Germany Food

Look for fish sandwiches, lightly salted matjes herring, and smoked fish in the northern ports. Rye bread, pickles, and potatoes turn up alongside fish and cold meats. Lübeck adds marzipan to that mix, while Hamburg is a good place to look for Labskaus. For fish counters, markets, and marzipan shops in the Old Town, see what to eat in Lübeck.

Munich is a good base for Weisswurst with sweet mustard, pretzels with Obatzda, and roast pork with dumplings. In Franconia, Nuremberg pairs small grilled bratwursts with a tradition of Lebkuchen, while Bamberg is a stop for smoked beer. Choose Munich for beer halls or spend longer in Franconia to compare smaller cities with distinct beer and sausage traditions.

Stuttgart is a good starting point for Swabian cooking. Look for Maultaschen, filled pasta parcels served in broth or pan-fried, and lentils with Spätzle. Farther west, the Black Forest is associated with smoked ham and cherry cake. In Baden’s wine country, spring asparagus and an autumn slice of Zwiebelkuchen give you different reasons to visit.

In Frankfurt, try Handkäse with onions, green herb sauce with eggs and potatoes, and a glass of apple wine. Cologne is a better base for a Rhineland meal of Sauerbraten and a glass of Kölsch. If you’re heading toward Mainz and the Rhine wine towns, look for seasonal dishes such as onion tart alongside local wine.

Dresden is a good stop for cafés and bakeries, especially for Christstollen around Christmas. In Thuringia, look for Rostbratwurst from a grill stand and potato dumplings with a roast at a sit-down meal. Choose Dresden if baking is the draw, or Erfurt if you want to spend more of the trip in Thuringia.

Berlin is a good place to try currywurst and Döner kebab on the same trip. Sausage stands, bakeries, and market halls make it easy to eat between sights, and the city’s range of cooking reflects its immigrant communities. Choose Berlin for that variety or Lübeck if you want several days of northern port-city food.

The Allgäu cheeses come from southern Germany. The other names take you to cheese-making areas in central and northern Germany.

• Allgäuer Bergkäse — Hard mountain cheese from the Allgäu.
• Allgäuer Emmentaler — Allgäu cheese with the large holes typical of Emmental.
• Altenburger Ziegenkäse — Cheese made with cow’s and goat’s milk and flavored with caraway.
• Odenwälder Frühstückskäse — Soft cheese from the Odenwald.
• Hessischer Handkäse — Sour-milk cheese often served with vinegar, onions, caraway, and bread.
• Holsteiner Tilsiter — Semi-hard cow’s-milk cheese from Holstein.
• Nieheimer Käse — Sour-milk cheese from Nieheim in Westphalia.

Compare Bergkäse and Emmentaler at an Allgäu cheese counter. In Hesse, try Handkäse with onions at an apple-wine tavern.

Look for these names in bakeries and confectionery shops, especially in the towns they’re named for.

• Lübecker Marzipan — Almond confection from Lübeck.
• Aachener Printen — Spiced biscuits from Aachen.
• Nürnberger Lebkuchen — Nuremberg gingerbread.
• Dresdner Christstollen — Dresden’s Christmas loaf with dried fruit.
• Bayerische Breze — Bavarian lye pretzel.
• Westfälischer Pumpernickel — Dark rye bread from Westphalia.
• Meißner Fummel — Thin, hollow pastry from Meissen.

Printen and Lebkuchen make a good comparison if you visit Aachen and Nuremberg. In Dresden, look for Christstollen during the Christmas season.

Compare the sausages hot off the grill and the cured meats at a butcher’s counter or on a cold plate.

• Thüringer Rostbratwurst — Thuringian sausage made for grilling.
• Nürnberger Rostbratwürste — Small grilled sausages from Nuremberg.
• Schwarzwälder Schinken — Dry-cured, smoked Black Forest ham.
• Ammerländer Schinken — Ham from the Ammerland area of Lower Saxony.
• Holsteiner Katenschinken — Smoked ham from Holstein.
• Spreewälder Gurkensülze — Pork in aspic with Spreewald gherkins.

