Occasionally being a short/petite girl can be a pretty big disadvantage, especially when it comes to being a major foodie! My eyes are always bigger than my stomach and I usually can’t try as many things as I’d like because I just can’t make anything else fit. The struggle is compounded by the fact that, while I love beer, for some reason I can’t burp! So I had to take that into account when choosing where I wanted to eat in Munich. We (mostly) opted for very small breakfasts to save room later for beer and other deliciousness.
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Looking for more to do in Munich? Check out my 3 Day itinerary.
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Where to Stay: Hotels in Munich, Germany.
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Need a caffeine boost? Check out all the coffee shops I’ve visited in Munich.
Restaurants/Cafes
Vits Kaffee
Rumfordstraße 49, 80469 München
Most of the time when we’re traveling through European countries our breakfast consists of coffee and a pastry. I don’t know about you, but after a few days of pastries I just crave a proper sit-down breakfast! That’s where Vits Kaffee comes in. Their pretzel croissant sandwiches are apparently pretty popular, because they were already sold out within an hour of opening! Instead I got a bagel with goat cream cheese, tomato, cucumber, lettuce & apricot jam. Jasper had a classic scrambled eggs and bacon. In the afternoons you can also stop in for lunch or a beer!
Wirtshaus Eder
Gollierstraße 83, 80339 München
Nestled into a residential area a few blocks off the main Landsberger Straße is Wirtshaus Eder. This cozy Bavarian restaurant seemed like pretty a popular a neighborhood hangout. There was a mix of dates, friend meet-ups, and even a group a few tables down playing a card game! I’m glad we had a reservation because they were packed, and understandably so. They had great service, food, and craft beers to choose from.
I started the evening with a craft beer – the Kill Bill from local Hopfenhäcker Brewing, while Jasper got a Radler (beer mixed with lemonade). For dinner I had spinach & cheese spaetzle topped with onions and Jasper ordered the grilled salmon with potatoes and veggies. Both entrees came with a side salad with a Honig-senf dressing, a German-style honey mustard. It was our last night in Germany, so we wrapped things up with the cheesecake and apple compote.
Paulaner am Nockherberg
Hochstraße 77, 81541 München
Technically Paulaner am Nockherberg could also fall under the Beer Hall category. You’ll find a massive restaurant inside and a giant beer garden outside. While it’s located a bit further from the city center than some of the others I mention, the trek is 100% worth it. Named after the monks who used to live there, Paulaner has been brewing beer at this location since 1634. So they definitely know what they’re doing. We’d hoped to sit outside with a couple beers after dinner, but once again the weather ruined our plans.
It felt like a super American thing to order, but I couldn’t help myself once I saw the pulled pork burger with onion rings and fries on the menu. Jasper got the crispy roast pork with two different kinds of dumplings. We had dumplings a few times while in Germany and to be honest we weren’t huge fans. I also had two different beers – the Weissbier and Giasinger Bazi (Pale Ale). Jasper switched it up and went with the seasonal spritz cocktail. I’d never heard of spaghettieis (spaghetti ice cream) before, but Jasper had seen it on TikTok a bunch of times leading up to our trip so obviously we had to try it as well.
Fräulein Grüneis
Lerchenfeldstraße 1a, 80538 München
Walking around the massive English Garden can work up an appetite, and with all the beer gardens closed because of rain we were lucky to stumble upon Fräulein Grüneis. This cute little cafe/kiosk is very small on the inside with only room for about 2 people to sit down, but there are plenty of standing tables outside. We only got pretzels and drinks (a beer for me and Aperol spritz for Jasper) but they also have sandwiches, soup, coffee and cakes.
This is where we learned about the bottle token system! When you get a bottle you’ll pay a deposit (pfand) of generally about a euro or so and receive a token. When you return the bottle and token you’ll get your deposit back. The token is proof you paid a deposit at that particular location, as opposed to somewhere else. They are most often used at festivals.
Check out these food tour ideas for your trip to Munich!
