Business Food
We are often asked where best to go for a business lunch in Munich.
When it’s warm, go outside in one of the many beer gardens. That’s what people do in Munich – business lunches under old chestnuts. A “half” of beer is even enshrined in the state constitution as food and has accelerated many a business deal in a relaxed atmosphere. Which beer garden? Well, there are so many … if you really like it honestly Bavarian, sometimes rough, but warm, relaxed and delicious, you should stop by the Augustinergarten around the corner from the Bayerischer Rundfunk. At noon the many regulars’ tables are also free, from 5 pm on there is seldom anything going on.
The chefs’ hunt for as many stars as possible, golden spoons and their own Palazzo-style self-realization tents at Christmas time is not a bit slower in Munich than in other metropolises. One person who almost boasts of not taking part in this race is Manuel Reheis. For 25 years he has been cooking at the star level in the Broeding in the district of Neuhausen – without a star. One thing is clear: Every evening a six-course menu with wine accompaniment. Shane McMahon’s nearby Goetheplatz is similarly exciting and relaxed. Shane, an Irishman with an Austrian mother, cooks here without any menu. For the guest this means: just say what they don’t like and trust a surprise menu that promises explosions of taste. That’s a promise!
Other than that, what many people don’t know is that Munich is a Mecca for gastronomy founders. This is where Coffee Fellows were born, where the first “Hans im Glück” opened and where Dean & David developed – all of them now on the road to success throughout Germany. And many founders are involved in many other clubs and bars in the Isar metropolis. That really makes the city a colourful and exciting place.
Business Quick Getaway
Anyone who wants to get away quickly ends up in the Upper Bavarian postcard idyll. The Bavarian monasteries especially are always worth a trip – and show their business acumen. There is hardly a flat-sharing community of clerical bachelors who do not try their hand at the secular marketing of their traditions. Andechs and Benediktbeuern are practically the “big players”. A small convent between Munich and Wolfratshausen (20 minutes from Munich) is a relaxed place to stay. The Schäftlarn Monastery still maintains the original monastic-innkeeper tradition. The Kraus family’s Klosterbräustüberl serves freshly shot game from their own hunt and Bavarian classics. Angus beef grows up around the corner in the countryside and is killed in a species-appropriate way.
On the way to Tegernsee, approx. 40 minutes southeast of Munich, the gourmet will be pleasantly nervous at the time of arrival at the Seehotel Überfahrt. Here, Thomas Althoff has turned the conservative Dorint Hotel into an oasis of well-being on the lake. Of course, other hotels also offer a view of the lake, but they do not have a restaurant run by Christian Jürgens. What this three-star guy conjures up on the table is truly a show. And if you are lucky, you will be served the world-famous “Tegernsee pebbles” as a starter. Little tip: Some of them are real stones!
Kai Böcking und Sylvie Konzack …
neither of whom are Munich residents. He came from the Rhineland more than 25 years ago, she has been in Munich professionally since 2005. And despite all the city highlights, they still remember very well, for example, for how long there were hardly any modern restaurants between the station and Marienplatz. Today they write many a Bleisure article in the many new cafés, bars and hotels.
photos: © iStock/AzmanJaka, © iStock/alexsl, © iStock/Tuned_In, © 25hours/Steve Herud