64 Best Restaurants in The Rhineland, Germany

Just off Bernkastel's main square, Der Ratskeller serves uncomplicated regional food to be enjoyed at an outside table with a view of the action, or inside among vaulted arches, bare brick walls, and leaded windows. The regular lunch and dinner menus are full of standard German fare—schnitzels, rump steaks, salads—but the seasonal menus deliver plenty of tasty surprises, from white-asparagus dishes in spring and early summer to hearty roasted goose, duck, and game in winter.

You're guaranteed a warm welcome from Florian Kreller and the team at this historic building full of cozy niches and exposed beams. Local dishes are the specialty here, with emphasis placed on fresh, local, seasonal ingredients. Vegan and vegetarian options are available alongside the schnitzel and sausages. If in doubt, opt for the "Winzer-Carpaccio" ("winemaker's carpaccio"), a perfect accompaniment to the wine.

Gelato fans shouldn't miss a visit to this ice cream shop opposite the Liebfrauenkirche. Natural ingredients and inventive (and occasionally slightly baffling) flavors, from "cold eggnog" to "English soup," make this place hugely popular. Prepare to stand in a long line, though the service is generally quick and efficient.

Beethoven was a regular at this tavern, which has been around since the late 14th century. Today it offers one of the best-value lunches in town, and the kitchen stays open until 1 am. The interior is rustic, the food hearty and nonfussy.

For real down-home German cooking, few places in Cologne compare to this time-honored brew house in the shadow of the Dom. It's often crowded, but the mood's fantastic. Bold frescoes on the vaulted ceilings establish that mood, and the authentically Teutonic experience is completed by such dishes as Hämmchen (pork knuckle). The seasonal beer garden is a great spot for people-watching.

For over 80 years, this rustic corner tavern, in the shadow of the lovely St. Gereon's church, has served solid German comfort food to a mostly local crowd. There’s fresh Kölsch on tap, and the service is remarkably friendly.

Just around the corner from the Rathaus (Town Hall), this excellent little restaurant serves high-quality, down-to-earth German and Austrian cuisine; think sausages, schnitzels, and spinatknödel (spinach dumplings). For a real taste of Germany, try "Oma's Sauerbraten," which is heavily marinated roast beef served with potato dumplings and red cabbage. Skip dessert here and instead head next door to Wesel Café for an after-dinner coffee and cake—both dining options are connected to the Das Wesel hotel.

A young crowd gathers here to do what people along the Rhine have done for centuries—talk, drink, and enjoy good company. There's a party every Friday and Saturday with a DJ. Consistently voted one of the best deals in town, this restaurant offers good German beer, tangy cocktails, and a creative mixture of German and French food.

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.

The sophisticated, Michelin-starred French nouvelle cuisine and attentive staff here are a hit with upscale locals. The restaurant, which is named for the woodcock, has been in operation just outside the Old Town by the Westpark since 1981. 

Classic German cuisine with a creative twist has earned this chic restaurant, a stone’s throw from the Rhine, a Michelin star. The concise, ever-changing menu features interesting flavor combinations using seasonal ingredients, and many dishes are available as half-portions.

Just off the town's pretty Marktplatz (Market Square), this popular bar-restaurant serves classic German fare: think goulash soup, currywurst, and schnitzel. But the undoubted highlights (and best value options) are the flammkuchen—wood-fired, thinly rolled-out discs of dough covered in a variety of toppings (a little like a thinner, crispier pizza). The traditional version, topped with onions, bacon, and cheese, is superb, but there are also fish and vegetarian alternatives. Sit out on the spacious, sunny terrace to watch the world go by.

North of St. Goar along the river, this hotel restaurant is all about superb wine—it's run by Martina Lorenz and her winemaker husband Joachim, who provides the delicious Bopparder Hamm estate wines—and local seasonal cuisine served as three-course set menus. Expect dishes such as chanterelle cream soup and roasted beef with potato gratin. A sparkling wine aperitif is included with all menus, and you can add on paired wines for €15. The setting is a lovely, solarium-style restaurant, right on the river, that features original Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) furniture from the era the hotel was built.

Beneath the exposed beams and painted ceiling of this cozy hotel restaurant, trout from the hotel's own fish farm will grace your table, served alongside German and French wines. It's on the site of a historic mill that belonged to the current proprietor's great-great-grandfather, tucked away in the forested hills of the Enderttal (Endert Valley) around 3 km (2 miles) northwest of Cochem's center.

When the Bundestag was still in town, this Bonn institution used to be cited in the press as frequently for its backroom political dealings as for its Lombardy-influenced food. Locals, prominent and otherwise, still flock to the restaurant, in an 18th-century house in the suburb of Kessenich. The style is pure Italian farmhouse, with stone walls and exposed beams, but the handmade pastas often stray from the typical, as in the salmon-filled black-and-white pasta pockets in shrimp sauce.

