465 Best Restaurants in Germany

Thomas and Gudrun Höreth's enchanting country inn—a former mill dating back to 1026—is a labyrinth of little rooms and cellars grouped around oleander-lined courtyards. Highlights of the menu include homemade cheeses, terrines, pâtés, and Entensülze (goose in aspic), served with the Höreths' own wines.

Speyer's oldest beer garden, a 15-minute stroll through the gardens behind the cathedral, is a popular, leafy spot to pass the afternoon. There's a good selection of beer, and the portions of rustic, regional fare are enormous. There's a good selection of vegetarian choices too. If you're hungry, try one of the grilled steak dishes, served—rather nontraditionally—with fries.

On a side street, this guest house restaurant serves standard local cuisine but attracts a crowd thanks to its evening steak menu. The interior is traditional Bavarian and the family-run establishment has friendly personnel.

Located in Wismar's oldest patrician house and regarded as one of the most attractive, authentic taverns on the Baltic—and correspondingly busy—this eatery focuses on Mecklenburg's fish, game and poultry dishes, such as the traditional Mecklenburger Ente (Mecklenburg duck). The duck is filled with baked plums, apples, and raisins, and served with red cabbage and potatoes.

This cozy, atmospheric pub-restaurant has been a Munich institution since 1903 when it was a meeting place for the leading writers, comedians, and artists whose pictures now hang on the dark, wood-panel walls. The beer is as good as is the food, which includes filling options like roast pork, currywurst, and a bacon cheeseburger with french fries.

By day, this is a quiet café reminiscent of a classic Viennese coffeehouse (the name means "Old Europe"), with shabby but trendy decor, and fashionable Mitte-ites chatting and paging through newspapers and magazines. At night, it turns into a comfortable but bustling neighborhood pub serving classic Berlin dishes, just crowded enough to look like a scene but never too packed.

This wonderfully charming medieval half-timber house (1368) is Bacharach's oldest one standing and a favorite setting for films and photos. It doesn't disappoint with its food and wine, either: the kitchen uses the freshest ingredients possible and buys meat and game from local butchers and hunters, serving up local classics such as Rieslingrahmsuppe (Riesling cream soup) and Reibekuchen (potato pancakes) in addition to the seasonal specialties.

Tucked behind a wooden portal on a cobblestone street, this vaulted sandstone "cellar" (it's actually on the ground floor) feels very cozy, but equally inviting is the Tuscan-style terrace, with its citrus, olive, palm, and fig trees. The regular menu includes rustic regional dishes as well as Mediterranean-inspired options.

Still a shining star in the row of romantic restaurants that sit along Hamburg's riverfront, Au Quai, in keeping with its location, has a menu heavy on seafood. Raw oysters and sashimi share the menu with offerings of tuna and North Sea sole, and amongst the beef dishes there’s a Surf and Turf to keep lovers of both worlds happy.

At this Bierstube dating from 1698, you can dig into regional dishes like Zwiebelrahmrostbraten (onion meat loaf) at low wooden tables next to the tile stove. Pewter plates and beer mugs line the walls.

A lively brewery with charming beamed ceilings located inside the Hotel Maximilian, this is an upscale meeting place for locally sourced Bavarian specialties. Dishes change on a weekly basis and include wild game in season.

In a city famous for its cafés, Anna is a safe chain of high-quality bakeries in Regensburg and one of the best places for coffee and cake in the afternoon. Breakfast under the vaulted ceilings is pleasant as well are the sandwiches to go. The wonderful bread and pastries more than make up for the surly barista.

Located right on the bustling Drosselgasse, this quaint café offers a picture-perfect rendition of the town's most iconic refreshment: the Rüdesheimerkaffee. First created in the 1950s by German television chef Hans Karl Adam, the Rüdesheimerkaffee is made by flambéeing Asbach Uralt brandy and sugar in a specially made cup until the sugar dissolves, pouring strong coffee over it, and garnishing with mountains of whipped cream and chocolate flakes. The café also serves an excellent rendition of a Baumstriezel (chimney cake) and a wide selection of local spirits and wines to enjoy while watching people pass by outside.

