478 Best Restaurants in Germany

A traditional German pub with a summer terrace that spills out across Maximilianstrasse, this popular place specializes in high-quality Franconian fare, from roast venison with dumplings and cabbage to grilled pikeperch with potato risotto. Look out for seasonal specialties, too, such as strawberry and white asparagus salad. Don't worry if it's too chilly to sit outside: the huge glass ceiling over the dining room gives it a light and airy atmosphere, even in winter.

Austrians from the small village of Ottenthal own this intimate restaurant with white tablecloths that serves as an homage to their country, with interesting and delicious combinations using many organic ingredients. It's a good option for a leisurely meal before catching a show at Theater des Westens around the corner. 

Merging an à la carte restaurant with an elegant cocktail bar, Otto's has been shaking up Rostock's dining scene since 2017. Located right on the waterfront inside a pontoon boat, this restaurant also wows with scenic views that stretch from the city harbor to the Old Town.

While enjoying fresh fish from local waters, prepared with a light Italian touch, you can watch the sunset over the cliffs of Kap Arkona at this restaurant dubbed \"Rügen's balcony.\" Make a reservation, and insist on a table in the Fontane-Veranda (in winter) or the Arkonablick-Terrasse (in summer).

If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind dining experience, head to this half-timber house—built more than 100 years ago as a pub and guesthouse along the Paris–Moscow railway—that stands dwarfed by a government complex and the hotels and office buildings around Hauptbahnhof. Today, it serves dishes so intricately prepared they look like works of art, with unique flavor combinations; in addition to the à la carte menu, there are three- or four-course set menus, with vegetarian options, in the evening.

Snugly sited beneath vaulted ceilings in the cellar of the city's town hall, this elegant old pub turned restaurant and cocktail bar serves no-nonsense meat and seafood meals, including shrimp fresh from the North Sea, with a light touch of German nouvelle cuisine. Popular with local businesspeople during and after work, it's also a nice spot for a frothy beer and some Flammkuchen, Alsace's take on pizza, between traipsing around the nearby sights.

Russian treats such as dumplings, borscht, blini (Russian pancakes), and much more are the mainstays at this casually refined restaurant with a lovely outdoor terrace for when the weather is nice. There are several set menus available for lunch and dinner, and the breakfast selection is second to none, with a wide range of set menus and egg dishes (including delicious shakshuka) alongside standards like pancakes and French toast.

if you come for the weekend brunch you can try just about all of the delicious dishes, as well as dessert, in an extensive buffet.

The motto here is \"Wurst and Bier are friends,\" and there’s plenty of both consumed in this popular brewpub. Paulaner is a Munich beer, so you’ll find traditional Bavarian fare, including Weisswurst, on the menu along with Swabian favorites such as house-made Maultaschen (meat-filled ravioli). There's even an Austrian dessert, Kaisershmarrn, named for the ruler who loved pancakes cut in small pieces and mixed with fresh fruits and whipped cream. Tables upstairs are quieter.

The beer you sip on the high, sunny terrace overlooking the Danube is brought fresh from Peschl's own brewery below which, along with this traditional Bavarian restaurant, has been owned by the same family since 1855. Expect hearty Bavarian cuisine, from schnitzels to steaks.

Once you've crossed the threshold of the Petrikeller, you'll find yourself in the medieval world of Hanseatic merchants, seamen, and wild pirates such as Klaus Störtebeker. The largely meat-centric menu reflects the cuisine of the Middle Ages, when meat and roots were the common daily ration.

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).

This cavernous cellar with vaulted ceilings is said to be Germany's oldest and most renowned town-hall restaurant—it's been here for 600 years. Its walls are lined with wine casks, and there are small alcoves with sliding wooden doors, once shut tight by merchants as they closed their deals.

This is one of the region's most authentic town hall–cellar restaurants. Its whitewashed, barrel-vaulted ceiling and spectacular art nouveau skylight have witnessed centuries of tradition.

Friendly service and fresh seasonal dishes make for an enjoyable dining experience in the town hall's vaulted cellar (dating from 1578). The frequently changing menu offers main courses such as Bachsaibling (brook trout) in a white wine sauce, and a selection of homemade ice creams.

In the cellar beneath the 1385 Rathaus is a popular local destination for Bavarian food and drink with a surprisingly airy feel. Lunches can be busy, as local workers head there for the wide array of traditional fare. But the restaurant is also open late, until 10 pm daily, after many other local restaurants have closed.

Just off the town's pretty Marktplatz (Market Square), this popular bar-restaurant serves classic German fare: think goulash soup, currywurst, and schnitzel. But the undoubted highlights (and best value options) are the flammkuchen—wood-fired, thinly rolled-out discs of dough covered in a variety of toppings (a little like a thinner, crispier pizza). The traditional version, topped with onions, bacon, and cheese, is superb, but there are also fish and vegetarian alternatives. Sit out on the spacious, sunny terrace to watch the world go by.

