Restaurant in Kernen im Remstal, Germany
Seasonal Swabian cooking, zero pretension.
A 300-year-old Swabian restaurant in Kernen im Remstal earning a Michelin Plate (2024) and a 4.5 Google rating at the €€ price point. The kitchen follows the seasons, leans on regional sourcing, and runs its own butcher's shop on site. Book the set menu on your first visit; come back for à la carte as the seasons shift.
Zum Ochsen earns a confident recommendation, particularly if you are exploring the Remstal wine country and want a kitchen that takes Swabian tradition seriously without freezing it in amber. At the €€ price point, it is one of the stronger value propositions in the region: a 300-year-old restaurant holding a Michelin Plate (2024), rated 4.5 across 446 Google reviews, and running its own butcher's shop on site. Book it for your first night in Kernen im Remstal, then plan to come back.
The visual first impression at Zum Ochsen is one of considered continuity. A building that has stood for three centuries could easily tip into museum-piece territory, but the interior here has been updated to sit beside the food rather than contradict it. The plates arrive with obvious care for presentation, and the room reads as a working restaurant rather than a heritage attraction. That balance matters: it tells you the kitchen is focused on what is on the plate, not on the story hanging on the walls.
What you are eating is Swabian cuisine that follows the seasons and absorbs international technique without losing its regional identity. The emphasis throughout is on local sourcing, and the butcher's shop operating within the property is not a marketing detail but a structural commitment: it means the meat and sausage products you eat here are made on site, giving the kitchen direct control over quality and provenance from an early stage in the process. For a food-focused traveller, that is worth paying attention to.
On a first visit, the three- or four-course set menu is the right call. It gives you a structured read of what the kitchen does across the full arc of a meal, and at this price tier it represents a lower-commitment entry point than the set menus at the €€€€ restaurants elsewhere in Germany. The à la carte option is there if you prefer to pick your way through, but the menu format is how you get the clearest picture of the kitchen's current direction.
On a second visit, the case for à la carte strengthens. By that point you have a sense of which direction the kitchen leans, and you can make more targeted choices based on what is in season. Swabian cuisine at its most grounded means dishes built around what the region is producing right now, which means the menu shifts through the year. A spring visit and an autumn visit to Zum Ochsen will not look identical. That seasonal responsiveness is a reason to return rather than a reason to hesitate about booking.
A third visit is where the regulars live. The Michelin Plate citation notes the volume of returning guests, and that is not an accident. A restaurant that has been operating for 300 years in a small town like Kernen im Remstal survives through repeat custom, and the kitchen clearly earns it. By a third visit, you can move across the menu with confidence, use the à la carte to explore less obvious choices, and treat it as a dependable anchor for the area rather than a destination to be ticked off.
The multi-visit strategy also applies to the broader context of Kernen im Remstal. The Remstal is a wine region, and Zum Ochsen sits within that ecosystem. If you are spending time exploring the area, see our full Kernen im Remstal wineries guide alongside this restaurant. The combination of regional wine and a kitchen rooted in local produce makes for a coherent trip rather than a series of disconnected stops. You can also find accommodation and activity options in our Kernen im Remstal hotels guide and experiences guide.
For a direct local comparison, Malathounis offers a Mediterranean alternative in the same town if you want variety across a longer stay. See our full Kernen im Remstal restaurants guide for the complete picture, and the bars guide if you want to extend the evening.
Booking difficulty is low. Zum Ochsen does not require weeks of advance planning in the way that high-demand tasting-menu restaurants do. That said, it is a local institution with a loyal regular clientele, so booking ahead for weekend evenings is sensible. For weekday lunches or early dinners, shorter notice is typically fine. The set menu format — three or four courses — means service runs at a manageable pace, and the kitchen is not operating in the high-pressure omakase or counter-only formats that create bottlenecks elsewhere.
Quick reference: €€ pricing, Michelin Plate (2024), 4.5 Google rating (446 reviews), set menus available alongside à la carte, in-house butcher's shop, Kirchstraße 15, 71394 Kernen im Remstal.
See the full comparison section below.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Zum Ochsen | €€ | — |
| Schwarzwaldstube | €€€€ | — |
| Aqua | €€€€ | — |
| Vendôme | €€€€ | — |
| CODA Dessert Dining | €€€€ | — |
| Tantris | €€€€ | — |
A quick look at how Zum Ochsen measures up.
At the €€ price point, the three- or four-course set menu is a solid choice. Zum Ochsen holds a Michelin Plate (2024), which recognises good cooking at this level, and the kitchen draws on its own on-site butchery for meat and sausage courses — that's a genuine differentiator from most regional competitors. If you want maximum value from a single visit, the set menu is the smarter order over à la carte.
Kernen im Remstal is a small town, so meaningful alternatives are mostly in the wider Remstal or Stuttgart area. Zum Ochsen's combination of Michelin recognition, house butchery, and mid-range pricing (€€) is difficult to match locally at the same value tier. If you're willing to travel further into Baden-Württemberg, higher-rated restaurants exist, but they operate at significantly higher price points and in a different format.
The kitchen's identity is built around seasonal Swabian cuisine with a strong emphasis on meat and house-made sausage products, so this is not a venue that will work well for vegetarians or vegans as a primary choice. Guests with specific restrictions should check the venue's official channels before booking, as the set menu format limits flexibility compared to a broad à la carte selection.
A 300-year-old restaurant with a loyal regular clientele typically has the infrastructure for group bookings, and the availability of both à la carte and set menus gives groups a practical ordering framework. For larger parties, booking ahead with notice of group size is advisable — Zum Ochsen does not appear to require weeks of lead time, but group reservations benefit from earlier contact.
Yes. The Michelin Plate-recognised kitchen and €€ pricing make it a low-risk solo lunch or dinner, and the set menu format works well for a single diner who wants a structured meal without over-ordering. Zum Ochsen's reputation as a regulars' restaurant suggests a comfortable, unpretentious atmosphere that does not disadvantage solo guests.
It works for a low-key celebration — Michelin Plate recognition and three centuries of operation give it credibility, and the four-course set menu provides enough structure for a considered meal. It is not a high-drama destination with elaborate tasting menus or theatrical service; if the occasion calls for that level of formality, you would need to look at higher-tier restaurants in the Stuttgart region. For a meaningful but relaxed dinner, Zum Ochsen is a sound choice at the €€ price range.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
