478 Best Restaurants in Germany

The resident Bernadotte family is Swedish, and so are the specialties of the chef at this country-inspired restaurant with a large terrace. Have your hotel reserve a table for you.

Saddle of lamb and sautéed liver in honey-pepper sauce are specialties here, as are seasonal preparations with asparagus and mushrooms. The menu changes every six weeks. The wine list focuses on old-world estates, particularly clarets. The elegant art nouveau interior is done in shades of red with dark-wood accents, and a quiet courtyard offers alfresco dining in summer.

This building is one of the oldest in Nördlingen, which is saying something for a city known for its medieval buildings. It opened in 1545 as a brewery and has been a restaurant since the early 1900s, serving in between as a guest house and museum. As you would expect in such a historic location, the menu is traditional, focusing on both Bavarian specialties such as Sauerbraten and Swabian dishes such as Maultaschen (meat-filled raviolis) and the schnitzels claimed by both. Main dishes include two sides, including house-made Spätzle (noodle dumplings), red cabbage or sauerkraut. There's also a children's menu.

One of the liveliest restaurants in town re-creates an 18th-century beer cellar in the basement of the Taschenberg Palace. The furniture and porcelain are as rustic as the food is traditional.

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.

This American-style steak house offers multiple choices of Angus beef burgers, ribeye, and tenderloin steaks, plus traditional Bavarian favorites and a few Mideast specialties such as falafel and kabobs. It's all offered in a casual, almost cafeteria-style setting that's popular with locals for its affordable prices and available parking, and for an extensive list of international brands including American bourbons and Scotch whiskeys.

Spicy, flavorful curries are front and center on the menu at this upscale Thai restaurant, excellently complemented by salads and raw fish starters that play with some of the freshest ingredients around. Save room for the "deconstructed" yuzu cheesecake dessert, and make sure to sample the cocktails, which also pay homage to Southeast Asia with ingredients like chili, ginger, mango, and sesame oil. If you're here on a Tuesday, take advantage of Dim Sum Dienstag, which allows you to try several small dishes at a reasonable price.

At this friendly spot, diners share long wooden tables beneath traditional clothing mounted on the walls. The house specialty is a raw steak brought to the table with a heated rock tablet (Stein is the German word for stone) where you do your own cooking. The house beef broth is the perfect antidote to cold weather. By the way, if you order a beer, specify a Kleines, or small glass; if not, you'll automatically get a liter.

A carnevore's dream, this traditional German steakhouse, set in an old half-timbered building with a large outdoor terrace, is deservedly famous for choice cuts of grade-A Angus beef grilled to perfection. The restaurant flaunts its modern side with an excellent steak tartare topped with a raw quail's egg or flavorful beef carpaccio with lemon and capers, along with lighter fare: fresh vegetable soup of the day, delicious salads, and plenty of veggie side dishes. An excellent wine list features German wines from all regions.

It's worth the trip here just to see the rustic interior and copper brewing equipment. Since the restaurant is owned by the Störtebecker Brewery, all Stralsunder and several Störtebecker beers are on tap, including the rare Störtebecker Roggen-Weizen, a wheat beer made with rye, and Germany's first India Pale Ale.

This staple among businesspeople and steak connoisseurs (and with a menu similar to M Steakhouse, which has the same owners) is in a residential area near the Grüneburgpark. The restaurant feels intimate and warm, with dark leather, wood paneling, and small tables scattered throughout the main dining room. The beef is imported from Nebraska, and each cut of meat is presented to guests before taking their orders. The waitstaff are knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly, making this as great a place for a romantic dinner for two as for a casual business lunch.

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. 

One of Germany's oldest restaurants and pubs (dating back to 1454) served its hearty Thuringian and Saxon fare to Martin Luther and the like—who certainly had more than a mere pint of the beers on tap. The menu in the reconstructed, cavernous, and always buzzing dining hall doesn't exactly offer gourmet cuisine, but rather an impressively enormous variety of game, fish, and Bratwurst dishes.

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.

While wandering among the medieval and modern jetties and quays of the port, you might feel the need for a snack. This seamen's haven, decorated with sharks' teeth, stuffed seagulls, and maritime gear, is a good pit stop along the harbor.

This tiny outpost just off the main square reflects the growing popularity throughout Germany of Middle Eastern food, alongside popular home-grown staples like currywurst but also American staples like burgers and chicken nuggets. There are a few tables inside and a few more on the narrow sidewalk outside, so this is also popular for take-away for visitors in nearby hotels.  

Traditional Italian fare is on offer here, including antipasti, pasta dishes, pizzas, and special daily offerings. The restaurant is in a central location in the main square, and in warm weather you can opt for a table outside on the cobblestones—perfect for people-watching with your meal.

Lots of wood paneling, exposed beams, and a sprinkling of old sleds and hay wagons give this place on the main square its rustic atmosphere. Along with beer from its own brewery, the restaurant also serves everything from soups and salads for lighter appetites to hearty traditional dishes like Maultaschen (meat-filled dumplings), Flammkuchen (Alsatian flatbread), and Schnitzel (breaded fried meat).

This stylish guesthouse sits at the foot of the castle, next to a venerable stone tower on the riverbank, offering dinner and lunch on Sunday. The restaurant serves classic German dishes (steaks, soups, schnitzel) with an emphasis on fresh seasonal ingredients such as white asparagus in spring and chanterelle mushrooms in summer, accompanied by wines from the region's finest producers. In summer you can dine alfresco on the garden patio.

A great choice on a sunny afternoon, this restaurant serves both great pizza and a microbrews in a landmarked historic building right by the Elbe River. Enjoy a lager, an IPA, or one of their many seasonal beers on the always lively terrace and a pizza fresh out of the brick oven.

Named for the old German word for cousins, Vetter is owned and operated by two cousins, serving updates of both traditional Swabian and Mediterranean cuisines.  The menu changes daily, featuring seasonal produce and local meats and fish. 

It's worth elbowing your way into this bar for the brewed-on-the-premises beer. Try the Dunkles Hefeweizen, or dark wheat beer, which is not produced as widely as the lighter version. As with most German brewpubs, there's a full menu, too, including a long list of wurst dishes and schnitzels, and even an American style platter of chicken wings with chili sauce.

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.

German cheesecake is fluffier and less dense than its American cousin and the best place to try it in Quedlinburg is at Vincent's café. The café regularly bakes 131 different variations of this treat, and the café is worth searching for even if you aren't headed to the castle.