Restaurant in Heilbronn, Germany
Seasonal cooking, Neckar views, book early.
Bachmaier holds a 2025 Michelin Plate and a 4.9 Google rating, making it Heilbronn's clearest case for serious seasonal cooking at €€€ rather than the €€€€ tier most comparable German restaurants occupy. The kitchen draws on locally hunted game and seasonal produce, with notably good wine pairings. Book well in advance — availability on short notice is not reliable.
Start with the number that matters most: a 4.9 Google rating across 126 reviews is unusually high for a fine-dining room, and at a €€€ price point rather than the €€€€ tier occupied by most comparable German restaurants with Michelin recognition, Bachmaier represents a genuine value proposition for first-timers exploring serious cooking in the region. The 2025 Michelin Plate confirms this is a kitchen worth your attention — not a trophy restaurant, but a consistent, ingredient-led operation that has earned its place in Heilbronn's dining conversation.
Bachmaier sits at Untere Neckarstraße 40, directly on the Neckar river. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the water and the passing river traffic, and a terrace extends the view outdoors when conditions allow. For a first-timer, the room itself is reassuring: the decor is described as modern without being cold, and the setup encourages you to settle in rather than rush. This is the kind of restaurant where the meal takes time , budget accordingly.
Service is run by Ulrike Bachmaier, who also manages front-of-house, while the kitchen is handled by her chef-patron partner. The family-run structure is visible in the attention to detail: service here reads as genuinely attentive rather than formally scripted. For a first visit, that matters , you will not feel like a stranger at your own table.
The editorial angle worth understanding before you book: Bachmaier's cooking is built around seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, and the menu changes to reflect what is available and what is right for the time of year. This is not a marketing position , it is the operating logic of the kitchen. In autumn and winter, that means dishes anchored in the hunting season and root vegetables of the region. The Michelin record references braised shoulder of locally hunted venison, glazed in the pan, with swede, palm tree kale and celeriac as an example of how the kitchen puts this into practice: a single protein from local hunting grounds, paired with vegetables that are at their peak in the colder months.
The other noted dish , Obsiblue prawn soup with ginger , signals that local sourcing does not mean the kitchen restricts itself to regional produce exclusively. Obsiblue prawns are a specific, quality-graded product from New Caledonia, prized for their texture and clean flavour. Their presence alongside locally hunted game tells you something about how Bachmaier thinks about ingredient selection: the standard is quality and seasonality, not geographic purism. That is a sensible approach and it tends to produce menus with more range and fewer compromises.
For first-timers visiting now, ask about the current seasonal menu when you book. If you are coming in the colder months, game and root vegetable preparations are likely to feature. If the kitchen is running a vegetarian set menu on your visit , available by prior arrangement , request it at the time of booking rather than on the night.
The Michelin record specifically notes good wine pairings, which is worth flagging for a first visit. Heilbronn sits within the Württemberg wine region, one of Germany's significant red wine areas, and a kitchen focused on seasonal German produce is well-positioned to build pairings that reflect the region. Whether you opt for the pairing or order from the list independently, this is not a restaurant where wine is an afterthought. Budget for it in your per-head spend.
Reservations: Book well in advance , this is the single most consistent piece of advice attached to Bachmaier, and the Michelin record confirms it. For weekends or special occasions, earlier is always safer. Booking difficulty: Easy to book when planned ahead; do not assume availability on short notice. Budget: €€€ price range; factor in wine pairings for a fuller picture of total spend. Vegetarian menu: Available by prior arrangement , request at booking. Address: Untere Neckarstraße 40, 74072 Heilbronn. Terrace: Available when weather permits; request when booking if this matters to you.
Within Heilbronn specifically, Bachmaier occupies a tier of its own for Michelin-recognised cooking. For Italian in the city, Magnifico da Umberto is worth knowing as an alternative for a less formal evening. For a fuller picture of where to eat, drink, and stay, see our full Heilbronn restaurants guide, our Heilbronn hotels guide, our Heilbronn bars guide, our Heilbronn wineries guide, and our Heilbronn experiences guide.
If you are benchmarking Bachmaier against other farm-to-table-oriented operations in Germany, two worth comparing are Wein- und Tafelhaus in Trittenheim and Au Gré du Vent in Seneffe. For top-end German fine dining elsewhere in the country, Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn, Aqua in Wolfsburg, Vendôme in Bergisch Gladbach, JAN in Munich, The Table Kevin Fehling in Hamburg, CODA Dessert Dining in Berlin, ES:SENZ in Grassau, Schanz in Piesport, Waldhotel Sonnora in Dreis, and Victor's Fine Dining by Christian Bau in Perl set the comparative standard at the €€€€ level.
Book Bachmaier if you want Michelin-recognised seasonal cooking in Heilbronn at a price point below what you would pay at the top tier of German fine dining. The sourcing approach is genuine, the room is well-positioned on the Neckar, and the service model suits a first visit. The one condition: plan ahead. This is not a walk-in restaurant.
Expect a seasonal, farm-to-table menu that changes with what is locally available and freshly hunted. The room is modern with river views, service is warm rather than formal, and the kitchen holds a 2025 Michelin Plate. At €€€ pricing, it is more accessible than most Michelin-recognised restaurants in Germany. Book in advance , last-minute availability is not reliable , and if you want the vegetarian set menu, request it when you make your reservation. Budget for wine pairings, which are noted as a strength of the operation.
