Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Where To Eat & Drink
»
Gastätte & Gasthöfe
Rural inns with a laid-back feel, local crowd and solid menu of
gutbürgerliche Küche
(home cooking). There's sometimes a beer garden out the back.
»
Eiscafé
Italian or Italian-style cafes, where you can grab an ice cream or cappuccino
and head outside to slurp and sip.
»
Stehcafé
A stand-up cafe for coffee and snacks at speed and on the cheap.
»
Cafe-Konditorei
A traditional cake shop doubling as a cafe.
»
Ratskeller
Atmospheric town-hall basement restaurant, generally more frequented by
tourists than locals nowadays.
»
Restaurant
These serve everything from informal meals to
gehobene Küche
(gourmet
meals). The
Tagesmenü
(fixed daily menu) often represents good value.
»
Bierkeller & Weinkeller
The emphasis is on beer and wine respectively, with a little
food (sausages and pretzels, cold cuts etc) on the side.
»
Imbiss
Handy speed-feed stops for savoury fodder from wurst-in-a-bun to kebabs and
pizza.
When to Eat
Traditionally
Frühstück
(breakfast) is a sweet and savoury smorgasbord of bread, cheese,
salami, wurst, preserves, yoghurt and muesli. At weekends, it's an altogether more leis-
urely, family-oriented affair. Many cafes have embraced the brunch trend, serving all-you-
can-eat buffets with fresh rolls, eggs, smoked fish, fruit salad and even prosecco.
Traditionally,
Mittagessen
(lunch) has been the main meal of the day, but modern work-
ing practices have changed this considerably, at least in the cities. However, many restaur-
ants still tout lunch-time dishes or a fixed lunch menu (
Mittagsmenü
or
Tagesmenü
),
which can be an affordable way of dining even at upscale restaurants.
Dinner is dished up at home around 7pm. For those who have already eaten heartily at
midday, there is
Abendbrot
, bread with cold cuts. Bar the cities with their late-night din-
ing scenes, Germans head to restaurants earlier than elsewhere in Europe, and many kit-
chens in rural areas stop serving around 9pm. At home, meals are relaxed and require few
airs and graces beyond the obligatory '
Guten Appetit'
(literally 'good appetite'), ex-
changed before eating.
