4 Best Restaurants in Eltville, The Rhineland

Chef Roland Gorgosilich and sommelier Florian Richter continue the culinary traditions that have made this stylish and intimate art nouveau house one of the Rheingau's top restaurants. The menu showcases dishes with pan-European influences, with produce varying from Breton lobster to Galician veal, while the wine list focuses on the finest local estates for whites, along with Old and New World estates for reds. The main restaurant's painted ceiling creates an atmospheric setting for the multi-course meals (opt for the four-, five-, or six-course menu), while in warmer months, diners can enjoy the gorgeous parklike garden. Overindulged? Stay in one of the 18 elegant rooms and suites here.

Perched on a hilltop north of town, this superb restaurant overlooks the Rauenthaler Baiken vineyard. In addition to the lovely panorama vista from the vine-canopied terrace, the regional cooking, friendly atmosphere, and local wines make for a complete "Rheingau Riesling" experience. The menu is limited, with only four starters, four mains, and two desserts to choose from at any time; if in doubt (and a meat-eater), opt for always-excellent rump steak.

The quiet, walled, rose-filled wine garden, run by the nearby Weingut J. Koegler and adjacent to their "weinhotel", is a wonderful town-center spot to enjoy their fine wines alongside classic Italian delicacies, including freshly-prepared pizzas. If you fall for their liquid produce, you can purchase bottles at the on-site shop.

Wine-maker Josef Laufer more than lives up to the hospitality promised by the wreath and Krug (an earthenware pitcher) hanging above the front door of his hotel and restaurant a few kilometers from Eltville. The wood-paneled dining room, with its old tiled stove, is cozy; the service is warm and welcoming; and the regularly changing seasonal German fare includes Riesling cream soup, rump steak, trout from the Wisper River, along with the odd international curveball (Thai green curry, anyone?)