478 Best Restaurants in Germany

Some of Frankfurt's best Mexican cuisine is found in this festive little place. Warm and colorful, this restaurant serves a variety of fruity margaritas and is well known for its extensive selection of tequilas and mezcals, along with regional wines and beers. The dimly lighted dining room is fairly small; reservations are recommended on weekends.

Beethoven was a regular at this tavern, which has been around since the late 14th century. Today it offers one of the best-value lunches in town, and the kitchen stays open until 1 am. The interior is rustic, the food hearty and nonfussy.

This modern restaurant, bar and lounge near many of the city's largest banks makes it a natural for business lunches, but it also attracts many young professionals for after-work socializing and dinner. The moderately priced menu of contemporary dishes includes nearly two dozen varieties of pizza.

This relaxed neighborhood restaurant facing a park on Lake Lietzensee focuses on food from Bavaria and the Alps. Excellent renditions of classics like Wiener schnitzel and grilled saddle steak use organic meats and vegetables, and the selection of beer—by the bottle and on tap—is small but includes a range of varieties and regions.

This somewhat spartan restaurant in the middle of Weimar serves traditional Thuringian cuisine with a healthier emphasis on greens and other regionally produced goods. With several vegetarian options, Erbenhof is a welcome break from the heavy food of the region. A cafe/bakery at the same location is open for breakfast and light lunch.

The menu is typical of Old Sachsenhausen—apple wine and sauerkraut are served—but the interior is bright and modern and the Frankfurt specialties are a cut above the rest. As proprietor Kay Exenberger puts it, \"We're nearly as fast as a fast-food restaurant, but as gemütlich (quaint) as an apple wine locale must be.\" It's so popular that reservations are recommended, even at lunch, and everything can be wrapped up to go. Many rave about the chocolate pudding with vanilla sauce.

A welcoming fish restaurant just five minutes' walk from the Holstentor has a trendy industrial-style interior and showcases modern cuisine with a focus on regional ingredients, including organically farmed catfish from Brandenburg. Hot meals are available all day, and the restaurant brews its own beer. Across the street ( An d. Untertrave 52A), Fangfrisch sells sandwiches and fish rolls to go from their food truck.

This happy combination of Munich tavern and international bistro is set on Hans-Sachs-Strasse, one of the city's most interesting streets. Juicy schweinsbraten and burgers satisfy any meat cravings, and there are Asian and Mediterranean dishes for vegetarians; the dining room features beautiful ceiling murals and in warmer weather, the sprawling terrace is the place to be.

When Ludwig Deinhard purchased the Weimar Stadtbrauerei in 1875, Felsenkeller was already 100 years old. Beer has been brewed here in small batches ever since. Although the brewpub is outside the city center, it's worth a trip to sample the brews and the inventive seasonal selections.

Located inside the bookshop Shakespeare & Sons, Fine Bagels is their in-house coffee shop and bakery. They serve hand-rolled and boiled New York–style bagels (don't miss the Zaatar-spiced bagel) and other traditional Jewish pastries, breads, and cakes.

For some of the best fish in Hamburg, book a table at this splendid portside restaurant, which looks plain from the outside, but feels like a dining room aboard a luxury liner inside. The menu changes daily according to what's available in the fish market that morning; the elegant oyster bar here is a favorite with the city's beau monde.

In addition to brewing first-rate, quality coffee from beans roasted on the premises, Five Elephant serves some of the best cake in town, including a cheesecake that has become something of a local legend. Inside, the café is bright, modern, and welcoming, usually with cool jazz playing on the sound system. Like most of its coffee-brewing brethren, the café sources its own coffee directly from growers, and makes sure interactions along every step of the chain are fair and humane.

The menu is all about meat, of course, with several beef cuts available from the grill---tenderloin, rib eye, or entrecote---along with lamb chops, chicken, and sometimes a Berlin-style calves' liver (with apple, onion, and potato puree). The burgers are popular, too. Service can be slow and sometimes brusque.

This upscale restaurant on the far western end of Kurfürstendamm is one of the best-kept Italian secrets in Berlin; you won't find many tourists here, but the posh neighborhood's residents pack the cheerful, rustic dining room. The high-quality, straightforward cooking means incredibly fresh salads and appetizers (the foccacia is excellent), as well as homemade bread, exquisite pasta dishes, and more-refined Tuscan and Umbrian creations.