North of Bernkastel in Zeltingen, this upscale restaurant is in the riverside Weinhotel St. Stephanus. Once part of a 19th-century manor house, the handsome dining room is a lovely setting for enjoying refined regional cooking with a hint of the Mediterranean. Diners can also sit out on the terrace overlooking the Mosel, while pre- and post-dinner drinks can be enjoyed in the rustic brewery cellar.

The name means "gourmet owl," and, indeed, the chef caters to gourmets in the 19th-century Palais Walderdorff complex opposite the cathedral. In the evening, the menu is à la carte and truffles are a specialty, along with excellent fish. Wines from top German estates, particularly those along the Mosel, are featured along with an extensive selection of reds.   Come at lunch for a great value, three-course set menu, including a glass of wine and coffee that is cheaper than the cheapest main course at dinner.

At this Schloss Johannisberg restaurant you can sit on the patio, in the restaurant, or the glassed-in terrace, which affords a spectacular view of the Rhine and the vineyards where the estate's wines originate. The regular menu includes several meat dishes, with a smattering of fish and vegetarian options, but it's the seasonal specialties that really stand out. Depending on the season, look out for wild garlic soup, white asparagus with schnitzel, and duck with cabbage and potato dumplings.

This stylish guesthouse sits at the foot of the castle, next to a venerable stone tower on the riverbank, offering dinner and lunch on Sunday. The restaurant serves classic German dishes (steaks, soups, schnitzel) with an emphasis on fresh seasonal ingredients such as white asparagus in spring and chanterelle mushrooms in summer, accompanied by wines from the region's finest producers. In summer you can dine alfresco on the garden patio.

High ceilings, chandeliers, and traditional wooden furnishings help shape Wiesbaden's answer to a Bavarian beer hall, with a good selection of draft and bottled Weihenstephaner beers to match. The classic Bavarian food comes in very generous portions, from the best crispy Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle) in town—worth ordering in advance as they only make a set number each day—to schnitzel, fried chicken, and sausages with sauerkraut and fried potatoes.

This wine estate's tavern and hotel, Boppard's oldest, is full of smiling faces: the wines are excellent, the food is simple and hearty, and the welcome is warm. Old chestnut trees shade tables in the courtyard. If you'd like to visit the cellars or vineyards, or have a wine tasting, ask the friendly hosts.

Hunting scenes and trophies line the wood-paneled walls of this cozy wine restaurant, named after the patron saint of hunters and built in 1689. Expect hearty portions of fresh, traditional fare such as Wildschwein Würstchen, or wild boar sausages. This beautiful building is right on the corner of Florinsmarkt and Gemüsegasse.

This charming restaurant, six generations in the same family, is furnished with antiques. The cuisine (courtesy of the chef, Simon Nauels) presents a seasonally changing menu of modern versions of German classics, demonstrating that there's a lot more to the country's cooking than wurst and sauerkraut—a specialty is a hearty sirloin steak with a mustard crust and served with truffled mashed potatoes. The restaurant also offers a full vegetarian prix-fixe menu (Das Tante Anna Menü).

Daily soups and stews, hearty fare, cold snacks, and fresh, regional cuisine are served with wines from the Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt estate. The Tagesgericht (daily special) and Aktionsmenü (prix-fixe menu) are a good bet; Das Beste der Region (the region's best) is an ample selection of local hams, cheeses, fish, and breads, served on a wooden board for two.

A five-minute drive south of Bingen town center—you'll need to cross over the Drususbrücke, Germany's oldest medieval stone bridge, to reach the west side of the Nahe River—this charming restaurant and wine bar is a longstanding local favorite. Expect refined country cooking with seasonal house specialties including Geschmorte Schweinebacken (braised pork cheeks) and Winzerschmaus (a casserole of potatoes, sauerkraut, bacon, cheese, and herbs), alongside wines produced by the Rumpf family. Sit inside the light and airy 1790s house or outside on the large, wisteria-draped suntrap of a patio.

The Bastian family (also owners of the vineyard Insel Heyles'en Werth, on the river island just north of town) runs this cozy tavern in a half-timber house dating from 1421. The "wine carousel" is a great way to sample a full range of wine flavors and styles (11 wines) alongside light snacks that include delicious Wildsülze (game in aspic), with potato salad, sausages, and cheese.

Whether you dine inside or out, this city center weinstube (wine bar) is a great dining and drinking option. In addition to the German dishes on the regular menu, you can order à la carte or prix-fixe based on recipes attributed to the Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius in the evening. If eating outside, take a trip down to the cellar anyway for a peek at the collection of Roman artifacts on display.