Try a Thüringer Rostbratwurst in a roll in Thuringia. In Nuremberg, look for the smaller sausages served several to a portion.

The protected names include herring from the north and carp from inland pond-farming areas.

• Glückstädter Matjes — Mildly salted herring prepared in Glückstadt.
• Peitzer Karpfen — Carp from the Peitz pond-farming area in Brandenburg.
• Fränkischer Karpfen — Carp from Franconia.
• Oberpfälzer Karpfen — Carp from the Upper Palatinate.

Look for matjes at northern fish counters and for carp on regional menus in Franconia and the Upper Palatinate.

Some names turn up on jars or market stalls, while asparagus and plums are especially worth looking for in season.

• Spreewälder Gurken — Preserved cucumbers from the Spreewald.
• Beelitzer Spargel — Asparagus from the Beelitz area in Brandenburg.
• Schrobenhausener Spargel — Asparagus from the Schrobenhausen area in Bavaria.
• Lüneburger Heidekartoffeln — Potatoes from the Lüneburg Heath.
• Stromberger Pflaume — Plum from Stromberg in Westphalia.
• Frankfurter Grüne Soße — Frankfurt’s green sauce tradition, based on a protected fresh herb mixture.

In spring, order asparagus as a main dish. In Frankfurt, look for green sauce with boiled eggs and potatoes.

These names help distinguish what you’ll find at a Cologne pub, a Munich beer hall, or a festival tent.

• Bayerisches Bier — Protected name for Bavarian beer.
• Kölsch — Cologne’s pale, top-fermented beer.
• Dortmunder Bier — Protected beer name from Dortmund.
• Münchener Bier — Protected beer name from Munich.
• Oktoberfestbier — Protected beer name associated with Munich’s Oktoberfest.

Order Kölsch in Cologne, or try Munich beer with a pretzel and Obatzda in a beer hall.

Bakery counters offer rolls for breakfast, sliced loaves for cold meals, and pretzels for a snack.

• Brötchen — Bread rolls served at breakfast and used for sandwiches.
• Rye and mixed-grain breads — Served with cheese, cold cuts, soups, fish, and spreads.
• Pretzels — Salted lye bread especially common in Bavaria and southern Germany.
• Seeded breads — Loaves made with seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin, flax, or sesame.

Pick up Brötchen for breakfast or a pretzel to eat with cheese or a spread.

These ingredients turn up in soups and stews and alongside roasts, sausages, and cold meats.

• Potatoes — Used in salads, soups, dumplings, pancakes, and fried sides.
• Sauerkraut and red cabbage — Often served with sausages, pork, duck, or braised beef.
• Pickles — Common with cold plates, sausage dishes, and sandwiches.
• Carrots, celery root, leeks, and parsley root — Used in soups, broths, stews, and sauces.

Look for red cabbage with a braised beef dish or potato salad with a cutlet or sausage.

Fish counters, dairy stalls, and bakeries offer a different view of German cooking from the roast and sausage dishes on tavern menus.

• Herring and smoked fish — Especially common in northern coastal and port cities.
• Quark — Fresh dairy product used in spreads, cakes, dumplings, and desserts.
• Apples, cherries, plums, and berries — Used in cakes, compotes, dumplings, and preserves.
• Mushrooms — Used in autumn dishes, sauces, and soups.

In a northern port, try herring or smoked fish for lunch. At a bakery, look for quark cake or a slice of seasonal fruit cake.

Look for cold plates and pretzels in beer halls, and for fish rolls at northern counters.

• Obatzda — Bavarian soft cheese spread with butter and paprika, often served with a pretzel.
• Bayerischer Wurstsalat — Sliced sausage salad with onions and a vinegar dressing, sometimes with pickles.
• Brezeln — Soft salted pretzels, especially common in southern Germany.
• Wurstplatte — A cold sausage and meat board, often served with bread and pickles.
• Fischbrötchen — A northern fish roll filled with herring, fried fish, or smoked fish.