Black-and-white photographs by the German landscape photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch, the restaurant's namesake, decorate the dark-wood-paneled dining room at this beloved local gathering place that focuses on top-notch ingredients, respecting the classics while also reinventing them. The menu changes daily but might feature blood sausage with lentils or perhaps venison with choucroute, along with lighter bites like a selection of Flammkuchen (Alsatian flatbread tarts) that are perfect for sharing.

This friendly café and restaurant next to the monastery is an ideal spot for a light lunch, dinner with local ingredients, or a coffee with house-made cake. You can wash it all down with a fine choice of brews from the abbey. Try the Edelweiss Schnitzel with pretzel breading, served with wedges and sour cream dip.

A long-time neighborhood favorite, Eisenstein sits inside a handsome 19th-century industrial complex turned art center and serves fantastic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine at affordable prices. Sharing space with a movie theater, the restaurant is popular with pre- and postmovie crowds and probably best known for its gourmet wood-fired pizzas like the Pizza Helsinki (salmon, crème fraîche, and onions) and the Blöde Ziege (Stupid Goat) with rosemary-tomato sauce, crispy bacon, and goat cheese.

For a taste of Potsdam’s finer side, enjoy a meal at Hotel am Jägertor’s restaurant. Chef Rene Tinz highlights regional products and local recipes in creative dishes like rabbit liver with wasabi foam or a deconstructed Waldorf salad with apple gel and walnut oil. A summer terrace offers views of the nearby Jägertor (Hunter’s Gate) while the ritzy dining rooms include gilded accents and baroque decor.

Having opened in the early 20th century, with polished wood paneling and antlers on the walls, Halali is an old-style, fine-dining restaurant that is the place to try traditional seasonal dishes of venison, pheasant, partridge, and other game in a quiet and elegant atmosphere. There's a three-course weekday lunch menu with a gentler price point, but don't think of arriving without a reservation.

Heavy wood furnishings, hearty German food, and an extensive wine list (with more than 100 wines) make this enormous old wine tavern a popular spot. Built as the refectory of the city hospital, the building's 650-year-long history is visible throughout. The menu is vast, but you can't go wrong with the local bratwursts.

Potsdam is proud of its past French influences, and the highly praised French food at this intimate restaurant on the edge of the Dutch Quarter is served in a lovely space, with brick walls and a fireplace. Restaurant Juliette is affiliated with four other more casual French restaurants in Potsdam, including a creperie and a café.

With a log-cabin look and traditional Black Forest architecture, there's little clue this restaurant is inside a spa hotel. Moderately priced dishes focus on local ingredients, including Schwarzwälder Schinken (Black Forest ham) and Zanderfilet (pike perch filet).

North of St. Goar along the river, this hotel restaurant is all about superb wine—it's run by Martina Lorenz and her winemaker husband Joachim, who provides the delicious Bopparder Hamm estate wines—and local seasonal cuisine served as three-course set menus. Expect dishes such as chanterelle cream soup and roasted beef with potato gratin. A sparkling wine aperitif is included with all menus, and you can add on paired wines for €15. The setting is a lovely, solarium-style restaurant, right on the river, that features original Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) furniture from the era the hotel was built.

Beneath the exposed beams and painted ceiling of this cozy hotel restaurant, trout from the hotel's own fish farm will grace your table, served alongside German and French wines. It's on the site of a historic mill that belonged to the current proprietor's great-great-grandfather, tucked away in the forested hills of the Enderttal (Endert Valley) around 3 km (2 miles) northwest of Cochem's center.

The simple but cool style, excellent service, and high-quality food (seasonal variations using local produce) at this busy bistro keep the locals coming back. Inventive four-course menus merge typical German cuisine with international flavors.

Named after the patron saint of the wine industry, this upscale restaurant offers traditional Palatinate cuisine, such as veal dumplings or Saumagen (stuffed pig's stomach). An inviting outdoor terrace offers an affordable lunch menu, while the restaurant offers an excellent dinner, including a prix-fixe menu with wine pairings. If the weather is good, sit at a table on the market square with a glass of chilled Riesling. Dinner in the more formal and more expensive Michelin-starred Schwarzer Hahn has served its elaborate regional haute cuisine to royal and political figures from around the globe.

Restaurant Tilia in Bad Schandau is a delightful dining spot at Hotel Lindenhof that caters to a variety of tastes, making it a favorite among locals and visitors alike. With a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients, Tilia offers a menu that beautifully blends traditional German cuisine with modern culinary twists. What sets Tilia apart is its vegan-friendly options, ensuring that plant-based diners can enjoy a satisfying meal without compromise, a rarity in Saxony. The warm and inviting atmosphere, combined with attentive service, makes it an ideal place to unwind after a day of exploring Saxon Switzerland.