Munich Food
Munich is top among German cities for food and drink, with the city's reputation as a beer-drinkers' paradise rapidly being matched by its passion for fine food. Visitors can chow down on a wide range of traditional Bavarian dishes, while the cosmopolitan nature of the city also means that there are a large number of international restaurants for when they get bored of sausages.
The stereotypes about Bavarian cuisine are true and visitors should expect to see menus dominated with wurst, wurst and more wurst. Weisswurst, or white sausages, are a local speciality, which is traditionally eaten in the morning and served with sweet mustard and pretzels. Throughout the day Munich munches on bratwurst, a simple fried sausage served in a bun. Sausage salad, Munchner Wurstsalat, is also extremely popular, being made up of thinly sliced sausages, oil and vinegar, lettuce and sliced Swiss cheese. Another local speciality is Leberkas, again featuring sausages, which are this time grilled and formed into a loaf, served alongside potato salad.
Munich is known for its high quality street food, with the idea of a cheap and nasty greasy burger anathema to most Munchners. Fleischpflanzerl is a popular burger, featuring a thick pork patty, fried and served with onions. True to its reputation for beer drinking, Munich also invented the Holzfallersteak sandwich, made from meat which has beer added to the mix prior to moulding, making for a moist and highly delicious snack.
There are a vast number of restaurants in Munich, with high-quality pretty much a given, although this is matched by high prices. The locals take their food and drink seriously and are prepared to splash out on fine meals, although budget options can also be found. Classic Bavarian meals include Schweinebraten, or roast pork, which is traditionally served with potato or bread based dumplings and sauerkraut. Classic puddings include apple strudel, a fried pastry known as an auszogene and Blackforest cake.
Drinking in Munich is something akin to an art form, with the city justifiably famous for its beer houses and beer gardens. Hailed as the ultimate place for a pub crawl, many visitors will be happiest stumbling from beer hall to beer hall sampling the local brews. Bavaria is chock full of breweries, all producing their own unique brews. Golden ales have slowly surpassed traditional Bavarian dark beer, with Helles now the number one choice. Also popular is Starkbier, a strong beer boasting six to nine per cent alcohol.
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Eating & Drinking
