478 Best Restaurants in Germany

This old brewery serving traditional Bavarian dishes has a rich history that reflects the social class that once met here: politicos, peasants, burghers, and salt miners. Reichenhallers from all walks of life still meet here to enjoy good conversation and hearty local beer.

Wismar's first brewery (1452) is the only place that still brews Wismarer Mumme, a dark beer with enough alcohol to keep it fresh for export as far away as St. Petersburg. The restaurant serves good-value typical pub food in an old half-timber house near the harbor.

This brewery has so much artificial greenery that you could imagine yourself in a beer garden, but with live music and DJs on the weekends, it's got more of a club atmosphere. Hannoverian pilsner is brewed on the premises, and regional specialties are the menu's focus.

This small brewery with shiny copper cauldrons, part of a chain of five throughout Germany, serves simple dishes as well as regional specialties and vegetarian food on large wooden tables.

This brewery and inn, established in 1752, was the home of the village storyteller Dorothea Viehmann, who supplied the Grimms with some of their best stories, including Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and Rumpelstiltskin. If you're planning on visiting on the weekend, it's best to book ahead or call to arrange a tour of the brewery.

Brewing traditional craft Veste beer in the heart of Coburg, this small brewery, which is part of the larger Brauhaus Coburg, is just the place for massive portions of roasted meat and other Franconian specialties. As for the accompanying beer, you can pour it fresh yourself from the taps at the table.

This historic brewery-cum-restaurant is the perfect stop for a cold beer after a long day of sightseeing. In the Old Town's magnificent Beyerhof courtyard, the Brauhaus still produces local beer such as Wittenberger Kuckucksbier. In summer, try to get a table in the courtyard.

Adorned with frescoes depicting cheerful drinkers, this popular brewpub fills up with large groups and families every day of the week. The menu features standard Bavarian pub fare—expect sausages, steaks, and schnitzels galore—to be enjoyed alongside a frothy liter of beer. If in doubt, order the Bräustüberlpfanderl, a belly-busting banquet featuring pork knuckle, roast pork, roast duck, potato dumplings, and red cabbage. The atmosphere is more intimate than a traditional beer hall, as dining is divided into smaller rooms; in summer, sit out on the tree-shaded terrace.

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.

In the grand Berlin tradition of reinventing historical spaces, this lovely wine bar and Italian restaurant has taken over a former stamp shop (“Briefmarken” means “stamps” in German) on beautiful Karl-Marx-Allee; you can pick a regional Italian wine off the shelves (also preserved from the stamp-selling days) or leaf through the extensive list. Accompany your choice with antipasti like fresh mozzarella with speck, broccoli rabe, and marinated artichokes, or one of the daily menu of fresh pastas.

The claim of \"Hannoverian hospitality over three floors\" written on the exterior of this half-timber tavern in the middle of town isn't made frivolously. Convivial waitstaff ferry plates to tables outside on the pedestrian zone in summer, or pull up a seat on the ground floor, where there's a well-stocked bar.

This cozy, low-key Italian restaurant serves a rotating menu of excellent pasta dishes, many featuring seafood, and the spritzes here are particularly good.

This chic yet comfortable Parisian-style bistro delivers a high-quality dining experience accompanied by an impressive variety of wines and friendly service. The daily specials are creative, portions are generous, and the prices are good value for the quality—all of which make this a very popular spot, so be sure to make a reservation.

Vietnamese specialities, including Banh Mi sandwiches served on crusty rolls and Pho Bo (noodle soup with beef), are available at this multicultural café, a short stroll from the Isar River.

With two locations—one in Maxvorstadt at Klenzestrasse 69 and this one in Lehel—Café Dukatz has made a name for itself with its delicious house-baked, French-style pastries. They also serve fine coffee and freshly pressed juices, as well as sandwiches, salads, and mainly vegetarian quiches for a quick lunch.

