Schiller's Favorite Beer Taverns and Wine Bars in Munich (February 2025)

When the Löwenbräukeller opened in 1883 it was a sensation. Not only did it serve fresh Löwenbräubeer, but it was it the first beer hall in the city with tablecloth and napkins. The restaurant still features wooden floors, high vaulted ceilings, chandeliers, and oil paintings similar to its early days.

The menu celebrates classic Bavarian dishes such as roast pork in caraway gravy with bread dumplings and cabbage salad, and roasted pork knuckle with dumplings and sauerkraut.

For the 1867 Oktoberfest, the Löwenbräukeller set up the festival's first beer tent, the Schottenhamel. It became one of Oktoberfest's most famous beer tents and the place where Munich's mayor kicks off the festival every year.

Address: Nymphenburgerstrasse 2, 80335 Munich 

Schneider Weisses Bräuhaus im Tal (TripSavvy Top 6 Munich Beer Taverns)

An institution in Munich’s culinary scene since the 19th century, Weisses Bräuhaus specializes in Weissbier, wheat beer. Every beer is poetically described on the menu. For instance, Meine blonde Weisse is “refreshing like a dance in a summer breeze”. And ​Unser Aventinus is perfect for “relaxing moments by the fire”.

The menu offers good old-fashioned German food, salads, as well as vegetarian options. If you dare, try the traditional Munich dishes: sweet-sour lung of veal, pork liver with roasted onions, or pork kidneys with fried potatoes. Kids under 8 eat for free.

Weisses Bräuhaus has been carefully renovated, and the no-frills, down-to-earth atmosphere is just like it might have been 100 years ago. 

Tal 7, 80331 Muenchen  

See: Dinner (Leberkäse, Blutwurst) at Schneider Weisses Bräuhaus im Tal and Second Breakfast (Weisswurst) at Zum Franziskaner in Munich (September 2024)

Der Pschorr (TripSavvy Top 6 Munich Beer Taverns)

Located at Viktualienmarkt, Der Pschorr pours its Hacker-Pschorr-Edelhell beer straight from wooden barrels into your stein.

Besides its many different kinds of beers, Der Pschorr is famous for its fantastic quality of food. All ingredients are local, with produce from Bavarian orchards, cheeses from local dairy coops, and meats from Munich sausage makers. Highlights on the menu are the Murnau Werdenfelser beef, a rare breed of local cattle; Pressack, a sausage made from pork, studded with glistening shards of fat and seasoned with marjoram; and homemade Obatzda, a Bavarian cheese spread served with onions and chive bread.

Sounds too heavy? Look for the “healthy kitchen” section on the menu.

Address: Viktualienmarkt 15, 80331 Munich 

Augustinerkeller (TripSavvy Top 6 Munich Beer Taverns)

Munich’s Augustinerkeller has been serving its mild Edelstoff beer freshly tapped from the wooden barrel since 1812. Today, the restaurant is many things at once: You can dine in the cozy and lively Bierstuebel with its old paintings and chandeliers; the beer cellar with its vaulted ceilings, brick walls, and wooden benches; the chestnut-shaded beer garden; or in the main beer hall, the bustling heart of the Augustinerkeller and a fun place for people watching.

The restaurant serves up traditional Bavarian cuisine, but you'll also find a couple of International and vegetarian dishes on the extensive menu.

Address: Arnulfstr. 52, 80335 Munich

The Paulaner Bräuhaus has a beer brewing tradition that goes back to 1889 when the brothers Eugen and Ludwig Thomas brewed their first full-bodied lager beer here. Today, the beer is brewed in traditional shiny copper tanks and even flavors some of the seasonal dishes on the menu, like the goulash in beer sauce. For the adventurous foodie, there is wheat beer sorbet. If you can’t get enough, come here on a Monday for an all-you-can-eat Bavarian buffet.

Address: Kapuzinerplatz 5, 80337 Munich 

Zum Franziskaner (Laurel Robbins)

Zum Franziskaner has a laid-back vibe that makes you feel like you’re dining in someone’s living room. The central location means it’s always full, and it’s a popular spot after the opera. There are two menus, a German one and an English one which doesn’t include all of the same dishes as the German ones, so if you want to try something *really* Bavarian ask for the German menu as well and see if your server can help you. Also worth noting is that the pretzels on the table are not free. They’re delicious, but you pay for each one that you eat. 

Residenzstrasse 

See: Dinner (Leberkäse, Blutwurst) at Schneider Weisses Bräuhaus im Tal and Second Breakfast (Weisswurst) at Zum Franziskaner in Munich (September 2024)

Gasthaus Waltz (Michelin)

A fashionable and lively restaurant in Munich's Glockenbachviertel, run by an enthusiastic young team. The secret of its success is the chefs' modern take on Alpine cuisine – sometimes creative, sometimes more traditional, but the presentation is always sharp, and the ingredients are the region's finest. Dishes such as the Tafelspitz-Sülze (jellied prime boiled beef) with horseradish, root vegetables and seed oil vinaigrette or the char with lentils, apple, trout caviar and beurre blanc can be ordered à la carte or together as a set menu comprising four or five courses. Wine is taken very seriously here and, consequently, the list is not only well curated in terms of quality, but also surprisingly extensive. Motorists should note that parking options are limited.  

Ayinger Bräustüberl (Ayinger Brewery)

The Ayinger Bräustüberl lives the Bavarian cuisine of a pub as our ancestors knew it, hearty and perhaps even a little coarse. A bit like the Bavarians themselves.

The dishes are usually simple but, just like the beer, always made from high-quality regional products and ingredients. Sausages and meat come from butchers in the neighbourhood.

Aying