Yes, for what the category offers. At €€€ rather than €€€€, Bachmaier sits a tier below the pricing of most Michelin-starred German restaurants while delivering Michelin Plate recognition and a 4.9 Google rating. The kitchen uses quality ingredients including locally hunted game and specifically sourced seafood, and wine pairings are included in the experience at a meaningful level. If seasonal German cooking with genuine sourcing standards is what you are after, the price-to-quality ratio here is favourable compared to peers operating at the leading price tier.
No dress code is formally listed, but the combination of Michelin recognition, €€€ pricing, and a modern, river-facing room suggests smart casual is the appropriate register. Avoid overly casual clothing , this is not a neighbourhood bistro , but a jacket is not mandatory. If in doubt, err toward the smarter end of your wardrobe. Heilbronn is not a city with a high-fashion dining scene, so mid-level European smart casual will fit the room without drawing attention.
The kitchen offers a seasonal set menu structure, including a vegetarian set menu available by prior arrangement. For a first visit, the set menu format is the right choice: it reflects the kitchen's seasonal sourcing logic and gives you the full arc of what Bachmaier does well. If the menu includes game dishes during the hunting season, that is where the sourcing philosophy is most visible. Request the vegetarian set menu at booking if that is your preference , do not leave it to the night itself.
The Michelin record highlights two dishes as representative: Obsiblue prawn soup with ginger, and braised shoulder of locally hunted venison with swede, palm tree kale and celeriac. The venison dish is the clearer expression of the kitchen's sourcing identity , locally hunted, paired with seasonal root vegetables. If game is on the menu when you visit, it is the logical order. For seafood, the Obsiblue prawn preparation demonstrates that the kitchen sources quality product beyond the immediate region when the standard justifies it.
Within Heilbronn, options at a comparable or higher level of formality are limited. Magnifico da Umberto is the main alternative for a serious dinner in the city, but at a different cuisine register. If you are willing to travel in the region, the Württemberg area has other producers and dining options worth considering , see our full Heilbronn restaurants guide for the broader picture. For farm-to-table cooking elsewhere in Germany, Wein- und Tafelhaus in Trittenheim is a useful comparison point.
Yes, with one practical note. The river-facing room, attentive family-run service, and Michelin-recognised kitchen make it a solid choice for a birthday dinner, anniversary, or business meal where the food needs to match the occasion. The €€€ price point means it reads as a treat without the financial weight of a €€€€ restaurant. Book as far in advance as possible for weekend dates or specific evenings , availability on short notice is unlikely. Mention the occasion when you book; the service team is well-positioned to accommodate it.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachmaier | Michelin Plate (2025); Ulrike and Otto Bachmaier have been running their restaurant for many years. The modern decor is delightful and you can watch the river traffic on the Neckar through the floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as from the terrace. Friendly and adept service comes courtesy of the lady of the house while the chef-patron delivers seasonal dishes such as Obsiblue prawn soup with ginger, or braised shoulder of locally hunted venison, glazed in the pan, with Swede, palm tree kale and celeriac. A vegetarian set menu is available by prior arrangement. Good wine pairings. Tip: Book well in advance. | €€€ | — |
| Schwarzwaldstube | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Aqua | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Vendôme | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| CODA Dessert Dining | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Tantris | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Bachmaier and alternatives.
Book well in advance — the Michelin record flags this explicitly, and it is the single most repeated piece of advice for this restaurant. Bachmaier is a family-run room at Untere Neckarstraße 40 with floor-to-ceiling windows over the Neckar, Michelin Plate recognition in 2025, and a menu that changes with the seasons. If you arrive expecting a fixed, printed menu that matches what you read online, you may find the dishes have changed. That is by design, not an oversight.
At €€€, Bachmaier sits below the top tier of German fine dining but delivers Michelin Plate-level cooking with a 4.9 Google rating across 126 reviews — an unusually high score for a room at this price point. The sourcing is seasonal and local, the wine pairings are specifically noted in the Michelin record, and the service is run by the owner herself. For Heilbronn specifically, there is no comparable Michelin-recognised alternative at this price, which makes the value case straightforward.
The venue data describes modern decor and a family-run operation rather than a formal white-tablecloth environment, which suggests neat but not ceremonial dress is appropriate. Heilbronn is not Frankfurt or Munich in terms of fine-dining formality. Arriving in business casual will not look out of place; arriving in a suit will not look wrong either. No dress code is specified in the available data, so when in doubt, call ahead.
Bachmaier offers a vegetarian set menu by prior arrangement, and the Michelin record highlights seasonal dishes with good wine pairings — both of which point toward a tasting format being the intended way to eat here. If you prefer à la carte flexibility, check availability when booking. The wine pairings are worth adding if they are offered: the Michelin record calls them out as a positive specifically.
The Michelin record names two dishes as representative: Obsiblue prawn soup with ginger, and braised shoulder of locally hunted venison glazed in the pan, served with swede, palm tree kale, and celeriac. Both reflect the farm-to-table sourcing that defines the kitchen. Because the menu is seasonal, these exact dishes may not be available on your visit — ask what is current when you book.
Within Heilbronn, Bachmaier holds the only Michelin Plate recognition in the available data, which limits like-for-like comparison locally. For Italian in the city, Magnifico da Umberto is the named peer in Pearl's content. If you are willing to travel further into Baden-Württemberg, Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn operates at a significantly higher tier with three Michelin stars — a different commitment in both cost and format.
Yes, with one condition: book well in advance. The Michelin Plate, the Neckar river terrace, owner-led service, and seasonal tasting format make Bachmaier a practical choice for a birthday dinner or anniversary in Heilbronn at €€€. The vegetarian set menu is available by prior arrangement, which matters if you are booking for a mixed group. For larger parties, confirm table configuration when you reserve.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
