Choosing the best restaurant in a city with such great culinary diversity seems like an impossible task, especially as everyone has their own opinion on a subject as subjective as this. We therefore cannot envy the work of the Gault&Millau jury. Or maybe it is: You eat for a living.
In any case, they recently published their selection of the best restaurants in Munich, so the debate is open: Some of them you may know, some will surprise you, some you may not agree with. But without a doubt, they are all great places where food is elevated to an art form.
The coveted chef’s hats
In contrast to the other influential European restaurant guide – Michelin – Gault&Millauonly rates the restaurants according to the chefs and their kitchen performance, not the service or the atmosphere. The latter are described in detail in the annual publication of this magazine. The Gault&Millau awards the best kitchens with a system of toques plus an additional rating, with five toques and the rating representing the highest award achievable. The award is only given to restaurants that “excel in their category”. Together with the Michelin stars, these are the most coveted awards in the culinary world.
The highest rating achieved this year in Munich consists of three chef’s hats and a rating. This means that the restaurants were awarded for “Highest creativity and quality, best possible preparation” as well as for “Outstanding in their category”. The restaurants rated in this way were the following three:
Tohru in the writing room
Under the direction of renowned chef Tohru Nakamura, this is not the first (and probably not the last) award that Tohru has received in the Schreiberei: It was recently awarded two Michelin stars. In addition, Nakamura himself has twice been named “Chef of the Year” and even an honorary ambassador for Japanese cuisine. Because that’s exactly what awaits you in this gourmet restaurant on Marienplatz: seasonal dishes of Far Eastern origin with European influences.
Tantris
More than any other restaurant, Tantris is a piece of Munich’s gastronomic history. Since its opening in 1971, it has been one of the best restaurants in Munich and is considered one of the 15 best in Germany. So it’s no wonder that it has been awarded two Michelin stars and three chef’s hats plus the award for its French cuisine and savoir-vivre atmosphere. However, it speaks volumes for the success of Canadian chef Benjamin Chmura that the second Michelin star and the high Gault&Millau rating were achieved just a few months after he took over the management of the kitchen.
EssZimmer by Käfer
Anyone who has ever been to BMW Welt will certainly be familiar with the gourmet restaurant on the third floor of the exhibition grounds. Under the direction of Bobby Bräuer, the Mediterranean and French cuisine has already earned two Michelin stars. Well, the kitchen and the furnishings. It is not for nothing that Gault&Millaut describes it as a “timelessly beautiful restaurant” that gives a “first impression of a living room”.
You may or may not agree with this selection, but there’s no denying that this city is a foodie’s paradise.