Beer Halls/Gardens
Hofbräuhaus München
Platzl 9, 80331 München
After two hours on a train I was in desperate need of a beer, so of course that meant a stop at the world-famous Hofbräuhaus München. We went midafternoon on a Wednesday and the place was still PACKED. Assuming it wouldn’t have been quite as bad if it had been a nice day – the outside seating was half closed because of rain, which moved people inside. Most beer halls in Munich are communal seating and you seat yourself, so just grab any open spot you find! It’s a bit overwhelming to find somewhere to sit, especially on a busy day, because there are just so many tables and rooms.
Hofbräuhaus is known for their liters of beer, so of course we both had to order one. It was practically the size of my head! I tried to take a picture drinking it with one hand and could feel a vein popping in my forehead. Because we visited in September I opted for the Oktoberfest instead of my go-to German beers, Hefeweizen or Weissebier. Jasper stuck with a Radler. We knew we needed a snack to pair with our giant beers (but we also didn’t want to ruin our dinner), so we ordered a cheese plate and bread basket.
Augustiner Bräustuben
Landsberger Str. 19, 80339 München
Looking for something with a similar vibe to Hofbräuhaus but maybe a little less overwhelming? Then head over to Augustiner Bräustuben instead. It has the same traditional beer hall feel, just on a much smaller scale. This is the Augustiner brewery restaurant (Bräustuben means brewpub), not to be confused with the biergarten, Augustiner Keller.
I had the Augustiner Hefeweissbier and Jasper got the Augustiner Helles Radler. I know both were the same size (.5L) but whenever I order a weissbier the tall skinny glass always makes it seem like so much more! We stopped here for lunch, so we also ordered the Bavarian variety plate for two. It came with a cream cheese spread, ham and cheese slices, spicy sausages, and a pork knuckle, plus bread and a pretzel. The crispy skin on the pork was SO GOOD. An older man sitting next to us, who seemed like a regular, could tell we weren’t sure how to tackle the pork knuckle. He didn’t speak English, but that didn’t stop him from miming with his hands to turn it on its side.
Chinesischen Turm Biergarten
Englischer Garten 3, 80538 München
Now this is unfortunately just more of an honorable mention, because the Chinese Tower Beer Garden was closed during our visit (rainy/cold) and we weren’t able to get a beer. Its a pretty famous spot in Munich – it’s actually the second largest beer garden in the city, behind Königlicher Hirschgarten (which is also the largest beer garden in the world).
Not Worth The Hype
Servus Heidi
Landsberger Str. 73, 80339 München
I wasn’t sure I even wanted to include Servus Heidi in any of my Munich posts, because our experience was super underwhelming. It was a huge bummer because they have such great reviews online so I was really looking forward to eating here. Maybe it was just an off night, or just something with us/our table specifically, but in general I guess I’d just say to take any reviews you read online (including this one) with a grain of salt.
The place was packed and everyone around us seemed to enjoy themselves, so I was honestly surprised to not enjoy my meal. It took a long time to get our food (tables around us ordered after and got their meals at the same time as us or before), so it honestly felt like we were forgotten/an afterthought. Jasper’s fish wasn’t very hot, making him not really want to eat it. I got the pork belly and dumplings and it unfortunately wasn’t memorable. In my opinion the food quality just wasn’t worth the price we paid, about $64 for 2 meals and 2 drinks, in comparison to other restaurants we ate at in the city.
On The List For Our Next Visit
There’s only so much time in a trip, so we unfortunately didn’t get a chance to try every place we would’ve liked. These are all the highly rated spots we can’t wait to try next time.
Haxengrill – Haxengrill im Scholastikahaus, Sparkassenstraße 6, 80331 München
We passed by this place on our way to the Hofbräuhaus and practically drooled looking at the pork knuckles cooking in the window.
Cafe im Hugendubel – Karlsplatz 11, 80335 München
A café/bookstore with two locations (the other is located in the Marienplatz) serving things like coffee, smoothies, and cake.
Restaurant Laurin Südtirol – Heiliggeiststraße 6, 80331 München
This restaurant features cuisine from South Tryol, a province in the northeast of Italy where a majority of people actually speak German as their first language. It seems like a good option for either lunch or dinner.
Löwenbräukeller Biergarten – Stiglmaierplatz, Nymphenburger Str. 2, 80335 München
Yet another place we walked by during our trip that caught my eye. Like most of the other biergartens it unfortunately was closed due to the weather.
Where’s your favorite place to eat in Munich? Let me know in the comments!
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