Bamberg Restaurants

This is a cosy bar restaurant right outside the Alte Rathaus, on the Cathedral side of town, with warm lighting and dark, half-timbered walls. When I entered I expected some kind of sausages and sauce kind of place, as it advertised itself as Franconian, but it actually took me a little by surprise. The first thing I noticed was that nearly every dish had Kurbis in, which is a German word I'd not seen before. I asked the waitress what it was, and she pointed to the oddly shaped green and yellow vegetables that were on every shelf: pumpkins. Strangely enough I'd never eaten pumpkin before in my life, but had dreamt about it the night before, because of a picture of my niece eating pumpkin soup from a carved out pumpkin bowl had set me thinking. Taking it as an omen I ordered the pumpkin ravioli, and was pleasantly surprised to discover how many different flavours they could pack into a dish that was mostly pasta and pumpkin. I think there were some pine nuts, garlic, basilica and strong parmesan cheese in there as well. Luciano had the rump steak, which he claimed was one of the leanest he had ever had.

Overall a very nice restaurant, with staff who smile and speak some English, and not all that expensive for the quality of the food.

Opening Times*

Sunday to Friday 10.00 - 01.00
Samstag 10.00 - 02.00

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Mahr’s-Brau has been around a long time – since at least 1670 when the first documented mention of the establishment occurred. The current family of owners acquired the brewery in 1895, so you have to assume they know what they are doing.

We’ve eaten at the Mahr’s brewery restaurant twice – both times it was crowded but the food was excellent. On our first visit, we stopped in late in the evening and were able to sit at the end of a long table with other people looking for something to eat. Hubby was anxious to try the beer and get a feel for the place as we were planning an upcoming beer tour with about 25 people. We were not disappointed in the food. That night we shared a curry wurst and fries, simply because neither of us were that hungry. The guy next to us got a wonderful looking steak with herb butter, so I made a note to myself to have that when we returned. Service wasn’t that good, but it appeared that there were only two servers for the entire place – and they were running fast to keep up!

On our second visit, we had a group of 27 people (we had reservations in advance so the crowd wasn’t a problem). Service wasn’t that great and some members of our party had to wait a long time for their meal. Overall, the food was once again excellent, but the delay in bringing some of our lunches put our schedule off – part of the group left for the next stop in the tour while others still hadn’t been served.

I got the steak with herb butter and Hubby got the goulash soup. Both were delicious; Hubby actually ate more of my meal than I had anticipated! There were no complaints from anyone about the quality of the food, just issues with the service.

I would go again to Mahr’s – but I definitely recommend getting reservations if you go at night or you could find yourselves turned away due to no room. Don’t go if you are in a hurry since both times I have found the service to be slow. Just go when you have time to relax and savour the meal.

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Bamberg is famous for its beers, especially its smoked beers. There are eight breweries within walking distance of each other and a ninth is you are into long walks. One of these breweries (and the first one we stopped at on our visit) is called Fässla which brews six different beers (no smoked beers) and serves good food.

We visited the brewery for lunch before we set out on our visit to the town and some –okay – most of the other breweries. Their menu was on a single sheet of paper but the two dishes we ordered were very tasty. My wife got a pork dish and I ordered some Bamberg sausages. Both dishes came with sauerkraut which was delicious. It was on the sweet side and the German couple sitting next to us said they add honey to it.

As for their beers, they only serve ½ liter servings so I limited myself to one beer – their Lagerbier. It was a dark yellow in color with an off-white head to it. The taste was a little malty but also had some bitterness to it. I’m not a big fan of the Lager beers and this one didn’t change my opinion. I should probably go back to sample their other beers but there are so many to try.

About the dwarf: As you can see in their logo, there is what appears to be a dwarf pushing a barrel.

Favorite Dish: Get a dish that includes sauerkraut. I'm not really into sauerkraut but this was very tasty. Maybe all German sauerkraut tastes like this. If so I need to order it more often.

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One our first but definitely not our last trip to Bamberg we ended the day walking to the Greifenklau Brewery Restaurant located a little ways away from the center of town. After a walk up the hill and a 10-minute search for the place since we didn’t read the map correctly we ended up in a lovely little restaurant for a light dinner and a final Franconian beer (the reason for my visit to Bamberg). The restaurant was very nice, with an atmosphere that made you feel you were eating where the locals eat and not the tourists visiting the city. The server was pleasant, cute, and spoke fairly good English while the French fries we ordered really hit the spot and the wheat beer I down wasn’t great but it was drinkable.

The best part of the evening was my invitation to sample a new beer the brew misters were working on. As I ordered my beer the server told me if I wanted a couple of minutes the brew misters would be tapping a new beer they had just finished brewing. I couple of minutes later I saw two gentlemen – found out later that they were father and son – come out of the back room, walk over to the tap and pull a couple of small glasses of beer which they proceeded to sample. I then saw our server talk to the younger man who then came over to our table and asked if I would like to sample their new beer. He was the beer mister for the place having taken over the position from his father – the older man I saw. As I sampled the beer which had a strong pineapple aroma he explained to me in excellent English how he brewed this batch of beer. I think I need to go back to this place to try one of their main dishes and possibly a new Bamberg beer.

Remember you never know when you are going to get lucky, so get out there and visit new breweries, sample their beers, taste their food, and hope you are at the right spot and the right time to try a new beer fresh out of the tap and right from the brew mister’s hand.

Favorite Dish: All we had were fries so I guess I'll say the fries. :)

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It all was good and worth the visit to sample local made food and local made beer. The church still makes the beer and brings it fresh into the restaurant in barrels to serve up. The beer was very cheap at around 2,10-3,50 Euro for 1/2 liter; so fill up. The food ranged from 3,10-5,50 Euro, with most being 4,50-5,00 Euro average

Favorite Dish: The wurst were good and came with kraut, and the Gottinger was excellent. They serve it hot and it comes right out of the kitchen next to seating area.

Crepes made from scratch at a booth are always a treat. The price of these ranged from 3-4,50 Euro, depending on how much extra you want on the crepe.

Favorite Dish: Since crepes are the specialty, I would choose them I had a vanilla flavored one, and Micky had a double chocolate and it was loaded with filling.

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The food was mediocre and not that good overall. It is a tourist trap to draw to the rear of the monastery, since only two restaurants are located on the hill, and most people have taken a long walk to get here. Prices were on the high side, with a lunch averaging around 7-10 Euro, or more for a full plate, and beer 5,50 Euro

Favorite Dish: The bean soup was fairly tasty, but cold; like it sat a long time before we got it served to the table. The same was for the sausage & kraut.

Probably the most famous of the breweries in Bamberg. Producers of Rauchbier or smoke beer. Someone said it tastes like Bavarian smoked cheese, and they are not far fom the truth. As ever I develpoed a liking for it and managed to spend the evening there but Mrs Bonio was not so keen, other non - smoky drinks are available. Tasty food on offer too. This one is very busy, try to pick a good time to visit.

In the suburb Wunderburg, about ten minutes walk along the canal bank, or bus #5 I think. Another very traditional yet very friendly place. Food excellent as is the beer, Mrs Bonio's favourite in town!

This brewery, around since 1649, has an old, cosy atmosphere with lots of wood. I only had a cup of tea here, but was brought here by a local who intimated that it was a pretty establishment locality. Therefore, I recommend it for a taste of a traditional Bamberg experience.