Curt's favorite Munich restaurants

€€ Opatija Easy im Tal:

This is the tried and true restaurant I frequent at the end of my tours. The menu is huge, from salads to steaks, from Bavarian wurst to schnitzel from Italian to Croatian cuisine. Everyone finds something they love at Opatija. (Reservations accepted)
Phone: 089-23231995 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.opatija-restaurant.com/  

€€ The Augustiner Braustuben:

Once you've made your pilgrimage to the Hofbräuhaus, escape the tourists by visiting the beer hall locals' love. The Braustuben offers both a relaxed dining room and a lively beer hall. Here you'll find the best prices for simple Bavarian food in town and perhaps the best beer in the world (it's located in the Augustiner Brewery). My recommendation, order the "Mixed Pan" or the "Brew Master" plates. (Reservations for groups of more than two people recommended).
Phone: +49-89-507047 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.braeustuben.de/  

€€ Gasthaus Isarthor:

Be transported back 300 years. The interior is classic with old pictures and antlers on the walls. Here you will eat like (and with) the locals on long communal tables. The main courses are authentic and the sauerkraut is so sour, it will make you pucker. The cold sausage plate is served on a oak plank with a small side of lard (how's that for authentic?) Ask for the English menu unless you took German for eight years in school. Reservations are accepted, but it's best to go there away from the lunch and after-work crush, the place is usually packed.
Phone: +49-89-227753 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.gasthaus-isarthor.de  

€€ L'Osteria, Pizza E Pasta (Historic Kunstler Haus):

I know what you're thinking, Why would I want to go to an Italian pizza joint in Bavaria? Let me count the reasons. One, homemade pasta dishes with the freshest herbs (they grow them in the restaurant). Two, great pizza as big as flying saucers. And three, fresh, fresh salads! Did I say salads? Yes in this world of pork the occasional bit of greens can be vital. Oh, and if you drop into the location by Karlsbad Stachus, you dine in the "Kunstler Haus" one of Hitler's favorite buildings. But don't hold that against it, this 1900AD gem is one of the city's proud examples of Jugensteil architecture. Reservations strongly suggested evenings and peak lunch times.
Phone: +49-89-99019810 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.losteria.de

€€€ Paros Taverna:

Sometimes it's fun to go out of the tourist world to a cool neighborhood (Haidhausen), hang out with cool looking well-dressed people (but not formal) and get your fix of fab Greek food. A quick trip on the U-4 or U-5 Underground or #16 tram from the Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof) to the Max-Weber Platz stop and a short three block walk and you're at one of the hippest eateries in town. Not much English spoken here, but if you know your Greek food, you'll be fine. Watch out on Friday and Saturday nights, at about 11:00pm sometimes the place erupts into dancing between all the tables. Reservations a must. NOTE: Make sure you head to the Paros Taverna on KirchenStraße 27, there are other restaurants in town with almost identical names. Open for Dinner only...
Phone: +49 89 4702995 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.paros-muenchen.de  

€€€ The Chinese Tower Beer Garden (Chinesischer Turm):

Located in the Englisher Garten, Munich's huge urban park, this is a fun beer garden with musicians playing "umpa" music in the tower, all the best beer garden foods (self-serve) a playground for the kiddies and of course... beer! It's about a 3 kilometers walk from downtown through a great park setting. (Check any tourist map for location)  

€€€ Prinz Myshkin:

Vegetarians! Gone are the days when you were forced to go to run-down back-alley restaurants for raw bean sprout and wheatgerm pie. Prinz Myshkin does not serve vegetarian food, but vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant is elegant without being pretentious. It works for "mixed-marriages" (non-veggie members of your group) because the dishes are so well-prepared and varied, they won't miss their carnivorous ways. Reservations recommended.
Phone: +49-89-265596 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.prinzmyshkin.com/en  

€€€(€) Andechs am Dom:

Located behind the Frauen Kirche, this place has superior Bavarian food, steaks and it's the only place in Munich allowed to sell Andechs Monastery Beer (still brewed by the monks). They're particularly proud of the double bock, a dark beer with twice the alcohol content. (Reservations strongly recommended)
Phone: +49-89 298481 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.andechser-am-dom.de/  

€€€€€ Friesinger Hof:

Ten Kilometers from downtown and located in a very nice boutique hotel, this restaurant is worth the taxi ride. The feeling is Austrian as is the food, (they boil the steaks) The duck is my over-the-top favorite, but all the menu items are somewhere beyond fine dining.
Phone: +49-89-952302 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.freisinger-hof.de/  

€€€ Seehaus im Englisher Garten:

Take a fabulous walk through the Englisher Garten from downtown (about 30 minutes). OR/ take the U3 (Underground) to Münchner Freiheit Station. This may be my favorite beer garden and it's overlooking a lake. On a nice day, this is the best living ever.
Phone: +49 89-38-16-13-0 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.kuffler.de/index_e.php  

€€€ Osterwaldgarten restaurant and beer garden:

Near Seehaus for more traditional Bavarian restaurant fare
Phone: +49 89 38 40 50 40 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.osterwaldgarten.de  

€€€ Cafe Reitschule "Riding School Cafe":

This cafe/coffee house is attached to an indoor riding stables and if your timing is right, you can see the well-heeled of Munich riding on the other side of the interior windows. Stroll through the Englisher Garten from downtown (about 30 minutes) or grab the U-3 (Underground) to Giselastrasse Station.
Phone: +49-89-388-8760 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.cafe-reitschule.de  

€€€ Schlosscafe im Palmenhaus... Schloss Nymphenburg:

YES, this wonder is in the gardens of the Summer Palace! Great cakes, elegant interior, outdoor tables in summer and even a mini-beer garden and... just wow! (Closed Mondays and some winter months)
Eingang 43, 80638
Phone: +49-89-175309 View in Google Maps URL: http://www.palmenhaus.de  

Andechs Monestary:

About an hour from Munich, this is the most famous place to have a beer and a meal in Bavaria (plus it's a beautiful monastery location with mountain views). Yes, the monks still brew the ale. View in Google Maps URL: http://www.andechs.de/nc/en.html   Here's wishing you a healthy appetite... "Prost!"