43 Best Restaurants in Munich, Germany

So small it's easy to miss, this former dairy shop now offers a limited but fine selection of Italian fare, with a menu of fresh antipasti and pasta that changes daily. The high wooden tables and counters fill up fast at this lunch-only spot, so arrive early for the quieter, cooler window seat or take your food to go.

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.

This restaurant is one of the finest in the city, and it's vegetarian to boot, along with a selection of vegan dishes. The delightful holiday from meat here brings an eclectic choice of skillfully prepared antipasti, quiche, pizza, gnocchi, pasta, curries, and stir-fries, plus excellent wines, all served in an airy, high-ceiling room.

Recently reimagined as a trio of restaurants under one roof, Tantris, which has been around since 1971, has smartly broadened its range of modern French culinary offerings. There's the classic Restaurant Tantris, with its pricey prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus of haute cuisine (around €300 per person); Tantris DNA, featuring an upscale à la carte lunch and dinner menu; and Tantris Bar, serving cocktails and a short menu of French favorites like beef tartare.

This welcoming Italian spot serves excellent traditional homemade pastas as well as a variety of meat and seafood dishes, including Sicilian prawns in a spicy tomato sauce. The atmosphere is casual but the service is top-notch, and the owner, Guido, and his friendly bulldog, Malesh, are always on hand to greet guests.

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.

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.

Take a seat by the wall of windows or at the long blond-wood bar, in this airy, casual brasserie, which specializes in French food and wine; the light, crisp quiches, in particular, are a delight. On nice days, tables are set outside on the sidewalk of the pleasant, relatively quiet street and the Bier & Oktoberfestmuseum is right next door, highlighting the wonderful contrasts that are so typical of this city.

Inside Literaturhaus, a converted Renaissance-style schoolhouse that is now a literary center, this stylish brasserie is named after Munich writer Oskar Maria Graf, who fled to New York after the Nazis took power. The vaulted ceiling and plate-glass windows create an airy, modern atmosphere to enjoy the eclectic international menu, ranging from duck curry to leg of lamb with ratatouille, while its sprawling terrace is one of the city's best outdoor eating locations.

A good spot, especially if you're visiting the neighboring Pinakothek museums, this convivial corner bar and café attracts an interesting mix of students, artists, businesspeople, and trendy types from breakfast until late into the night. The menu features salads, sandwiches, and small selection of pastas—solid, affordable fare that won't exactly wow you—but the restaurant's art deco touches, funky artwork, and buzzy vibe are thoroughly enjoyable.

Tucked into a quaint little square off Viktualienmarkt, this delightful Bratwurst joint, dating from 1901, cooks up specialty sausages over an open grill right in the main red-brick vaulted dining room. There's also a decent schnitzel and roast pork with potato dumplings on the menu.

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 a small seasonal terrace. An expansive breakfast menu includes a large selection of organic egg dishes and pancakes.

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 attractive café, a short stroll from the Isar River.

With three locations—one in Maxvorstadt at Klenzestrasse 69, one in Schwabing at Haimhauserstrasse 11, 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.

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.

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.

In 1893 Augustiner, the oldest brewery in Munich, built this sturdy Wirtshaus to sustain travelers on the 12-km (7-mile) trek from Munich to the castles at Schleissheim. Today, it's as much a forum for good eating and drinking as it was more than 100 years ago—a place where you can enjoy hearty Bavarian food in a dining room festooned with antlers, in the cozy, quiet bibliothek (library), or out on the terrace.

The Hofbräuhaus is the most famous beer hall not just in Munich but in the world—a kitschy multiroom space with a pounding oompah band and singing and shouting drinkers contributing to the festive atmosphere. The courtyard beer garden provides an escape from the noise in good weather, and there's also a quieter upstairs restaurant where the food is fine, although there are better places in Munich for Bavarian cuisine.

This cozy, alpine lodge–style restaurant in a small street behind the Rathaus is a treat for those craving an old-world tavern, complete with live accordion playing and yodelers who perform most nights, telling jokes and poking fun at their adoring guests in unintelligible Bavarian slang. The food is traditional Bavarian and the tasty beer is from the Ayinger brewery.

Step into the Deep South at this hip barbecue and soul food joint, decked out like an old-school American diner, with an open kitchen turning out slowly smoked meats including baby back ribs and short ribs in house-made barbecue sauce. There are also fine renditions of such southern staples as shrimp with creamy cheese grits, plus a host of tasty sides like cornbread and mac 'n' cheese.

Pop by for a coffee, aperitif, cocktail, and vegan bites and baked goods at this funky art-filled university café and bookstore near the Brandhorst and Pinakothek museums. It also hosts occasional evening concerts.

A variety of affordable Middle Eastern sandwiches and plates, including falafel (considered one of the best versions in the city), shawarma, and hummus, are available to go.

The only German outpost of the Japanese-Peruvian fusion concept from celebrated chef Nobuyuki (Nobu) Matsuhisa, this elegant, sleekly designed restaurant in the posh Mandarin Oriental hotel is a favorite of well-heeled locals. Along with top-notch sushi and sashimi, the menu features popular dishes like spicy garlic shrimp and seafood and meat prepared robata-style over a charcoal grill. The best seats are at the sushi bar, where you can watch the skilled chefs wield their knives with precision.

This historic brewery-tavern, first opened in 1880, offers great value Bavarian dishes. The best part about this place, however, is the cozy, secluded little beer garden (April–October) with huge chestnut trees, tucked in the back amid the apartment blocks in the heart of Munich's University district.

Hearty, healthy breakfasts (served until 4 pm) and weekend brunch are popular at this charming vintage-style café.

On a side street between Gärtnerplatz and Isartor, Nero serves up excellent thin-crust pizzas with fresh ingredients imported straight from Italy—try the Diavolo, with spicy Neapolitan salami—as well as solid pastas and great steaks. The restaurant's high ceilings and large windows give it an open, spacious feel, or you can sit upstairs in the lounge for a cozier experience.

One of Munich's most popular taverns is dedicated to Nürnberger Bratwürste (finger-size grilled sausages), a specialty from the rival Bavarian city of Nuremberg. They're served by Dirndl-clad waitresses who flit between crowded tables in the dark-paneled dining rooms with remarkable agility; in warmer months, tables are placed outside beneath the towering Frauenkirche.