Places to eat in Munich

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Here is an experience that is quintessentially Munich. This massive beer garden on the west side of town can be described as the neighborhood's living room. Enjoy a warm evening here, and you won't regret it. This place also has the advantage of being right on the main S-Bahn line at the "Laim" stop. Any S-Bahn (except S-7, S-20, or S-27) will get you here. This is definitely a viable place to enjoy your final hours in Munich before catching a night train from the Hauptbahnhof (4 S-Bahn stops away).

UPDATE: I was able to enjoy the World Cup consolation game with other VTers in the Hirschgarten. Set up by Richie, the happy group had a great time. Thanks, Richie!

Favorite Dish: There are several food stands to choose from, with choices ranging from chicken to pork to fish. As for beer, the three varieties of beer on tap are Augustiner, König Ludwig Hell, and Tegernseer Hofbräu. The latter brew is tasty and refreshing -- quite a find even among the excellent beers in Munich. You can find the Tegernseer brew at Schänke 5.

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Great Bavarian fare with excellent beer served in traditional clay mugs. Any form of payment accepted, so long as it's cash. Menus and service in Bavarian; German spoken on request. Tourists, foreign weirdos, and even Prussians are welcome -- but might be given a good-natured hard time, depending on the Kellnerin's mood.

UPDATE: Forschungsbrauerei is under new management, and perhaps even better than it was before. It's now open year-round, 7 days a week, has weekday lunch specials, and regular evening entertainment. Alas, the website is now monolingual... but then again, that's somehow fitting.

Open Monday - Saturday 11AM-11PM, Sundays and holidays 10AM-10PM.

Favorite Dish: My favorite meal is the 1/2 grillhendl (rotisserie chicken). It's always fresh and juicy. Note: because it's cooked fresh for you, it will take an hour from ordering. Order soup, salad, or some Obatzd'n (Bavarian cream cheese) while you're waiting for your chicken.

Beer comes in 2 varieties: Pilsissimus ("helles" lager) and St. Jakobus Blonder Bock (sweet and very strong -- 7.5% alcohol!). Beer is served in traditional liter mugs, so driving is basically out of the question. Take the S-Bahn.

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A pub/brewery between terminals 1 & 2 of Munichs Franz Josef Strauss airport. Outside seating for summer and cosy inside for winter, food and beer very good too. Have some time to wait for that delayed flight? there is no better place I think!

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The brewpub of the Paulaner brewery, they have an enormous site elsewhere in the city, the beer brewed here is different ond is mostly only available here too, recommend Zwickel!
An evening visit for us and it's an impressive building, brewing equipment on show as well. A menu with all the local favourites on it and all nicely done, enjoyed our meal here.

A second visit in April 2012, enjoyed the goulash soup and orange juice! Driving later - honest!

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That's right, all you Stevesians -- the legendary beerhall with the "Jackie-O" coasters!

The restaurant has several levels -- I went to the lowest level, which is the beerhall. The place definitely has a local feel to it. A dark, woody atmosphere with a clientele that skews a bit toward youth. Prices are quite low by Munich standards.

The restaurant hosts live jazz/dixieland music in its "Malzboden" hall Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 8PM - Midnight. Advance reservation suggested, EUR 6 cover charge.

Favorite Dish: The food is just fine. Try a fully-loaded baked potato (ofenkartoffel) as a meal if you're getting a bit sick of the wurst-and-kraut grind.

While the restaurant is owned by Löwenbräu now, it brews its own beer, just as it has since 1922. The unfiltered microbrews are very good.

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One of the more famous stands in the Hirschgarten biergarten is the Fischer-Vroni stand, the original mackerel-on-a-stick eatery. Open daily during good weather, the stand offers, as you would expect, grilled fish, sold by weight. While you can also get salmon, trout, and "salmon-trout" (steelhead), the most common thing to buy is mackerel. Normally, you buy an entire fish, grab some lemon wedges, napkins and a small wooden fork, then enjoy with a beer (sold at various other kiosks).

Fischer-Vroni also hosts a small beer tent at Oktoberfest.

Favorite Dish: Sara and I split a good-sized mackerel, which cost about EUR 15. Tasty!

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Here's another of my favorite places from my single days. This small restaurant/pub is unassuming enough from the outside. But go inside and upstairs, and enter a raucous place featuring a lederhosen-clad accordion player -- Bavaria's answer to Larry the Cable Guy. Enjoy good food and delicious beer while Herr Larry serenades you and fires one-liners in an incomprehensible Bavarian dialect. If you look out of place (and you will), you'll quickly become the butt of many of his bawdy jokes. But don't worry: you won't understand what he's saying. Assume it's something to the effect of "Git 'r Dun!"

Food and beer are quite expensive upstairs, as you can imagine. The same quality food and drink is available downstairs for a significantly lower price (but you don't get the floor show).

Open from 6PM-3AM, food served until 11PM. Floor show starts around 9PM. Closed Sunday and Monday May-August, Closed Sunday September-April. Open every day during Oktoberfest.

Favorite Dish: The menu is varied and of high quality. One time, I remember ordering the "Kässpätzle" (German pasta with cheese), not generally considered a Bavarian dish. I remember the accordion player noticing my order and making a comment that I think involved calling me a "Swabian pig."

The beer of choice is Ayinger, one of the best beers in Bavaria. I especially like their hefeweizen (which probably makes me a Franconian weirdo, but I digress...)

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There are few better places to spend a summer afternoon than at the Seehaus beer garden, ideally situated by the Kleinhesseloher Lake in the Englischer Garten. The setting couldn't be nicer, with tables for the taking all the way to the lake shore. Watch the rowboats and paddleboats go by, or commune with the ducks and swans as they beg for your food.

Favorite Dish: Beer garden fare is self-service and good. The chicken and spare ribs are tasty.

Paulaner is the beer of choice at this establishment. A half-liter glass of Paulaner Weissbier goes quite well with the setting.