsdamerplatz. The chef received a Michelin star and the service is fantastic. Other star chef restaurants that I haven't been to but I heard people raved about: Lorenz at the Adlon Hotel, First Floor(Hotel Palace), Hugo's (Intercontinental Hotel), Quadriga (Brandenburger Hof). The young chef at the restaurant "44" inside the Swissotel on Kurfurstendam is also higly praised. A german Fodorite,hsv, repeatedly recommends an Austrian restaurant,"Ottenthal" whose cuisine is highly regarded by Berliners even though the interior is very simple(glass storefront, checkered floor tiles). Gourmet food in Germany is not as expensive as in France so you're in luck.

Berlin - I've heard good things about Rest. Caroussel (in Hotel Bulow Residenz). It has 1 Michelin star.
Schonbrunn or Zander for the not-so-special nights.

For Munich, here's a website that lists what it considers to be the best.

http://www.toytownmunich.com/archive...staurants.html

Geordie

thanks very much to all of you. those sound like excellent suggestions so far.

subcon,

you got some very good recommendations from DAX so far. The restaurant Caroussel mentioned by MyriamC is located in Dresden - it is exactly the restaurant I would recommend for the most upscale experience. They changed the chef recently, but I suppose the new one is as good as the old one (not 100% sure, though, have not yet aten there since the change).

My recommendation for a more local food (but upscale too) would be Romantik Hotel Pattis. Mario Pattis is a local and he was the earliest chef after the wall came down who got a star. www.pattis.net
The restaurant is only accessible by car, in the western suburb of Dresden near the Autobahn A4.

Another recommendation is the Haus Sorgenfrei in Radebeul. Considerably cheaper, but the food is excellent and the ambience wonderful - in a 18th century villa (Rokoko style). www.hotel-sorgenfrei.de

Yet another great restaurant - Schloss Eckberg (5star hotel) on a hill above the river, a neo-gothic 19th century castle. Excellent food, french-inspired food as far as I know. Great in summer in particular when you can have an aperitif or drink afer dinner on their terrace overlooking the city and landscape.

I'll come up with more recs later. Must attend a meeting now.

Ingo

Here are the websites for the
Restaurant Caroussel: www.buelow-residenz.de
and Schloss Eckberg: www.schloss-eckberg.de

For the other evenings I recommend following restaurants:
Alte Meister, located in the former atelier rooms of a sculptor in the Northwestern corner of the Zwinger/Picture Gallery Old Masters. In the evening it gets a wonderful ambience with the high ceilings (fresco relics), the large windows with view of the lit up opera house, white table clothes and candles ... very good food for reasonable prices (main course 15-20 Euro). I paid 42 Euro p.P. for 3 courses plus wine and tip.

Maybe you should also try a restaurant by the river for dinner. Villa Marie in Blasewitz, next to the Blue Wonder bridge offers decent Italian food and a romantic ambience too (with garden).

Very good is also Spitzhaus on top of the vineyards in Radebeul, with views of the valley/town.

Let me know if I can help further.

Ingo

Subcon:

I second the motion for "Otenthal" in Berlin..it's just a block north of the Ku'dam, on the corner of Fassenenstrasse.....excellent choices and certainly a lot less than the 100E's per that you mention.

The second is just a block south of the Ku'dam on Fassenenstrasse....Italian, Via Condotti..superb..again probably less than the 100 E's...we were just at both of these restaurants in November....for a party of four, I recall a total bill including wine for 190E's at Otenthal...lovely service and quiet ambience.
At the Via Condotti, it came to 160E's for four including wine. The one special dish is quite unique. It's a wonderful grated cheese and linguini dish flambe'd with cognac. Grated at the table, of course.

Try them both...you'll be a happy diner.

Stu T.

Geordie,I like the Toytown website! I forgot all about Tantris which has been touted as a gourmet place, but I could never get a table.

Bistro Talamonti(Buon Gusto Talamonti) is one of my favorite Italian neighborhood cafe restaurant in Munich not to far from Marienplatz. If you book ahead of time you'll get a nice table with a white tablecloth in the small jammed packed dining room, otherwise you sit on tall bar chairs against tall tiny round tables in the bar or in the dark room in the back. The atmosphere is lively(loud) and informal, not what I would call upscale/special but the food is decent. Service is informal and variable as the waiters are usually overwhelmed. They often give you a free dessert wine in shot glasses if they like you. It's a great place to meet the locals as you sit so close together. The other excellent Italian cafe restaurant is in Schwabing.

Ingo,
Since we all seem to be discussing Italian restaurants, what do you think about Canaletto inside the Westin Bellevue in Dresden?

DAX, I must admit I have not had a meal there yet. I *love* the Baroque building (same architect as the Zwinger), enjoyed coffee in the patio (where they offer tea ceremonies now) and a wine tasting in the cellars.

They were hit had by the flood and did renovations/reconstructions afterward. Guess it must be excellent now.