At Michael Urban’s lavish steak restaurant, the fine cuts of meat are flambeed at your table. Part of a new-build complex in the north of Schwabing, the ground-floor setting has exposed brick walls, a black ceiling, and red leather booths. The bold decor and fiery showstoppers make for a special occasion rather than a quick dinner. To get an idea of the price, the weekend brunch buffet, featuring caviar and martinis, will set you back by almost 100 euros.  

Serving hungry passersby since 1893, this traditional pub is one of the oldest in the city and a great spot to sample some local staples. Tuck into the roast pork with crispy cracklings; the sausage salad with red onion and gherkins; or the Münchner schnitzel with a horseradish and mustard crust. Even if you’re not hungry, it’s worth popping in for a refreshing beer; the staff regularly taps the Augustiner straight from a wooden barrel. Found in the student district of Maxvorstadt, this place manages to feel timeless in an ever-changing part of town.

Featured on menus across Munich, young baker Julius Brantner is ingrained in the local restaurant scene thanks to his sterling sourdough. With a contemporary design and just a few products on display, his two bakeries look nothing like most others in the city. Head over for the organic rye bread with fermented apples, but arrive early if you want to try the daily specials; the cinnamon buns and almond croissants sell out especially quickly. Julius can often be spotted out back, kneading dough, folding pastry, or checking the ovens.

Queues outside restaurants aren’t all that common in the city, but you’ll often spot people gathered outside this eatery in Maxvorstadt. Mamma Bao doesn’t take reservations for its much-hyped bowls of biang biang noodles, which are hand-pulled by specially trained chefs from northern China. Opened by Munich-born Ying Xu in 2022, the restaurant feels sleek and sophisticated, but the vibe is relaxed. Try the top seller with beef, tomato, and egg.

This easygoing pub in the hip district of Westend stands out for its drink selection. Working with some of Munich’s best craft breweries — including Tilmans Biere and Hopfenhäcker Brauerei — manager Johann Eder offers an ever-changing selection on tap and in bottles. You’ll also find single-malt whiskey Slyrs, which is distilled in the Alpine foothills. You can pair your booze with some comforting grub, including veal goulash or fleischpflanzerl (pan-fried meatballs). If you turn up when it’s busy, you may end up at a shared table — an ideal opportunity to exchange notes on the different beers.

Munich’s first Venetian cicchetteria (small plates bar) is the go-to place for an aperitivo. Make a stop at this part-deli, part-bar for a glass of fizz and a choice of appetizing bites straight out of Italy. Bread and polenta slices come with various toppings, including sarde in saor (pickled sardines) or Gorgonzola cream. For something more substantial, come at lunchtime for filled focaccia or dishes such as burrata with blood orange, red cabbage, and pistachio.

Lea Zapf runs a patisserie in Viktualienmarkt, one of Munich’s oldest food markets. In about 100 square feet, she makes a small selection of delicate cakes and pastries that she lines up neatly in the display case out front. Her signature Luftikus is a kind of choux bun stuffed with fillings like pistachio cream and lemon curd. One of more than 100 stalls, Zapf’s shop is easy to spot thanks to the black-and-white-striped canopy and inviting, cushion-laden ledge that runs along two sides.

Putting the spotlight on simple spuds at their hugely popular market stall in Viktualienmarkt, Theo Lindinger and Dominik Klier rustle up baked potatoes with toppings that show off the region’s produce and reflect the time of year. (It feels like the unofficial start to the season when the duo releases the shop’s summer or winter menu.) This year’s highlights include the Caesars Sebald with fennel, Parmesan, capers, and flaky smoked fish from Lake Starnberg, as well as the gado-gado with coconut milk, pak choi, and green beans.

Siblings Jakob, Theresa, and Xaver Portenlänger were all under 30 in 2018 when they bought a pub and spruced it up into Xaver’s, updating both the food and the culture of the traditional Bavarian style. The trio, whose family has run the Alter Wirt hotel in the Bavarian countryside since 1919, built on their long history in local gastronomy to create an exciting menu and vibe. Surrounded by dark green walls and velvet upholstery, guests can tuck into dishes such as lamb shank with parsnips and charred leeks, as well as a number of vegetarian and vegan options.

Named after Korean head chef Mun Kim, this upscale Asian fusion restaurant in a Haidhausen basement is a must for sushi fans. Turning to professional cooking later in life, Kim trained under prominent Japanese chef Makoto Okuwa before honing his skills through his own ventures. Diners at Mun can choose from an omakase menu of delicate sushi, or they can sample a mix of Korean and Japanese cuisine in a tasting menu featuring both fish and meat dishes, such as rib-eye steak with kimchi and black rice. If you’d prefer a completely vegan option, just let the restaurant know 48 hours in advance.

Summer doesn’t feel like summer in Munich without a crunchy radish salad or a portion of creamy obatzda (Camembert with butter and paprika) in a beer garden. While the quality of food can vary from beer garden to garden, this spot adjacent to the banks of the river Isar is consistently good, and the ingredients are organic. With “only” 400 seats, it also offers a more intimate setting than many other beer gardens. Order the bratwurst with sauerkraut or the trout with rosemary potatoes, and grab some of the preprepared snacky options, too.

