478 Best Restaurants in Germany

Perhaps the best quick snack option in Coburg, this cozy little Argentinian-Colombian cafe serves all manner of empanadas (both meat and vegetarian options), along with sandwiches, Spanish omelettes and sweet treats. The coffee is good, too—as is the Quilmes beer.

This tiny, unpretentious place in a quiet Westend neighborhood seems an unlikely candidate for the best restaurant in Germany, yet that's how top international reviewers describe it.  Fresh seafood, the specialty, is often flown in from France, as are the wines (the wine list boasts 600 choices). It's closed weekends, during the Christmas and Easter seasons, and during much of summer—in other words, when its patrons, well-heeled business executives, are not likely to be in town. Reservations essential.

The oldest restaurant in Nuremberg, built in 1550 as a meeting place for the city's wine merchants, is also the city's finest dining establishment.Today its tiny but elegant period interior caters to the distinguishing gourmet, with vegetarian-centered dishes (such as the signature beetroot with caraway caramel) that make the most of local Franconian produce. For dinner, you can opt for anything between four and seven courses (from €180 to €210, with wine pairings or soft drink accompaniments extra), or you can come for a (relatively) lighter four- or five-course lunch.  Don't be put off if the restaurant looks closed—just ring the bell and a friendly receptionist will help you.

Though Berlin’s awash in Neapolitan pizza places, this sweet neighborhood spot bucks the trend with innovative topping combinations on a soft yet chewy sourdough crust. Sophisticated seasonal pizzas, such as charred broccoli and buffalo mozzarella or bacon with cauliflower and Swiss chard, please kids and adults alike, while the fine selection of cocktails, wine, and beer gives the adults even more to appreciate.

One of Germany's top restaurants, Facil is also one of the more relaxed of its class: the elegant, minimalist setting—it's in the fifth-floor courtyard of the Mandala Hotel, with exquisite wall panels and a glass roof that opens in summer—and impeccable service make this feel like something of an oasis in the busy city. Diners can count on a careful combination of modern takes on German classics and inspiration from across the globe, best sampled in the five- to eight-course set meals, with vegetarian versions available.

Beautiful ceilings painted with vine motifs, exposed beams, wooden wainscotting and an old tile stove make for a gemütlich (cozy) atmosphere. This small restaurant fills up fast, not least because of the Swabian specialties which dominate the menu and fresh, regional ingredients. Save room for dessert, especially the house-made Schwäbische Apfelküchle (Swabian apple cake) with vanilla sauce. There's also a children's menu.

Chef Benjamin Kriegel earned a Michelin star for his innovative cooking, experimenting with unusual combinations of flavors and textures using mainly locally sourced ingredients. The five- or six-course menu of small plates changes with the seasons; recent highlights included marinated and smoked Bavarian char with borscht aspic, sour cream, and fermented white cabbage.

An absolute must when in Miltenberg, this 425-year-old traditional guesthouse, owned by the Faust brewing company, is an architectural gem and a great place to try out authentic German food and the best in Bavarian beer. Diners (and drinkers) sit at long tables under high beamed ceilings with traditional murals and arched stone doorways, but there are a few little niches with private tables and a large outdoor terrace with lovely views of the town. Generous portions of weinerschnitzel, traditional bratwurst, and sauerkraut with potato purée are accompanied by one of ten beers and ales on tap. There are also plenty of smaller dishes and desserts, or you're perfectly welcome to just stop in for a beer.

Great care is taken over the light, seasonal international dishes that make up the three-course menus here. Every dish is made with fresh, carefully chosen ingredients and served with the estate's wines. Choose to dine in the Kavalierhaus (Squire's House), which dates back to 1650, in the orangery, or (during summer) on the flower-lined terrace facing the garden. The restaurant, which closes early for dinner at 8 pm, is part of the Schloss Vollrads complex, a five-minute drive north of town.

