A Guide to Bavarian Food

In the Southeastern corner of Germany sits the state of Bavaria, a region that rebuilt its cities following WWII to resemble their original state.  Munich, the capital city of Bavaria, mixes modernity with tradition.  Architecture surrounding the old city center retains the cream-colored facades and fabled Bavarian style roofs.

In Munich’s Viktualienmarkt, clean cobblestone roads encircle a Bavarian food and farmers market operating daily and serving both locals and tourists with a time warp into old Germany.  Stands sell famous wursts (sausages), head-sized Bavarian pretzels, and flaky desserts.  Picnic tables lined with beer steins allow patrons to toast in public and inhale hearty meats, sumptuous dumplings and noodles, and good company.

Famous Bavarian Dishes

Bavaria, known as the “Weisswurst Equator,” invented the weisswurst in 1857 in Munich.  This thick Bavarian-style sausage stands as a cornerstone of Bavarian food and must be eaten according to three important rules.  First, the weisswurst must never be eaten with a knife and fork; instead you must cut it in half and eat each side by dipping it in sweet mustard. Second, it can only be eaten with a roll or pretzel with sweet mustard and no other condiments or accompaniments.  Third, weisswursts cannot be consumed after 12:00 pm due to the past when refrigeration didn’t exist and the weisswurst could not be preserved safely past 12:00 pm.

In addition to different style wursts, Bavarian food specializes in wheat dishes such as their famous Knodel dumplings and noodles.  Knodels are stuffed with bread, veal, pork and occasionally poultry, all staples in the Bavarian diet.  Also on the Bavarian food menu are various breads, dessert pastries such as apple strudel, and cakes.  Besides their fame from weisswurst, Bavarians invented the famous pretzel eaten with wurst and on special occasions like Oktoberfest.

Bavarian cooking does wonders to soak up all the yeasty steins of beer consumed by the Bavarian people and tourists.  The combination of their beer and hearty food provides a warm and satisfied stomach on every visit to Munich and the rest of the Bavarian state.

Bavarian Restaurants in Munich

For some of the best authentic Bavarian food in Munich this sampling of restaurants offers great ambiance and great eats.

Fraunhofer Wirtshaus

This traditional Bavarian food restaurant serves organic, Bavarian specialties.  Their menu features traditional dishes like knuckle of pork, potato dumplings, and coleslaw.  Fraunhofer Wirtshaus dates back to 1874, and maintains its historic Bavarian style while also making patrons feel like their eating in their German grandmother’s kitchen.

Hofbrauhaus

A tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world, Hofbrauhaus offers an old world Bavarian-style beer hall complete with one-liter steins, sticky wooden tables stretching the entire warehouse-sized hall and waitresses wearing traditional dirndls.  Here you can grab a stool next to other tourists, listen to oompah bands, eat veal sausage with sweet mustard and wash it all down with a liter of light or dark beer.

Zum Augustiner

The Augustiner is more than a restaurant, its comprised of two beer halls, a beer garden, and three separate restaurant rooms, the White Room, Bird Room and Green Hall.  Their kitchen whips up the best, classic Bavarian food in addition to other international dishes and fusion Bavarian food.  Patrons have the choice between the set 3-course Bavarian food menu and the 6-course feast and dessert buffet.  Expectations are always exceeded when dining in this Bavarian whirlwind.

Now that you know all about Bavarian food, find the best Munich restaurants for a delicious meal.