Gourmet Germany, Austria & Switzerland
When you take your tongue out sightseeing in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, what are its favorite taste treats?
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great place for big eaters
We just came back from Germany. In Marburg, we happened upon a great Greek restaurant, Lokomotiv, across from the Elisabeth Church. Biggest portions I have ever seen. They have a sign outside: Schnitzel, XL and XXL. I ordered putenschnitzel, and it covered most of my platter (not plate, platter). I noticed that the jagerschnitzel spilled over the platter on all sides. It was very good, by the way. If you are taking big eaters to Marburg, this is a good place to try!
carrie
pacific grove, CA USA 04/15/2008
Frankfurt Airport Restaurant
It's a rare occasion that a restaurant meal at an airport creates a positive memory. But the Käfer's Bistro (Terminal 1, Bereich B, Ebene 2) at Frankfurt Airport did just do that. I stopped there with my two kids on a layover on our way home, hungry and with not much money left after our 3 weeks in Germany. We had a traditional German meal with a selection of different Bratwurst and other items I can't remember. And both kids and I were impressed - and I did grow up in Germany and know German cuisine. Moreover, the service was great and the restaurant has a good sized non-smoking section.
Beatrix
Calgary, Canada 03/29/2008
Great dining in Prague
I just got back from 2 weeks in Europe, which included stops in Munich, Vienna, Prague and Berlin, and I wanted to mention a great restaurant in Prague.
Prague has become much more expensive since my last visit, and it is easy to get ripped off. However, we found a great place with a great atmosphere and very good prices. It is called Klub Architektu, and it is only a few blocks from the clock tower. They have lunch specials every day where you can get a glass of wine, a main course and a wonderful dessert for 99 krones, which is about $5.25. We ended up going back for dinner, where four of us had great dinners, including 2 wonderful bottles of wine, for around 1400 krones ($75). The dinners included huge salads, entrees, dessert, coffee and a couple of side dishes as well as 1.5 liters of water.
The place is in a beautiful stone celler and is almost all smoke free. There is also a wonderful bookstore attached with great books on architecture.
The address is Betlemske namesti 169/5A Praha 1.
David <email>
Portland, Oregon USA 01/03/2008
mustard
Re: mustard the tubes are neat but come in different strenghts scharf strong mild mild no german speaker so ask
USA 12/23/2007
Thuringia Food
Just got back from Thuringia Germany, and found lots of good eats there. I am a big fan of the Tradtional Bratwurst, however I discovered a whole new realm with the Thuringia Bratwurst. They are longer and thinner, they snap when you bite into them and they are much more herby than the tradtional Brats.They are generally served in a bun with the sausage sticking way out of either end.Eaten with mustard,Heaven! Thuringia is also known for their potato dumplings, very tasty and most have a littlle surprise in the middle. We had some very good ice cream there as well. We discovered a store in Erfurt that had ice cream that was so smooth and creamy, almost whipped, with some very unusual flavors.
Martin Grabske <email>
Livermore, CA USA 10/25/2007
Munich Octoberfest
As you all go through the crowded wonder known as Octoberfest over the next few weeks, have patience. It will seem like half of Germany is there. In fact, it is only half of Bavaria. Look for quick things like the oxen sandwiches that are avialable or take out and fish on a stick. The major halls are crowded but there is no better fun in the world... Hope you like people drinking beer and lots of em. Unless you have a reserved table, go early. Enjoy
Chollyb
US Forces Overseas, USA 09/16/2007
Salzburg Indonesian Restaurant
Ate at a great Indonesian restaurant in Salzburg. One of the best Indonesian restaurants I've eaten at and I've eaten at quite a few being Dutch/Indonesian. It's a nice little family run restaurant just outside of the old city. The rijsttafel is the best bargain and gives you a chance to try a lot of dishes.
The restaurant is
Bali Indonesisches Resaurant
Paris-Lodron-Strasse 22
A-5020 Salzburg
Roland Armstorff
Burbank, CA USA 09/16/2007
German Mustard
I agree with the comment about German mustard. I love it. I have found that you can buy quality mustard in sealed tubes at German groceries and its cheap compared to what you would pay for the same mustard imported into the USA. Because the tubes are sealed they have a long shelf life and will keep you supplied in mustard for months. One word of caution, if you bring these tubes home pack them in your checked baggage. Returning home in April for some reason I did not equate mustard with liquid and packed 5 large tubes in my carry on luggage. I almost cried as I helplessly watched security at the Frankfurt airport toss my precious mustard in the trash bin.
Robert
Mont Belvieu, Texas USA 09/15/2007
Triple Threat!