The minimalist look—white walls, simple wood furnishings—of this inviting restaurant off Böhmischer Platz matches the simple yet flavorful contemporary dishes created by chef Sarah Hallmann. Be sure to pair the regularly changing six-course menus (both vegetarian and non) with their selection of interesting wines from emerging international wineries or the restaurant's unique take on non-alcoholic drinks.

An all-female or non-binary staff prepares and serves the organic, low-waste cuisine at this bright and cheery vegan eatery. Vegan cookbook author and chef Sophia Hoffmann creates Alpine Bavarian dishes based on recipes from her childhood for the five-course dinners offered eight times a month; more casual lunches rotate weekly, but always include a stew or soup, salad, a main dish, and homemade focaccia and cake.

On the top of the Rochusberg, and on the road to St. Roch Chapel, this unusual-looking building is home to an excellent little café-restaurant that serves the town's best-value lunch buffet. The salads, soups, main courses, and desserts are all tasty and wholesome, with many of the dishes based on Hildegard of Bingen's own theories of nutrition. The Sunday buffet is even more elaborate, though more expensive. If you're just looking for a drink or a snack, you can stop in any time for coffee and cake; there's a substantial selection of local beers and wines, too. Save time to explore the ever-changing exhibits on Hildegard and her teachings, and to take a stroll around the medicinal medieval herb garden. There are hotel rooms available if you want to stay a little longer.

If there's one city food experience you shouldn't miss, it's the succulent, charcoal-grilled Regensburger sausages at this 500-year-old \"sausage kitchen\". The small, homemade pork-ham würstchen, available in portions of six, eight or 10, are served with the restaurant's own cellar-fermented sauerkraut and signature Wurstkuchl mustard. There are plenty of other options on the menu, too, but they hold less interest. Try to grab a seat at one of the wooden benches outside, where you can eat while looking upriver to the nearby Stone Bridge; otherwise, head inside the wood-paneled restaurant next door.

In a cozy wood-paneled room with a colorful mural of Berlin scenes along the wall and a sleek open kitchen, Austrian chef Sebastian Frank puts a creative spin on dishes from his native country. Vegetables (along with touches of meat and fish) become the stars of the show with innovative cooking techniques and a judicious use of herbs, many grown on his roof terrace, in a choice of seven-, nine- or twelve-course menus; each dish pairs perfectly with unique wines primarily from Eastern Europe.

In a historic brick building in the charming suburb of Kaiserswerth, this Michelin-starred restaurant, with its elegant wood-paneled dining room and artfully presented gourmet French dishes, is worth the trip. Diners can order the prix-fixe menu or à la carte, with or without wine pairings.

Inside the Schwarzwälder Hof, you can watch the young, enthusiastic staff through a large window into the kitchen as they prepare regularly changing seven- to nine-course menus using regional ingredients such as salmon, trout, and venison; the chefs also take turns serving the dishes. If you prefer to order á la carte, come for Wednesday or Thursday dinner or Saturday lunch—and bring your kids any time, as they’ll happily prepare a reduced set of dishes suited to younger tastes when advised in advance.

This wine-focused eatery serves coffee, fresh-baked goods, and (yes) wine during the day and more elaborate market-driven prix fixe menus (as well as limited à la carte choices) at dinner; dishes are heavy on organic veggies, plus sustainable seafood and meats, and many have a Japanese slant, featuring accompaniments such as shiso flowers, miso, ponzu, or yuzu. An open kitchen encourages you to watch the chefs at work, while enormous pane windows let you keep an eye on the action on the lively Wedding streets outside.

This lovely restaurant, hidden in a courtyard off a quiet residential street, is both elegant enough for a special occasion and homey enough to be a favorite local haunt. Local ingredients are used whenever possible on the inventive menu, and the restaurant is best known for its slow-cooked meats: choose pork or beef, along with fresh vegetable-focused side dishes.

Under the tracks of the elevated U2 subway line is Berlin's most beloved sausage stand. Konnopke's is a family business that's been around since 1930 and, though there are several options on the menu, this place is famous for its currywurst, which is served on a paper tray with a plastic prong that can be used to spear the sauce-covered sausage slices; with French fries and a pilsner, this is one of the quintessential Berlin meals.

