15 Best Restaurants in Schleswig-Holstein and the Baltic Coast, Germany

This dark, wood-panel restaurant dating back to 1535 is the city's old Mariners' Society house, which was off-limits to women until 1870. Today locals and visitors alike enjoy freshly brewed beer and great seafood in church-style pews at long 400-year-old oak tables.

Located in Wismar's oldest patrician house and regarded as one of the most attractive, authentic taverns on the Baltic—and correspondingly busy—this eatery focuses on Mecklenburg's fish, game and poultry dishes, such as the traditional Mecklenburger Ente (Mecklenburg duck). The duck is filled with baked plums, apples, and raisins, and served with red cabbage and potatoes.

Taste the "Divine beer of the Vikings," a malty cold-fermented amber lager, at Schleswig's only brewery. While the Luzifer Restaurant offers typical brewpub fare, it is the small Viking twists, like roast meat served only with a knife and horned glasses that make this place worth a visit.

Wismar's first brewery (1452) is the only place that still brews Wismarer Mumme, a dark beer with enough alcohol to keep it fresh for export as far away as St. Petersburg. The restaurant serves good-value typical pub food in an old half-timber house near the harbor.

Sailors have stopped in at this restaurant's bar for more than a century. The smoked fish sampler, served on a lazy Susan, is delicious, and the house specialty of fish soup is best washed down with some Rostocker Doppelkümmel schnapps.

Kiel has been a center of German brewing since the Middle Ages, when industrious citizens brewed around the clock for export and visiting merchant seamen. In this brauhaus you can try the Kieler Original and other north German beers in pitchers, or order Kiel beer in large wooden barrels to tap yourself at the table.

Merging an à la carte restaurant with an elegant cocktail bar, Otto's has been shaking up Rostock's dining scene since 2017. Located right on the waterfront inside a pontoon boat, this restaurant also wows with scenic views that stretch from the city harbor to the Old Town.

While enjoying fresh fish from local waters, prepared with a light Italian touch, you can watch the sunset over the cliffs of Kap Arkona at this restaurant dubbed "Rügen's balcony." Make a reservation, and insist on a table in the Fontane-Veranda (in winter) or the Arkonablick-Terrasse (in summer).

Sansibar is the island's most popular restaurant where a diverse clientele—basically everyone ever on Sylt—often make it a rambunctious night out by imbibing drinks with no regard for the morning after under the bar's maverick logo of crossed pirates' sabers. To get a table for dinner in the high season, you must reserve at least six weeks in advance. No lunch reservations are taken.

It's worth the trip here just to see the rustic interior and copper brewing equipment. Since the restaurant is owned by the Störtebecker Brewery, all Stralsunder and several Störtebecker beers are on tap, including the rare Störtebecker Roggen-Weizen, a wheat beer made with rye, and Germany's first India Pale Ale.

While wandering among the medieval and modern jetties and quays of the port, you might feel the need for a snack. This seamen's haven, decorated with sharks' teeth, stuffed seagulls, and maritime gear, is a good pit stop along the harbor.

This restaurant is on the ground floor of the Wulflamhaus, a 14th-century gabled house on the old market square. In late spring or early summer, get the light and tasty Ostseescholle (grilled plaice), fresh from the Baltic Sea, while in winter the hearty Zanderfilet mit Sanddornsauce (pikeperch filet with sea buckthorn sauce) is a must.

Don't be fooled by the prefab exterior: Schwerin's only brewery is an oasis of great beer and down-to-earth regional and Brauhaus specialties like the Malzsack (a pork schnitzel breaded with brewing malt) or Mecklenburger lamb. Wash it down with the house-brewed unfiltered light or dark beer.

Looking like the cabin of a Kogge (a Hanseatic sailing vessel), the oldest sailors' beer tavern in town serves mostly fish. Order the Fischteller "Schifferhaus," consisting of three kinds of fish—depending on the day's catch—served with vegetables, shrimp, and potatoes.