Munich Hotels and Restaurants

There are a huge number of hotels, restaurants, bars and pubs in Munich and you'll find something for every price range or taste.

Accommodation ranges from guest houses and hostels through to the most sophisticated hotels. On my recent visit I stayed in three different classes of hotels and found that each had advantages depending on your needs. The modern, chain hotel provided reliability, predictability, good service and completely adequate facilities. If I were a first-time business visitor to Munich, I would stay here. The smaller first-class family-run hotel offered friendly staff, adequate facilities, an excellent location and a homely feel. If I were a frequent visitor, I would stay here. The simple, down-market hotel offered the best location, basic facilities and a good price. If I were a short-stay tourist on a budget, I would stay here.

With eating, it’s almost the same. Prices vary according to type of restaurant and location, but generally you can eat good food fairly inexpensively in Munich. One evening I got some reasonable Thai food in a small hole-in-the-wall for about €8 for three courses, but this was an exception. Generally, cafes, bistros, fast food outlets, bars and beer halls are the cheapest places to eat.

In restaurants, the cheapest food tends to be Italian with a single course meal (pasta) and drink for one costing about €10 to €14. Indian and Chinese food is around €16, and Japanese more expensive still. Traditional Bavarian food costs around €15 to €18 per person. The standard tip seems to be around 5-10%.

Munich food is very meat based revolving mainly around pork and having very little to do with vegetables. As in the rest of Germany, a huge variety of sausages (Wurst) are available.

The usual things like apple strudel are to be found, but if you are feeling very adventurous, try Dampfnudlen (steamed noodles). The name is misleading because Dampfnudlen are in no way related to noodles, but are in fact doughy, yeasty dumplings sprinkled with cinnamon or poppy seeds and covered in vanilla sauce. They are good.

Munich has a vast number of breweries, large and small and it is worth trying as many different types of beer as possible. The traditional beer halls are best for beer drinking, provided you like crowds. You can visit a number of large breweries, e.g. Paulaner, Löwenbräu to see how they brew their best.

Quick Tips:

The pride of Munich cuisine is called the Weisswurst, a white veal sausage which is usually eaten with a pretzel or bread and some sweat mustard. Having a Weisswurst is an absolute must at some point (preferably in a beer cellar or garden) but remember to peel it first.

Leberkäse is another local favourite and whilst the name literally means liver cheese, it is in fact a smooth spicy meatloaf served in thick slabs.

Nearly all restaurants have a lunchtime menu which usually features the same items from the evening menu but at very much cheaper prices (often half price).

Best Way To Get Around:

The hotels and restaurants that I review are all in the downtown area so most tourist sights can be reached by foot. Walking is by far the best way to explore Munich. There are some great pedestrian-only streets, lovely parks and pleasant riverside walking tracks.

The public transportation system is well developed and easy to use. The subway (U Bahn) and railway (S Bahn) will get you to most tourist destinations that are just a bit far to walk. The trains appear frequent, punctual and safe even late at night. I bought a pass from the hotel that could be used all day and this could be used on both systems.

The first thing that strikes you about this hotel is its location. It is just inside Isartor (one of the old city gates) and only two blocks from the colourful Marienplatz in the heart of Old Munich. As an added bonus, the Isartor railway station is close by and this provides easy access to almost all of Munich including the long-distance railway station and the airport, without having to change trains.

This is a first class, family run hotel with 92 rooms and suites. We were told that the hotel had been operating since the 1400s.The building is a typical 5-storey concrete building of indistinguishable age but the décor is a nice mix of traditional and modern. The lobby is small with a lovely polished marble floor, a small seating area opposite the reception and an enormous chandelier which seems rather overwhelming.

The recently renovated rooms are modern, very clean and comfortable. All rooms are equipped with bath/shower, air-conditioning, telephone, cable TV, radio, computer and fax modem, safe and hair dryer. Minibar and coffee making facilities are free of charge in all deluxe rooms and suites. Non-smoking rooms are available and I always appreciate these. There is nothing worse than getting that smoky odour when you first open your hotel door.