Germany-Saurkraut and Pretzels!!
Austria-Sausages and Weinerschnitzel
Switzerland- Stroganoff and Cheese Fondue
I just got back from my first Contiki tour and we hit all three of these countries, by far, my favorite foods! Also, the beer selection is pretty good too, and be sure to check out Schnapps in Austria. If you like all three of these countries check out...contiki.com
Caitlin <email>
Columbus, oh USA 09/12/2007
Love Austria
I was very pleased w/the food in Germany and Austria. I fell in love w/the mustard at each and every restaurant--so much so, that I often find myself going to import grocery stores hoping to find it or something similar. Of course, also loved the variety of sausages to choose from in restaurants and grocery stores. LOVE AUSTRIA---beautiful country!!
Steph <email>
Long Beach, CA USA 09/07/2007
Dining in Frankfurt
U.S. airline crews have long favored "Baesler Eck" in downtown Frankfurt. Owner/host Gerd & his wife wait bar & tables; Gerd's brother makes all sauces from scratch. The clientele is a blend of locals & airline crews. Food's great and hospitality always warm & genuine.
Dave Pritchard
Friday Harbor, WA USA 08/17/2007
klein aber fein
Dear EAP,
I suspect the gentleman said "klein ABER fein" meaning something like "small but sophisticated"
tatin
Düsseldorf, Germany 08/16/2007
Vichter Landhaus - Stolberg
The Gogic family serves up fantastic German cuisine as well as Croatian specialties. Make sure you add some of their "bratkartoffeln" to any dish. The service is impeccable. The hotel is excellent as well.
http://www.vichter-landhaus.de/
JK & Family <email>
Anchorage, AK USA 08/08/2007
Hofbräuhaus Munich
Sorry - can't agree about missing the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. But, this is one of those places that you either hate or love. I, personally, love it. Never had a bad meal. Beer is good. Service is iffy, yes. I have never had bad service; sometimes a little indifferent, but I don't expect rushed wait staff to take me on as their personal project, either
Steve
Richmond, VA USA 08/07/2007
Bavarian Eats
Just returned from three weeks in Switzerland, Austria and Germany and sampled wonderful beers everywhere! The only place to be sure to miss is the HofBrau in Munich...food was expensive, tasteless and service awful. Had better beer and food for the money at the Weiss Brewery just around the corner. (try their potato pancakes!)
In Vienna, don't miss The Rathaus Film Festival(only in summer)for dinner and free entertainment under the stars. The food fair had a wonderful selection of treats at reasonable prices, great selection of beers on tap, the Kirsch (cherry) beer was wonderful.
I also have to agree about Salzburg's Augustiner Brewery. We had the most wonderful evening sitting under the trees with locals sipping beer and eating dinner.
Also in Salzburg we found an excellent Indonesian restaurant just around the corner from our hotel (NH Salzburg City). Family run and fresh food and affordable, clean.
The best fun was staying away from the tourist areas, many times we found a nice family run eatery a couple of blocks away (or the next subway stop off) from the tourist areas with great food and locals prices (and less crowds).
Renee
Gig Harbor, WA USA 08/06/2007
Demels (be warned)
Just returned from Austria. Went to Demel's. Food was okay but I spent 30 euro on a tin of cakes and cookies that were molded. Check your items before you leave the area!
erin
selden, ny USA 08/05/2007
German Salads
While in Germany do try a mixed German salad especially if your tired of the heavy food. Often it comes with healthy green leafy letuce with a light vineger or yogurt&mayo dressing( simular to a ranch) with a few different salads under the lettuce such as cold slaw, greated carrots, green beens, potato salad, dilled cucumber. I've never had a salad in Germany that wasn't wonderful and I'm an American living over here for the past 5 years.
shelley buerer <email>
Mörlenbach, He USA 07/10/2007
Salzburg Eats
The Augustiner Brewery in Salzburg is awesome. You can sample a wide variety of German and Austrian food, eat in a real beer garden or beer hall and have some great beer from a fine local brewery. On top of all that, the cost is very reasonable. The locals eat here!
Kurt Rolland <email>
St. Louis, MO USA 06/24/2007
Vienna - Demel's
Demel's in Vienna not only has wonderful desserts, they serve fantastic food. When you enter the cafe, walk straight back for a front row seat to watch the pastry chefs in action. Excellent food, service and dessert!