For three decades, writers and artists from Cologne's elegant Agnesviertel neighborhood have been meeting at this cozy locale on a quiet, tree-lined street. Inside, the ambience—like a little corner of Montmartre—is just right for thinking deep thoughts, or simply chatting over a slice of chocolate cake. Even when the cake's all gone, night owls can enjoy the café's delicious Camembert and lingonberry blintzes.

A modern two-level café and bar, Felix offers everything from sandwiches to steaks, and buzzes with activity from breakfast until the early hours. Light from an artsy chandelier and torchlike fixtures bounces off the many large framed mirrors.

This bustling multilevel café opens early, closes late, and offers a mind-boggling array of ice-cream dishes and other sweet and savory fare. For a quick and inexpensive meal, consider the tasty breakfasts, sandwiches, and German- and Italian-influenced items available.

A stalwart of Hamburg's gay and lesbian neighborhood, this local favorite is probably best known for its friendly service and outrageously good cakes—spiced apple; rhubarb; and Black Forest gâteau among them—that are baked on-site in the café's own Konditorei. Beyond its sweet treats, the café whips up solid German breakfasts of bread rolls with smoked salmon and herring or cold cuts and cheeses and has a dependable if somewhat unexciting lunch and dinner menu.

Tucked into a small street of antiques shops and boutiques in the Dutch Quarter, Café Guam is a charming bakeshop that offers visitors a taste of German-style cheesecake. The daily selection includes 6 to 10 different varieties, which rotate among 30 different flavors, including poppy seed, marbled chocolate, and caramelized almond. The old-fashioned interior is charming but the tables out front have views of the squat, quaint brick houses with gabled roofs that will almost make you believe you're in Amsterdam.

Just across from the Nauener Tor, Café Heider has been serving coffee in this Viennese-style café since 1878. In warmer weather, the outdoor seating has views of the gate; the indoor dining room has large bay windows and plush seating. The menu includes both Berlin and Viennese specialties, like Berliner currywurst, potatoes with quark cheese, and a classic Wiener schnitzel. For dessert, you can choose from cakes, ice cream, and the traditional Viennese dessert Marillenknödel (apricot-filled dumplings), which are difficult to find outside Austria. Sunday brunch is served here as well.

The ambience of an old-time Viennese café pervades this popular spot, where there's a lovely garden in summer—as well as some of the city's best freshly baked pastries and cakes year-round, best teamed with a Kaffee mit Schlag (coffee with whipped cream). It closes early, by 7 pm.

A local favorite, this cozy, casual café is open from early morning into the wee hours, making it the perfect spot for everything from breakfast to a light lunch to evening drinks. There’s an affordable daily quiche and salad plate as well as a nice selection of cakes; if the weather is agreeable, find a spot on the sunny terrace, across from pretty Helmholtzplatz park.

Within view (and earshot) of the elevated U1 line, Café Morgenland is a relatively unremarkable neighborhood haunt on weekdays but on weekends it devotes an entire room to the extremely popular brunch buffet, which means table space can be scarce. The Turkish-inspired dishes (an ode to the home country of many a Kreuzberg native) are a delicious alternative to the more traditional brunches served elsewhere in Berlin.

A slice of Paris in the heart of Hamburg, this turn-of-the-19th-century café's unfailing popularity derives from its superb traditional French fare, which naturally includes steak frites and beef tartare, served by crisply polite staff beneath a tiled Art Nouveau ceiling. The café's bar is an ideal spot to take in the atmosphere and sample something off the superb wine list until a table becomes free.

There are plenty of places in Wedding for a quick falafel or döner but if you're looking for something different, head to Café Pförtner, at the entrance to the Uferhallen on the Panke canal. The squat, brick café space may be small, but Pförtner makes good use of what there is, adding long tables out front in good weather and, in a nod to the Uferhallen's previous incarnation as a BVG garage, turning a brightly painted bus into a dining area next door.