Taste the "Divine beer of the Vikings," a malty cold-fermented amber lager, at Schleswig's only brewery. While the Luzifer Restaurant offers typical brewpub fare, it is the small Viking twists, like roast meat served only with a knife and horned glasses that make this place worth a visit.

All over Germany, no beer brand has become so closely associated with Hamburg (and especially St. Pauli) than Astra. In addition to its main industrial brewery, the brand recently opened a new microbrewery and restaurant directly on the Reeperbahn. Here, they offer IPAs and other specialty beers that can only be enjoyed there as it is produced in much smaller batches. A full menu featuring everything from finger food to lobster make this a great starting point to a legendary evening on the Kiez.

This flagship beer restaurant of one of Munich's oldest breweries opened in about 1812. It is also the location of the unbeatable Augustiner beer garden, which should be at the top of any visitor's beer garden list. The menu offers Bavarian specialties, including half a duck with a good slab of roast suckling pig, dumpling, and blue cabbage. If you're up for it, end your meal with a Dampfnudel (yeast dumpling served with custard), though you probably won't feel hungry again for quite a while.

More than 400 years of tradition are embedded in this old tavern, hidden away behind huge wooden doors on a back street. A surprisingly varied menu includes local favorites such as suckling pig and marinated pot roast, as well as good fish entrées, all at reasonable prices.

This tiny and hip 20-seat eatery serves inspired French cuisine in rotating seven-course menus (with two optional additions) celebrating a mix of seasonal regional and international ingredients. If you can't get a reservation here, try the sister restaurant next door: the larger and slightly more casual 3 Minutes Sur Mer.

The English-language menu at this restaurant explains not only the cuisine but the history of Leipzig. Waitresses wearing traditional Trachten dresses may serve some of the finest Leipzig regional cuisine, but the restaurant itself is quite modern. With a prominent location on the Markt, the restaurant is popular with locals, especially for the incredible breakfast buffet. Barthels has managed to elevate the local Leipziger Allerlei (vegetables and crayfish in beef bouillon) to an art form by proudly insisting on local and sustainable produce. Enjoy a meal here with a fresh Bauer Gose.

Constructed in 1867 as a riding hall for the Royal Prussian military, this upmarket restaurant's home is as striking as the menu, which is Mediterranean-inspired. Cast-iron pillars support the vaulted brick ceiling, and two-story drapes hang in the huge windows.

Anchored by an indoor vertical garden filled with vegetables and herbs used in many of its dishes, this casual eatery inside the Gropius Bau museum focuses on ancient Jewish recipes from around the world. Choose from a selection of organic vegetable-forward mezzes including labneh (strained yogurt) with challah bread, cauliflower with herbed tahini, and zucchini latkes, finished off with tasty cakes baked by renowned Berlin pâtissière Cynthia Barcomi.

This wine estate in the peaceful suburb of Olewig features a gourmet restaurant with four- and five-course prix-fixe menus. Bordeaux and Burgundy wines are available in addition to the estate's own wines, and wine tastings, cellar visits, cooking classes and guided tours on the wine path can be arranged. In addition to the gourmet restaurant, the hotel also has a wine bar serving regional cuisine and a more casual wine tavern.

This bistro-style restaurant specializes in fresh fish from Lake Constance which is prepared on a grill in front of guests. In good weather sit outside on the long communal tables, or stop for a fish roll when wandering the island.

This bistro has a striking art nouveau interior, the walls crammed with paintings, a grand piano (live music nightly), and a good-size bar, attracting an upscale clientele and the post-theater crowd. Delicately mixing French and German cooking, Benner's is well known for its black Angus steaks as well as its very popular (and expensive) Sunday brunch.

While it still retains its Michelin star, this acclaimed restaurant recently adopted a more casual approach, offering a pared-down modern tasting menu as well as à la carte dishes with French, Mediterranean, and Asian influences. The harborfront setting remains spectacular.