Audrey <email>
Keizer, OR USA 06/18/2007
Good Restaurant
Vienna White Asparagus Soup--
We just returned from a River Cruise and had the best soup I have ever ever
had at sidewalk cafe just around the corner from the cafe Rick loves for Chocolate desserts, Demel's. Its called Kanzleramt (www.restaurant-kanzleramt.at) The palace grounds are across the street. Seemed to be very popular with the locals! Always a good sign. Keep in mind this is available only in the spring. The markets were
filled with white asparagus. Vienna is
so so beautiful. A most elegant city!
HarLyn Mlynek <email>
Colorado Springs, Co USA 06/07/2007
Munich eats
Best simple ham sandwich I have ever eaten came from the Munich train station food court (great food all over that place). Thick hot fresh ham, crusty warm roll. I visit it in my dreams.
Keira <email>
Portland, OR USA 05/29/2007
white asparagus now in season in Germany
I was in Thüringen in Germany last week. Their greatest crop was the white asparagus, which takes about three to four years to grow. On asparagus farms near Gotha, Bad Langensalza and Herbsleben, people can pile on dirt to make sure the asparagus never sees the sun, otherwise the asparagus might turn green.
One of the ways the asparagus we had was very similar to the familiar sauce hollandaise (imagine eggs benedict without the eggs). Other servings were deep fried asparagus, and with ham and dill-seasoned potatoes. Where I had the most asparagus was at the Bad Tennstedt Walktag festival which was on 6th May 2007 at the all-you-can-eat buffet - drinks not included. A caution is that asparagus acts as a diuretic - don't eat too many.
Another local delicacy in Thüringen is the Spreewälder pickle, available in spicy, salty or buttery (called the Senfgurke) varieties. They cost about $11 per pound although most people might not spend much more than $1 for a single pickle about half the size of the average hot dog with a bun.
Josh Hanz <email>
Frisco, TX USA 05/12/2007
Restaurant Waldgeist
Waldgeist (ghost of the woods) is great! Have a look at the website to get an idea about the quantities... nutty! But the quality is great, too, it's just a phantastic experience! Driving time by car is about 30mins from Frankfurt, 20mins from Wiesbaden, 35mins from Mainz. Reservation in advance is highly recommended.
Andreas <email>
Frankfurt/M., Germany 05/02/2007
Restaurant Waldgeist
Karen Hilty (below) mentioned Restaurant Waldgeist. Never been there, but it is in Taunus. Here is the link: www.restaurant-waldgeist.com
Looks like it is for those who Consume Mass Quantities.
Larry
Reading, MA USA 04/29/2007
Quick eats in Bern
We have travelled extensively in Switzerland...The train station in Bern has 2 of the best swiss "road food" treats: fresh berliners (jelly doughnuts with REAL jelly inside) and bretzels, the big salt pretzels with real butter. While you're waiting for your connection, you can run downstairs and grab them for your trip! If you have an hour or so, the restauraunt "Am Barenplatz" on the open square 1 block from the station toward the old town has my teen age sons vote for the best rosti in Switz-never greasy and huge portions. The waiters are not from Switzerland, so don't bother to try your German or French on them. Their English is better!
Zach
Canandaigua, NY USA 04/19/2007
Luzern treats
Tea Room Heini in Luzern has at least 20 different tarts and cakes, plus real hot chocolate. We like the raspberry custard with whipped cream, tho the apple strudel is hard to pass up...You order and pick up the treats at the counter, then the waitress gets your drink order, and you pay her for the entire meal. It's very busy, and understaffed, so if you're in a hurry, better to get take-out...But it's well worth the wait!
Laurel
Canandaigua, NY USA 04/19/2007
I do remember one good German meal.
I have traveled through Germany on many (at least a dozen)occasions and I have tried to remember a good meal that was not heavy and tasteless, but genuinely German. I did come up with a meal that I had at a Festival in Wurzburg a few years ago where they were featuring a mushroom soup and each customer was to pay a deposit on the china bowl it was served in. We came upon it accidentally, and perhaps, that added to it's appeal. I agree that a bakery and deli are equal in quality to much of the rest of Europe, but if you want to indulge in a large meal, be prepared for your digestive tract to recycle it repeatedly over the next few hours. Best bet--- eat in an Italian restaurant recommended by a local businessperson. To each his own.
Ken Andrews
Penfield, New Y USA 04/15/2007
Food in Germany
Ken Andrews maybe you only ate at tourist traps, but I spent a month in Germany in 2005 and a month in German in 2006 and I LOVED the food. I ate where the locals ate, not in the tourist traps(for the most part). I went to all kinds of places on my own, on the train. I can't even remember all the towns I stopped in. The only bad meal I remember was in Koblenz. I went to German Reunification Day in Potsdam in 2005, and there was a HUGE variety of delicious food to choose from. Both in 2005 and 2006 I went to the Alsace-Lorraine festival in Frankfurt where they servered traditional German dishes in big black pots and it was delicious. I also have been to the Oktoberfest twice and even that mass-produced food was good. There area all kinds of smoked meats and sausages and potato and noodle dishes all over Germany at any time. There are delicatessens and backeries everywhere. The best pizza I have had in my life was in Germany. I did not go to any restaurants for "fine" dining, because that's not my style, so I can't give any experiences along that line.