Frankfurt's Westhafen (West Harbor), once busy and commercial, has been transformed into an upscale neighborhood of apartments, a yacht club, and waterfront restaurants. One of the most chic is Frankfurter Botschaft, with a glass facade and a big terrace overlooking the Main River. The city's elite descend here for business lunches or a cocktail on the terrace at sunset.

Have a seat in the ancient courtyard of the Stachel, which is shaded by a canopy of vine leaves and enclosed by tall, ivy-covered walls. The entrées are satisfyingly Franconian, from lightly baked onion cake to hearty roast pork served in a decidedly unstuffy atmosphere.

High in the hills above Bad Wiessee, this attractive restaurant combines great food with unparalleled Tegernsee views. Begun by proprietor Josef Brenner, who brought a then-unfamiliar taste of nouvelle cuisine to the region, the restaurant's regularly-changing menu maintains its assortment of seasonal specialties; come in autumn for a veritable venison feast, from roasted saddle to braised shoulder to rich goulash. But prepare to pay for your meal with a view, as some seasonal mains cost in excess of €50.

For real down-home German cooking, few places in Cologne compare to this time-honored brew house in the shadow of the Dom. It's often crowded, but the mood's fantastic. Bold frescoes on the vaulted ceilings establish that mood, and the authentically Teutonic experience is completed by such dishes as Hämmchen (pork knuckle). The seasonal beer garden is a great spot for people-watching.

Hidden on the far southeast edge of the city center, the Bayrischer Bahnhof was the terminus of the first rail link between Saxony and Bavaria. The brewery here is at the heart of a cultural renaissance and is the modern birthplace of Gose brewing in Leipzig. The restaurant is well worth a visit for its solid Saxon and German cuisine. The new station on the S-bahn makes it easier than ever to discover the glories of Gose.

Serious and uncomplicated Thuringian regional cuisine, including the best dumplings in Erfurt, is served in this simple restaurant. All of the dishes (and the secret dumpling recipe) come from Grandma Käthe's cookbook, which relies heavily on seasonal and regional ingredients.

This old-fashioned Wirtshaus is one of the few places that serve Augustiner beer exclusively from wooden kegs, freshly tapped on a daily basis—beer simply doesn't get any better than this. Antlers and a wild boar look down on actors, government officials, apprentice craftspersons, journalists, and retirees, all sitting side by side at the simple wooden tables enjoying good traditional Bavarian fare.

This 16th-century mill just off the main road outside of Bad Reichenhall has an intimate rural feel and an inviting terrace. Fish is the specialty here, though local game is also on the menu.

This is a traditional place (dating from the 16th century), with coffered ceilings, thick walls, smiling waitresses in Dirndls, and an old Kachelofen (enclosed, tiled, wood-burning stove) that heats the dining room beyond endurance on cold winter days. The food is hearty, traditional Bavarian. For a quieter dinner or lunch, reserve a space in the Bäckerstube (Baker's Parlor).

This ancient inn was serving warm meals to the patricians, officials, merchants, and other good burghers of Lindau back in the 14th century. Today you can sit under the building's arches on the cobblestoned street or in the traditional warm wooden interior and enjoy authentic home-style cooking featuring fish from the lake in season, venison from the mountains, and apples—pressed to juice or distilled to schnapps—from local orchards.

Situated opposite the \"new\" Pfarrkirche St. Martin, this classic, wood-paneled, 19th-century inn with lovely painted ceilings is one of the city's most charming dining options. Friendly international staff serve up hearty portions of typical Bavarian food like roasted duck with potato dumplings and red cabbage, alongside a surprisingly wide selection of vegetarian and even vegan items; very rare for this meat-loving region. In the summer, take a seat out in the beer garden—as long as it's not been booked for an event.

This historic white house with brilliant blue shutters has a beer garden and a small playground that's perfect for families. Locals love this dining room and its meat-heavy Bavarian cuisine, with produce sourced from local farmers, butchers, and fishmongers. Try the Bauernschmaus, a traditional feast comprised of steaming sauerkraut topped with sausages and liver dumplings. You'll probably feel like a nap after all that, so consider booking into one of the minimalist Bavarian-style bedrooms, complete with soft featherbeds and extensive wood paneling.

This restaurant and Biergarten right along the Malerweg is the perfect way to end a long day out on the trails, though the restaurant closes early (by 8 pm). The rustic setting with picnic tables alongside a working mill and chestnut trees creates a tranquil retreat on a hot summer day. Even better, you can enjoy a local brew from the Bio-Braumanufaktur across the street and seasonal dishes, such as a savory lentil stew, salad, or for the meat eaters, pork sausage.