Order a Fischbrötchen for lunch on the northern coast or split a Wurstplatte if you want something to share.

Potato, lentil, and pea soups can make a meal, while a clear broth with a dumpling works well as a starter.

• Kartoffelsuppe — Potato soup with vegetables and herbs, sometimes with sausage or bacon.
• Gulaschsuppe — Paprika-seasoned beef soup found across Central Europe.
• Linsensuppe — Lentil soup or stew, often served with sausage.
• Leberknödelsuppe — Broth with liver dumplings, especially associated with southern Germany.
• Erbsensuppe — Pea soup often served with sausage, bacon, or bread.

Choose Leberknödelsuppe for a clear broth or Erbsensuppe if you want a heavier lunch.

Sausage stands serve some of these dishes in minutes. Braised beef and roast pork are better choices for a sit-down meal.

• Schnitzel — A cutlet often served breaded and fried. Wiener Schnitzel is traditionally veal, while Schnitzel Wiener Art is often pork.
• Rouladen — Braised beef rolls often filled with bacon, onion, mustard, and pickle.
• Sauerbraten — Marinated roast meat served with gravy, often with red cabbage and dumplings or potatoes.
• Schweinebraten — Roast pork served with sides such as cabbage or dumplings.
• Bratwurst — Grilled or pan-fried sausage with distinct regional versions.
• Currywurst — Sausage served with curry-spiced tomato sauce, especially associated with Berlin street food.

Try Sauerbraten in the Rhineland or compare the bratwursts in Nuremberg and Thuringia if you visit both.

Spätzle and filled pasta can be the main course in Swabia. Potato and cabbage dishes often accompany meat or fish.

• Käsespätzle — Egg noodles with melted cheese, often topped with fried onions.
• Linsen mit Spätzle — Swabian lentils with egg noodles, often served with sausage.
• Maultaschen — Filled Swabian pasta parcels, served in broth or prepared in other ways.
• Kartoffelsalat — Potato salad with regional variations, including vinegar-based and mayonnaise-based versions.
• Rotkohl — Braised red cabbage, often cooked with apple, vinegar, and spices.
• Bratkartoffeln — Fried potatoes, often cooked with onion or bacon.

In Swabia, order lentils with Spätzle for a full meal, or try Maultaschen in broth if you’d prefer a lighter dish.

White asparagus and onion tart suit different seasons. Green sauce and Labskaus are tied more closely to place.

• Zwiebelkuchen — Savory onion tart often served during the autumn wine season.
• Spargel with potatoes and sauce — Spring white asparagus served with potatoes and accompaniments such as butter, hollandaise, ham, or schnitzel.
• Frankfurter Grüne Soße — Cold Frankfurt herb sauce commonly served with eggs and boiled potatoes.
• Labskaus — Northern dish of potatoes and cured beef, commonly served with beetroot, pickles, fried egg, or herring.

Look for Zwiebelkuchen with young wine in autumn, or order Labskaus if you want a sit-down meal in a northern port.

Bakeries and cafés are good places to try regional cakes, while strudel and sweet dumplings also appear on menus in the south.

• Bienenstich — Yeast cake with cream filling and a caramelized almond topping.
• Germknödel — Alpine yeast dumpling with plum filling, often served with butter and poppy seeds or vanilla sauce.
• Apfelstrudel — Apple strudel, often served with vanilla sauce or cream.
• Butterkuchen — Sheet cake with a butter and sugar topping.
• Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte — Black Forest cake with chocolate sponge, cherries, cream, and kirsch.
• Stollen — Christmas loaf with dried fruit and a powdered sugar coating.

Choose Bienenstich or Butterkuchen for an afternoon bakery stop. In Dresden around Christmas, make time for a slice of Stollen.