Bread or potato dumplings, served as a side to roast meats or as a main with mushroom or plum filling. The Bavarian carbohydrate of choice.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Knödel are the Alpine answer to pasta or rice, made from stale bread (Semmelknödel), grated potato (Kartoffelknödel) or both. Bavarian recipes date to at least the 17th century. Munich's Wirtshaus tradition uses Knödel as the universal side for Schweinsbraten and Schweinshaxe, with sweet plum Knödel (Zwetschgenknödel) as a seasonal autumn dessert.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy
Tip from the editors. Boiling the dumplings hard breaks them up. Keep the water at a bare simmer, just shy of a roll.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Wirtshaus in der Au on Munich's Lilienstrasse, between Deutsches Museum and Gasteig, is the city's best room for Knödel and dumpling sampler plates.
Order: The Knödel sampler: spinach, semmel and sweet plum dumpling for dessert.
Tip: Open evenings only weekdays; Saturday and Sunday lunch is the easier reservation.
Andechser am Dom pours the Andechs Monastery's beers a minute from Munich's Frauenkirche; the casual Bavarian room locals send out-of-towners to for Schweinshaxe.
Order: Schweinshaxe with potato dumplings and a half-litre of Andechser Doppelbock.
Tip: Daily 10:00 to 01:00; the Weinstrasse-side terrace catches sun till evening in summer.
Augustiner-Stammhaus on Munich's Neuhauser Strasse pedestrian zone has been pouring Augustiner since 1829; the city's oldest Augustiner room.
Order: Schweinsbraten with two dumplings; pair with Augustiner Helles tapped from the wooden cask.
Tip: Ask for the Muschelsaal (Seashell hall) when reserving; it is the most atmospheric room.
Spatenhaus an der Oper, opposite the Bavarian State Opera in Munich's Altstadt, pours Spaten beer and cooks classic Bavarian; the suckling pig is the signature.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Suckling pig with red cabbage
Order: The Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber salad; the suckling pig with braised red cabbage if you want one big plate.
Tip: Book the upstairs room for opera pre-shows; the ground floor is the casual side.
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