Dwayne <email>
Austin, Texas USA 04/13/2007
Food alternatives in Germany
Unlike most of Europe, German food is universally awful, unless you really like Route 66 Diner food. The only way to survive without indigestion is to find the best ethnic restaurant that locals go to, other than German. Italian, Turkish, and French are often excellent choices. Of course, there is nothing to complain about when it comes to the German beer, so maybe drinking lunch is a possible alternative.
Ken Andrews
Penfield, N.Y. USA 04/12/2007
Trains in Europe
Excellent wine at Best Western International in Luxembourg. Good alternate locaion in Interlaken area is
Best Western Hotel Freienhof at Thun.
Best hostess at Salzburg was Linda Reichl at Hotel Hohenstauffen.Excellent 4-hr.tour is Normandy Tours at Bayeux; probably best museum is at Caen.
There were rails in Monquelfo, Italy but how does one get to Monquelfo from Innsbruck?
Best train ride: Golden Express with reservations in the first two rows ahead of the Engineer. RS and Azamano Travel in PDX were excellent sources of information for the 4 of us in 2006.
Bill Kinard <email>
Portland,, Oregon USA 03/14/2007
Gerrman - Old Munich- Restaurant
When in Munich, locals recommended Hackerhaus. This is traditional Bavarian food. We loved the unusual run of the mill food, and the ambiance will take you back hundreds of years.
Nini
D, USA 03/09/2007
Cooking With Pumpkin In Austria
When I was in Salzburg in November, many foods were made of pumpkin. I wonder if this was seasonal, or if they often cook with pumpkin. Anything made of pumpkin was out of this world, it was so good! First, at a cafe at Mozart's museum, I had pumpkin soup. I loved it so much, that I got a piece of bread and soaked up the last of the soup. The waitress laughed when I did that, and my bowl had nothing left in it. It was shiny clean!
Another place, I had pasta with pumpkin cream sauce. Again, loved it! The last thing I had pumpkin was, the inside pumpkin skin was pealed very thinly. It was wrapped with raisins and rice, like small egg rolls. It was the best thing yet. Cooking with pumpkin is great, and I wish in the USA, we had more food made with pumpkin. I just know pumpkin pie! I hope there is a pumpkin cook book someplace! If this is only a seasonal thing in Austria, go in November, the food is better than ever!!
Salute!!
Lisa <email>
TX USA 02/11/2007
Bakery at Gas Station
Strangely enough, the best bakery bread we had in Austria was at the gas station in the morning--better than the bakeries we tried. Once at a BP station, and another time near the airport. Fresh, hot, and cheap!
S.Park
Cambridge, U.K. 01/28/2007
German Food
We just discovered a great place to eat outside of Frankfurt, but you need reservations. Its not expensive at all but the amount of food you get is outrageous!!!! They have 1lb Weiner schnitzels that cover your plate for less than 10 euros!! The food tastes great!! The place is called Waldgeist. You can email me for phone/or email # if interested in going for a bite to eat. Go with empty stomaches!!!
Karen Hilty <email>
Wadsworth, Il USA 01/21/2007
grandma
my favorite food experience in Zurich would have to be having a sasuage and a beer while listining to a band play or talking, also if i dont eat out my grandmother makes this amazing apricot and veal soup...cant beat grandmas cooking!
Drew C <email>
Boone, NC USA 01/04/2007
Food in Germany
I have been to Germany 7 times and I never get tired of the local food. There are many fine restuarants throughout Germany, especially in Limburg(located on the Lahn River 70 KM from Frankfort, famous for its Cathedral and Alstadt). All are reasonably priced with a unique family atmosphere. Even the Imbiss's and Beer gardens have wonderful food. What ever you do try the local specialties, you won't be disappointed(snitzel, rumpsteak with kraut butter, all outstanding).
Michael Morgan <email>
Aston, Pa USA 01/02/2007
Regensburg delight
If in Regensburg, Germany there is a fantastic restaurant located in what is the oldest brewery in town. It's the Augustiner Brewery located right off one of the main town squares called the Neufarrplatz. Excellent traditional Bavarian fare as well as great filet steaks. And, of course, beer!
Stacy
San DIego, CA USA 01/02/2007