Room rates include a breakfast buffet. Everything imaginable was served - cheese tray, meats, Danishes, fruit salads, and we especially enjoyed the smoked salmon. During the rest of the day, a selection of scrumptious pastries is served in the café and, during summer, also on the balcony over-looking the street. There is also a restaurant (run by an outside organization) and a business center. The hotel has outside parking and garage parking at a cost of around US$15 a day.

Standard room rates are fairly high at around €200 a night but the rooms are newly renovated, comfortable and the level of service and friendliness is high. The Torbrau is family owned and we were treated like such during our visit from the friendly staff at the front desk to the host at the sumptuous breakfast in the morning. The beds were very comfortable for a great sleep after a full day of walking! We used their service of dry-cleaning and found it excellent. The room had lots of space for your clothes. The staff were extremely helpful with all our questions and offered to arrange our tours. We would definitely return to this most hospitable hotel.

This is a modern 4-star hotel featuring 307 comfortable rooms. The Novotel Dorint Munchen City is located near the heart of Munich, a few minutes walking distance from the famous Deutsches Museum, Gasteig Cultural Center and about 15 minutes from Marienplatz. The hotel is 5km away from the railway station and 50km from the airport, but it is close to Rosenheimer Plaza station where trains provide direct service to both places. This is very convenient when arriving and departing the city.

The hotel is fully equipped and offers a bar, restaurant, WIFI Wireless Internet access, dry-cleaning/ironing, safe deposit box at reception, shoe shine machine, tourist information desk, and money exchange office. The Novotel also offers private parking, meeting rooms, and a wellness area with indoor heated pool, gym, sauna and steam bath, solarium and massage.

Novotel rooms provide all the needs for a comfortable stay, a feeling of spaciousness and unique contemporary decor, which I had mixed feelings about. Sometimes I feel interior decorators get a bit too cute! One thing I particularly liked about the room was the lighting. So many hotel rooms are too dark when you want to work or read. This one was fine.

I arrived at this hotel after traveling through some eastern European countries and staying in some down-market accommodation. The buffet breakfast on offer at this hotel was a revelation. It was wonderful. You could make your own fresh orange juice and cook your own pancakes or if this was too difficult (it was for me on the first day) just select from a huge range of juices, fruits, breads, cold meats, hot dishes, pastries and drinks. It was not the best breakfast I had in Europe (that was probably at the 5-star Kempinski in Budapest) but it was certainly good.

The restaurant operates as Le Jardin serving Mediterranean-style food for lunch and dinner. It has a good menu, lovely atmosphere (particularly at night), non-smoking areas and friendly service with English-speaking staff. Opening hours are noon to 2.30pm for lunch and 6pm to 11pm for dinner.

If you are young and fit, the hotel offers bike rental facilities for transport around the city. There is a good network of bike lanes and tracks so this is a very viable option if you want to explore the English Garden or more remote areas.

Room rates vary enormously depending on when you go and how you book. Rates can be above US$300 but check the Internet for discounts.

Situated in the pedestrian zone of Viktualienmarket, this is a small, fairly simple but comfortable hotel in a great location. If position, position, position is of utmost importance to you, this is tops. Everything within the old center of Munich is within walking distance and there is public transportation close by if you need to go further. The added bonus is the market, food stalls and beer garden just outside the door.

The location is tops but you need to put this hotel into some perspective. It is a good place to stay if all you need is a place to sleep. But even here, you can have problems. Our first room was on the beer garden side of the building. There was a nice view but there were people walking around, talking and calling out all night. Shutting the windows helped a little, but with no air-conditioning, it got quite warm in the room, even in late October. It would probably be fine in winter with the window down because customers would go home earlier and there is a heating system in the room. Around 6am or so, the restaurants started setting up and deliveries began to arrive. We had a poor sleep. This room had no bathroom.

We stayed one night on the other side of the hotel and had a little better luck. Our double room was basic, but clean, and the bathroom was modern and gleaming. There was also a TV and a small table and two chairs. However, in the European tradition the rooms are small and somewhat oddly shaped (some very odd - one U-shaped room wraps around a hallway shower!) so you don’t have a lot of room.

The owner has maintained a nostalgic decor in the lobby. Behind the reception desk is a wall of photographs of friends or former guests. That is a nice touch. The service was pretty good, with staff manning the small reception desk 24 hours. The glass elevator, however, is the smallest elevator I've ever seen.