True & 12 is the cream of the crop when it comes to Munich’s ice cream parlors. Owners Davina Goldammer Utz and Rony Utz painstakingly develop the 12 available flavors, which are all made from scratch using milk sourced from grass-fed cows. Rather than relying on bases or powders, the duo sticks to directly imported raw materials, such as hazelnuts and pistachios from Italy. Look out for the lavender with black currant swirl, made by infusing milk with lavender buds overnight.

The knödel (bread-based dumplings) and South Tyrolean wine at Fink’s transport you straight to the mountains of northeastern Italy. Doused in melted butter and plenty of Parmesan (as they should be), the dumplings come in classic forms — made with beetroot, cheese, speck, or spinach — as well as more experimental variations such as chard and walnuts. The restaurant is part of a family business that includes similar outlets in Zurich and Bolzano, Italy.

Not everywhere can get away with serving a full head of lettuce as a starter to share, but Bingo Bistro does so with style — earning it a bit of social media hype. Topped with chives and served with croutons and dressing on the side, the dish is one of around 10 at this hot spot in the cool Glockenbach district. The rest of the menu has a slight French influence combined with strong regional touches; local suppliers are listed on the back of the menu. When reserving a table, bear in mind that the earlier seating might provide better lighting for a salad photo shoot.

Some vegan restaurants in Munich can feel like they’re ticking boxes on a generic menu rather than cooking creatively, but not Dr. Drooly. This laid-back pizza place in Isarvorstadt offers fun combinations of plant-based toppings and dough that is left to ferment for 54 hours. Jana and Salvatore Stacca opened the shop in 2020 not long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and they’ve relied on takeaway orders ever since. While there are a few seats available, most people prefer to eat their dinner off the premises, straight from one of the bright-pink cardboard boxes seen piled high behind the counter.

Serving elevated Austrian dishes, this smart inn will soon have you hooked on the country’s cuisine. Not-to-miss dishes include the venison sausages, served with chanterelle mushrooms and cranberries, and the Steirisches backhendl (Styrian fried chicken) with potato and watercress salad. Opened in 2023, the Gasthaus is run by Markus Hirschler and Stefan Grabler, who first made a name for themselves at wine bar Grapes, which helps explain the huge selection of bottles at the inn. Inside, light wood combined with green chairs and statement lighting provide a rustic feeling without the slightest hint of kitsch.

This elegant bar in the Glockenbach district serves creative, tapas-style dishes and a large selection of wines from Germany and beyond. Any questions about the drinks should be directed to sommelier Lukas Stepper, who owns Avin together with his friend Alexander Glocker. Stepper can suggest a glass that goes best with your beef tartare with crostini and pickled egg yolk or your caramelized eggplant with bonito and miso. Spread across two levels, Avin has a minimalist yet cozy feel thanks to the use of clean lines and warm tones.

Having gained a loyal fan base as a pop-up breakfast spot, Café Faber quickly filled up with customers when it opened permanent doors earlier this year. Leon Hänseler uses his experience from third-wave coffee shops across Germany to command the espresso machine, while Hannah Gratzfeld prepares brunch and lunch dishes, such as beans with feta, wild herbs, and a poached egg. Dotted with potted plants and linoleum-covered tables, the new digs still attract a hipster crowd, but the space is a good option for anyone looking for a nourishing start to the day.

This modern-looking restaurant is connected to the Paulaner brewery, one of the biggest names in Munich’s beer scene. Centered on the shiny brass brew kettles behind the bar, the space is flooded with natural light streaming in from large windows. The food is beautifully presented, including the brotzeit platter full of meats, cheeses, and spreads, which is ideal for sharing. To drink? Paulaner, of course, including a number of seasonal specials. When the weather’s good, the beer garden is a lively spot for a sundowner.

To start the day in true Bavarian style, you’ll need to try a weißwurstfrühstück (white sausage breakfast): Traditionally served until noon, the dish consists of white sausages, sweet mustard, doughy pretzels, and a glass or two of wheat beer. Residents are divided on the best purveyor, but many suggest Gaststätte Großmarkthalle. This Munich institution, found among the buildings at the city’s large wholesale market, makes its own sausages on site and is usually packed to the rafters on weekends. Lederhosen optional.

Pink pickles and vibrant greens characterize the sandwiches and plates from this much-loved Lebanese cafe in Sendling. Combined with house-made hummus, baba ghanoush, or falafel, the fresh flavors here are hard to beat, although sister restaurant Manouche (located a few minutes away) comes pretty close with its light Lebanese pizzas. If you want to try food from both locations, the teams don’t mind if you bring items from one to the other.

Offering fine dining with a casual edge, Giesing’s gastronomic gem is found pumping out a hip-hop soundtrack on an otherwise quiet street. The attentive waitstaff arrive at tables in sneakers and sweatshirts and bearing well-rehearsed details about every dish. The lunch menu is small but includes the best pastrami sandwiches in town, while the evening brings a set menu featuring European dishes with occasional Asian influences. Limited opening hours require some planning, especially if you want to visit the wine bar next door, which is open only on Thursdays.