Chef Roland Gorgosilich and sommelier Florian Richter continue the culinary traditions that have made this stylish and intimate art nouveau house one of the Rheingau's top restaurants. The menu showcases dishes with pan-European influences, with produce varying from Breton lobster to Galician veal, while the wine list focuses on the finest local estates for whites, along with Old and New World estates for reds. The main restaurant's painted ceiling creates an atmospheric setting for the multi-course meals (opt for the four-, five-, or six-course menu), while in warmer months, diners can enjoy the gorgeous parklike garden. Overindulged? Stay in one of the 18 elegant rooms and suites here.

This eatery makes culinary art from the Japanese snack, kushiage, breaded and fried skewers of meat, fish, and vegetables, accompanied by an array of colorful dipping sauces. The Kushinoya team uses a special cooking process to deep-fry the doughy exteriors of the skewered ingredients without letting them get oily, and offers at least 30 different skewers daily, using fresh, local ingredients. There's an interesting selection of beer and sake to go with your meal. Make sure to save room for the Japanese desserts, too.

An 18th-century complex is the home to the Bassermann-Jordan wine estate, a hotel, and two restaurants, including this one. This upscale, Michelin-starred fine-dining spot offers a five-, six- or seven-course menu of Mediterranean-influenced Asian cuisine and a selection of more than 1,000 wines from its impressively extensive cellar (wine pairings are available), including every vintage of Bassermann-Jordan wine since 1870. Another on-site restaurant, 1718, offers French-inspired cuisine with both prix-fixe and à la carte options.

A proud owner of a Michelin star since it opened its doors in 1978, Landhaus Scherrer continues to be one of the city's best-known and most celebrated restaurants. The focus is on the use of organic, sustainable ingredients to produce classic and modern German cuisine with international touches, and unsurprisingly, the accompanying wine list is exceptional.

This inviting, albeit spectacularly expensive French restaurant, whose owners are from Alsace, emphasizes elegant, imaginative dining in a modern setting with floor-to-ceiling windows and an expansive courtyard, perfect for alfresco dining in summer. Dishes combine luxurious ingredients such as scallops, lobster, pigeon, and truffles with richly flavored sauces featuring red wine, bone marrow, orange, or juniper.

There are a number of fine Italian restaurants around the city, but this is certainly one of the best, with excellent, often experimental meat and fish dishes and lovely pastas that are slightly more budget-friendly. Be sure to reserve a table in good weather so you can sit on the charming patio in the back.

Inside an atmospheric 19th-century women’s prison, this vegetable-centric small plates restaurant focuses on ingredients from the surrounding Brandenburg region. Chef Sophia Rudolph offers four- to six-course tasting menus (also in vegetarian versions) that change seasonally and may include such dishes as crispy corn pudding with tomatillo and beurre blanc; à la carte options are also available.

Many say the M Steakhouse serves the best steak in Germany, all of it imported Nebraska prime beef. Prices are in line with the quality of meat, and the sides complement the dishes perfectly, but if you're looking for non-meat options, you won't find them here. A set of steps leads down into the restaurant's beautifully lit outdoor patio, a perfect setting for a private romantic dinner. The main dining room inside is warm, welcoming, and intimate. The same restaurant group operates Surf 'n Turf a few blocks away, with similar prices and ambience, and seafood dishes in addition to the steaks.

This cozy Mitte spot has two different spaces: the bustling and sometimes drafty front room with high tables where walk-ins are seated, and a darker, more romantic back room for those who remember to reserve ahead—as you should. The short but well-thought-out menu includes small and large antipasti plates of grilled vegetables, olives, cheeses, and meats, as well as unusual pastas like a tagliatelle with crawfish in a lemon-mint sauce, or one with pine nuts and balsamic-roasted figs. Chestnut-filled ravioli with pears is a favorite in winter. The lunch menu, with an appetizer and a pasta dish for only €8.50, is a great deal, especially for the area.