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Enterprising young managers and chefs are well established in the East, so look for new, usually small, trendy restaurants. People in the region are extremely particular about their traditional food (rumor has it that one can be deported for roasting Mützbraten over anything other than birch). Some new creative chefs successfully blend contemporary regional German with international influences. Medieval-theme restaurants and "experience dining," complete with entertainment, are all the rage in the East, and, despite being often quite kitschy, warrant at least one try. As the region slowly rediscovers its tremendous beer heritage, microbreweries and brewpubs have sprouted up in almost every city. Pubs are a good bet for meeting locals.
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.
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.
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.
This somewhat spartan restaurant in the middle of Weimar serves traditional Thuringian cuisine with a healthier emphasis on greens and other regionally produced goods. With several vegetarian options, Erbenhof is a welcome break from the heavy food of the region.
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.
Serious and uncomplicated Thuringian regional cuisine, including the best dumplings in Erfurt, is served in this simple restaurant. All of the dishes (and the secret dumpling recipe) come from Grandma Käthe's cookbook, which relies heavily on seasonal and regional ingredients.
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.
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.
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.
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 name of Bautzen's best Sorbian restaurant means "pantry." Very popular on Sorb holidays, Wjelbik uses exclusively regional produce. The restaurant is in a 600-year-old building near the cathedral.
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.
On the other side of the train station from the Bauhaus, about 20 minutes' walk, lies a brewery with a fairly young history by German standards, dating back only to 1900. The former buildings of the Brewery Schade house a brewpub that not only serves some of the best seasonal regional cuisine in Dessau but also the best unfiltered Zwickel beer in eastern Germany. The food is rustic German and the beer a cold way to reflect on a day in Dessau.
Beer lovers rejoice: in addition to the Braugold brewery, Erfurt has six brewpubs, among which the Golden Swan is by far the best. The house beer is a pleasant unfiltered Kellerbier, and the constantly changing seasonal menu is a step above normal brewpub fare. The restaurant and its beer garden are in the best-preserved segment of the original pigment factories on the Michaelisstrasse
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