14 Best Restaurants in Altstadt, Munich

This restaurant is one of the finest in the city, and it's vegetarian to boot, along with a selection of vegan dishes. The delightful holiday from meat here brings an eclectic choice of skillfully prepared antipasti, quiche, pizza, gnocchi, pasta, curries, and stir-fries, plus excellent wines, all served in an airy, high-ceiling room.

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.

Inside Literaturhaus, a converted Renaissance-style schoolhouse that is now a literary center, this stylish brasserie is named after Munich writer Oskar Maria Graf, who fled to New York after the Nazis took power. The vaulted ceiling and plate-glass windows create an airy, modern atmosphere to enjoy the eclectic international menu, ranging from duck curry to leg of lamb with ratatouille, while its sprawling terrace is one of the city's best outdoor eating locations.

Tucked into a quaint little square off Viktualienmarkt, this delightful Bratwurst joint, dating from 1901, cooks up specialty sausages over an open grill right in the main red-brick vaulted dining room. There's also a decent schnitzel and roast pork with potato dumplings on the menu.

In an impressive columned hall that once was the stables of the royal residence, this sprawling restaurant features three distinct indoor dining spaces—the main grill room with an open fire, a smaller area serving homemade pasta, and a casual bar with lounge-like vibe—plus an atmospheric seasonal terrace. An expansive breakfast menu includes a large selection of organic egg dishes and pancakes.

The Hofbräuhaus is the most famous beer hall not just in Munich but in the world—a kitschy multiroom space with a pounding oompah band and singing and shouting drinkers contributing to the festive atmosphere. The courtyard beer garden provides an escape from the noise in good weather, and there's also a quieter upstairs restaurant where the food is fine, although there are better places in Munich for Bavarian cuisine.

One of Munich's most popular taverns is dedicated to Nürnberger Bratwürste (finger-size grilled sausages), a specialty from the rival Bavarian city of Nuremberg. They're served by Dirndl-clad waitresses who flit between crowded tables in the dark-paneled dining rooms with remarkable agility; in warmer months, tables are placed outside beneath the towering Frauenkirche.

From the ivy-covered façade to the vaulted dining room ceiling, everything about this stylish restaurant set in a 16th-century grain mill is appealing. The kitchen interprets Bavarian dishes in a modern fashion, with a concise menu focusing on locally sourced fish and game, though a smattering of vegetarian dishes are also available. A reasonably priced weekday prix-fixe lunch menu offers four small courses (including vegetarian options).

If you've developed a taste for Weissbier, this Munich institution—beautifully restored to something approaching how it would have looked when first opened in the 1870s—is the place to indulge. The tasty wheat beer from Schneider, a Bavarian brewery in existence since 1872, is served with hearty Bavarian dishes by famously straight-talking waitresses.

You'll have great views of Munich's grand opera house and the Bavarian National Theater, not to mention the hand-painted ceilings, on the second floor of this restaurant, though the outdoor tables facing Max-Joseph Square are best for people-watching. The kitchen turns out a mix of Bavarian and Austrian fare, plus a handful of lighter fish dishes, and what's considered the best Wiener schnitzel in the city. The menu for the first floor and terrace is less expensive.

Munich's oldest café, dating from 1775, is home to an Italian restaurant where you are paying to see and to be seen. The real draw is the outdoor seating, either on the terrace in full view of Theatinerkirche on Odeonsplatz or in the tree-shaded beer garden in the Hofgarten. The pizza is your best bet if you want to be part of the Munich "Schickeria" (society) but want to keep your expenses in check. 

This stylish Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant at the Viktualienmarkt uses whatever organic produce is in season to craft modern, brilliantly composed dishes, available as a four- or six-course tasting menu.

Munich's oldest wine tavern serves upscale food as well as superior wines in its two nooks: the wood-panel restaurant and the weinstube (wine bar). The menu is excellent, from classic Wiener schnitzel to fish to modern interpretations of Bavarian and Austrian dishes.

Open since 1775, Tambosi is Munich's longest-running café. Its location is superb, partly sitting in full view of Theatinerkirche on Odeonsplatz and partly in the Hofgarten. Watch the hustle and bustle of Munich's street life from an outdoor table on the city side, or retreat through a gate in the Hofgarten's western wall to the café's tree-shaded beer garden. If the weather is cool or rainy, find a corner in the cozy, eclectically furnished interior.