The breakfast included in the room rate was basic, just consisting of rolls, jam, cheeses and coffee. This hotel is for tourists who won't linger in their room but are adventuring in Munich. Room rates are around $80 without bathrooms and $100 with. Not great value but you can’t beat the position.

This is the most popular beer hall in Munich and it has become a major tourist attraction. The food is very average, the service is slow but the band, the atmosphere and the beer make up for everything. If you are in Munich, you need to go here at least once.

Wilhelm V., Duke of Bavaria, was unhappy with the beer brewed in Munich so, beer had to be imported from the city of Einbeck in Lower Saxony. Wilhelm ordered his royal court to come up with an answer to this problem and the idea was: why not build our own brewery?

Originally established as a court brewery in 1589 it was originally housed in Alter Hof, but it moved to its present location in 1654. The neo-Renaissance form of the present building dates from 1896. The historic beer hall on the ground floor of the building is considered the heart of the Hofbräuhaus. Here you can sit at tables, some of which have been here since 1897 as testified by the many initials, names and comments engraved on them. Walking in and trying to find a place to sit was a little unnerving - many locals do not want you to sit with them at their table – but after you get settled it’s great to drink and listen to the oom-pa-pa music in this convivial atmosphere.

The completely rebuilt and renovated Bräustüberl is located on the first floor of the Hofbräuhaus, complete with its bay window overlooking Platzl square. Featuring a blend of stylish Bavarian ambiance and turn-of-the century flair, it offers a more cultured hospitality. This level has a barrel-shaped vaulted ceiling and can hold over 1000 people. In summer, the beer garden in the courtyard surrounded by chestnut trees is very popular.

While here, check out the two racks of beer stein safes. These practical storage units were installed in 1970. Encouraged by some of the regular guests who wanted a safe and separate storage space for their personal - and in some cases, very valuable - beer steins, the HB landlord at the time installed a steel rack with lockers for up to 424 stoneware and glass mugs. I’m told the wrangling among the regulars to secure one of these boxes with high status-symbol value was - and still continues to be - intense.

You go to the Hofbrahaus for the beer, the music and atmosphere. You will probably end up eating something while there. The food in the beer hall is fairly basic and not great value. You can get 2 original Weisswürste (veal sausages) with a pretzel for € 4,20, or perhaps 2 HOFBRÄUHAUS grill-sausages with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes for € 6,40. There are several other choices of fish and meat at much higher prices. I must say the apple strudel with vanilla sauce and whipped cream (€ 3,60) was good. A litre of beer will cost € 6,20. The food upstairs in the Bräustüberl is better and the menu more extensive.

Just love this name for a Chinese restaurant. I also thought the name ‘Running Wok’ was clever for their buffet. I would not normally be looking for Chinese food in Europe but I had been in rural Yugoslavia for several weeks and had been unable to get rice, so I was looking to some Asian food. The hotel desk told me that this was the best Chinese restaurant in Munich, so off I went.

This would be a good value Chinese restaurant for those times when hunger strikes really hard. The ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffet costs €8.80 for lunch and €14.80 for dinner. There is also an extensive a la carte menu if that has more appeal. Soup is around €2.5 and main meals €11.00. They also have set meals for 2, 3, 4 and 5 people with up to 9 dishes served at the table. The take-out section (China Express) has dishes from €6.50.

When I arrived I was pleased to see that there were quite a few Asian people eating there, which I took to be a good sign. The place is big, but it filled up quite quickly after 7pm. With drink in hand and an English menu in the other, it was looking good. I decided on the buffet. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. I thought the food was just ok - not horrible but nothing extraordinary. The sushi was edible and so were the duck and the pork. The buffet items tended to be a bit greasy and bland, not what I was expecting. Casting my eyes around to see what other people were eating, I realized that I had made a mistake in having the buffet rather than something specially cooked for me.

If this is the best Chinese restaurant in Munich then the standard is not very high. It is nothing like the top Chinese restaurants in Asia, Australia or the USA. Perhaps if I had not been told it was the best, my expectations would have been lower and I may have accepted it for what is was.

After saying all that, it was not a total disaster. I got my rice and had a change from the heavy, stodgy food that I had been eating for the past few weeks. I would not go back for the evening buffet but probably would go back for lunch especially if I was with kids.