32 Best Restaurants in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, Germany

The most famous of Leipzig's restaurants is actually two restaurants: one that's upscale, international, and gourmet (down the stairs to the right) and a rowdy beer cellar (to the left) specializing in hearty Saxon fare, mostly roasted meat dishes. Goethe immortalized one of the vaulted historic rooms in his Faust, and Bach was a regular here because of the location halfway between the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche.

Enjoy simple but tasty regional specialties directly in front of the Marientor. The beer garden is a good place to relax away from the action of the city center. The three-room pension is often booked far in advance.

In the historic mansion of the architect who rebuilt the Zwinger—and named after the school of medieval painters that includes Dürer, Holbein, and Rembrandt—the Alte Meister has a sophisticated old-world flair that charms locals and tourists alike.

The English-language menu at this restaurant explains not only the cuisine but the history of Leipzig. Waitresses wearing traditional Trachten dresses may serve some of the finest Leipzig regional cuisine, but the restaurant itself is quite modern. With a prominent location on the Markt, the restaurant is popular with locals, especially for the incredible breakfast buffet. Barthels has managed to elevate the local Leipziger Allerlei (vegetables and crayfish in beef bouillon) to an art form by proudly insisting on local and sustainable produce. Enjoy a meal here with a fresh Bauer Gose.

This historic brewery-cum-restaurant is the perfect stop for a cold beer after a long day of sightseeing. In the Old Town's magnificent Beyerhof courtyard, the Brauhaus still produces local beer such as Wittenberger Kuckucksbier. In summer, try to get a table in the courtyard.

Where better than a castle serenely overlooking the village of Freyburg for a medieval restaurant? Everything is prepared according to historical recipes with ingredients from the region.

This restaurant in the historic, elegant Kaisersaal edifice is the jewel in Erfurt's small gourmet crown. Thuringia native chef Christopher Weigel has worked in top restaurants around Germany and developed his own minimalist style. Here he is pursuing his vision of a gourmet restaurant: a cozy, service-oriented oasis in which to enjoy delicious international dishes with a Thuringian accent. Using local producers, Clara serves delicious four- to seven-course menus from a list of 10 dishes.

This small family-run establishment overlooks the Nikolaiturm, one of the towers of the city's wall. The restaurant offers good solid Silesian fare.

Part of the centuries-old complex of buildings ringing the town castle, this ancient and popular hostelry is a great place to enjoy the view from the large dining room and tree-shaded terrace.

When Ludwig Deinhard purchased the Weimar Stadtbrauerei in 1875, Felsenkeller was already 100 years old. Beer has been brewed here in small batches ever since. Although the brewpub is outside the city center, it's worth a trip to sample the brews and the inventive seasonal selections.

Hidden on the far southeast edge of the city center, the Bayrischer Bahnhof was the terminus of the first rail link between Saxony and Bavaria. The brewery here is at the heart of a cultural renaissance and is the modern birthplace of Gose brewing in Leipzig. The restaurant is well worth a visit for its solid Saxon and German cuisine. The new station on the S-bahn makes it easier than ever to discover the glories of Gose.

Brewing Braunbier (a hoppy, top-fermented beer) has been a Quedlinburg tradition for several centuries, and this brewpub offers both locally made beer and food to go with it. The Lüdde brewery traces its history to 1807, when Braunbier breweries dotted the Harz Mountains, and it was the last surviving brewery when it closed its doors in 1966, reopening after German reunification. It remains the only Braunbier brewery in Quedlinburg.

Head down the straw-covered stairs in front of Clara restaurant, and you'll find yourself transported to the Middle Ages. The Luther Keller offers simple but tasty medieval cuisine in a candlelit vaulted cellar.

This is one of the region's most authentic town hall–cellar restaurants. Its whitewashed, barrel-vaulted ceiling and spectacular art nouveau skylight have witnessed centuries of tradition.

Tucked away in a yellow wooden-beam house, this historic restaurant has been painstakingly maintained by the Richter family since 1873. The dining room is adorned with rare antiques, documents, and medieval weapons, as well as copper and tin tableware.  The terrace is the perfect place to watch Meissen pass by.

If Klösse (dumplings) are a Thuringia religion, this restaurant is their cathedral. Thuringia's traditional Klösse are at their best here, but be patient—they're made to order and can take up to 20 minutes. The dumplings come with just about every dish, from roast pork to venison stew, and the wait is well worth it. Pay attention to seasonal and holiday specialties, like roast goose in November.

At the back of the Schlosskirche, this restaurant's four dining rooms are tucked away in a basement with 16th-century stone walls and barrel-vaulted ceilings. The kitchen specializes in German dishes, such as Kümmelfleisch mit Senfgurken (caraway beef with mustard-seed pickles).

One of the liveliest restaurants in town re-creates an 18th-century beer cellar in the basement of the Taschenberg Palace. The furniture and porcelain are as rustic as the food is traditional.

One of Germany's oldest restaurants and pubs (dating back to 1454) served its hearty Thuringian and Saxon fare to Martin Luther and the like—who certainly had more than a mere pint of the beers on tap. The menu in the reconstructed, cavernous, and always buzzing dining hall doesn't exactly offer gourmet cuisine, but rather an impressively enormous variety of game, fish, and Bratwurst dishes.

German cheesecake is fluffier and less dense than its American cousin and the best place to try it in Quedlinburg is at Vincent's café. The café regularly bakes 131 different variations of this treat and the café is worth searching for even if you aren't headed to the castle. 

The Watzke microbrewery operates two brewhouses with the same beer and hearty menu in the city center. The location directly across from the Goldene Reiter statue of Augustus the Strong is the more pelasant for outdoor dining and people watching. The other location is at Dr.-Külz-Ring 9.

The "tunnel" refers to the barrel-ceiling ground-floor restaurant, where foaming glasses of excellent Gose beer are served with a smile. The friendly staff will also help you decipher the Old Saxon descriptions of the menu's traditional dishes. Upstairs there's a larger wine restaurant with an open fireplace.