Restaurant in Krün, Germany
Plan ahead. This one rewards the commitment.
IKIGAI holds two Michelin stars and 94 La Liste points (2026), making it the strongest dining option in the Schloss Elmau resort and one of the most credentialed destination restaurants in Bavaria. Chef Christoph Rainer's Franco-Japanese menu and a 1,750-selection wine list justify the €€€€ price, but booking is near impossible — plan well ahead and treat the travel as part of the decision.
IKIGAI sits inside the Schloss Elmau resort complex at In Elmau 2, Krün — a property already known for demanding a certain level of deliberate travel. Getting here requires intent: the nearest major transport hub is Munich, roughly an hour's drive south into the Wetterstein mountains. That distance is not an inconvenience so much as a filter. The diners who arrive at IKIGAI have already decided this meal matters, and the kitchen, led by Chef Christoph Rainer, meets that commitment seriously.
The room itself operates at a register you don't often encounter in Alpine settings. The atmosphere is composed rather than celebratory — low ambient noise, controlled energy, the kind of quiet that signals the cooking is expected to do the talking. If you're after a buzzy urban dining room, this is not it. IKIGAI rewards guests who want to be present for what's on the plate, not distracted by what's around them. For a special-occasion dinner where conversation matters, the sound level is genuinely suited to it in a way that many city fine-dining rooms, even at this price tier, are not.
The menu bridges French technique and Japanese sensibility under Chef Rainer's direction , a pairing that, when executed with discipline, produces cooking that is precise without being cold, seasonal without being obvious. The editorial angle here is sourcing: a Franco-Japanese kitchen at this altitude, this far from major supply lines, can only deliver at this level if the ingredient decisions are exceptional. La Liste's 94-point score in 2026 (up from 91.5 points in 2025) suggests the kitchen is not merely maintaining but improving, which matters when you're spending at the €€€€ tier and asking whether the trajectory justifies the price. Two consecutive Michelin two-star awards (2024 and 2025) confirm this is not a one-season story. Sommelier and Wine Director Marie-Helen Krebs oversees a list of 1,750 selections across a 17,500-bottle inventory, with particular depth in Germany, Austria, Italy, and France. Wine pricing sits at the $$$ tier, meaning you should expect many bottles above €100, but the range accommodates different ambitions. Corkage is €55 if you're considering bringing something significant from your own cellar.
Booking is near impossible on short notice. IKIGAI operates within the Schloss Elmau ecosystem, which means availability is tied partly to hotel occupancy and partly to the restaurant's own reservation calendar. Plan well ahead , this is not a venue where a week's notice will get you a table. If you're travelling specifically for the meal, consider building the Schloss Elmau stay around the dinner booking, not the other way around. Dinner is the only service offered.
The €€€€ price point positions IKIGAI at the leading of the German fine-dining tier, alongside peers like Vendôme in Bergisch Gladbach, Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn, and Victor's Fine Dining by Christian Bau in Perl. What distinguishes IKIGAI from those comparisons is the setting: you are not simply booking a restaurant, you are booking a destination. That adds value for guests who want the full immersive experience, and it adds friction for anyone who only wants the food. Factor that honestly into your decision. For guests already staying at Schloss Elmau, this is close to a mandatory booking , the quality is there and the proximity makes it easy. For guests travelling from Munich or further specifically for IKIGAI, the two-star rating and La Liste score make the trip defensible, but the journey should be part of the plan, not an afterthought.
The Google rating of 4.5 across 48 reviews is a thin sample for a venue at this level, but the consistency between the critical recognition and the guest response is positive. Venues with significant gaps between awards and public ratings usually signal service or value inconsistencies; IKIGAI does not appear to have that problem. General Manager Lukas Leitz and owner Dietmar Müller-Elmau complete the front-of-house structure, with Krebs handling the wine side at a depth appropriate for a room serving this kind of food.
If you're a food and wine traveller building a serious German dining itinerary, IKIGAI belongs on it alongside ES:SENZ in Grassau and Waldhotel Sonnora in Dreis , all three share the characteristic of requiring real travel, delivering at the two-star level, and rewarding guests who treat the experience as a destination rather than a dinner. For the full picture of dining and staying in the region, see our full Krün restaurants guide, our full Krün hotels guide, and our full Krün experiences guide.
Booking difficulty is near impossible on short notice. IKIGAI is a dinner-only restaurant inside Schloss Elmau. Secure your reservation before finalising travel plans, not after. Hotel guests may have some advantage in availability, but do not assume this means easy access. Corkage is €55 for personal bottles.
Yes, given the credentials , two consecutive Michelin two-star awards and a La Liste score that rose from 91.5 to 94 points between 2025 and 2026 , the quality case is solid. The Franco-Japanese menu format at the €€€€ tier is comparable to peers like Vendôme and Schwarzwaldstube in terms of price positioning. What pushes the value calculation in IKIGAI's favour is the destination factor: if you're already at Schloss Elmau, the meal is a natural extension of a high-investment trip. If you're driving from Munich solely for dinner, the two-star quality justifies it, but factor the travel time into your decision.
Yes , it's one of the better special-occasion options in the region precisely because the room runs quiet. The atmosphere is composed and the noise level stays low, which means conversation is possible throughout the meal. Two Michelin stars and a 94-point La Liste score give the evening a recognisable credibility that makes the occasion feel considered rather than arbitrary. If you want spectacle and a buzzy energy, look elsewhere. If you want a dinner that feels genuinely significant without being performative, IKIGAI delivers that.
Solo dining at IKIGAI is possible but depends on seating configuration, which isn't confirmed in available data. At the €€€€ tasting-menu tier, solo dining is common enough at two-star venues that it shouldn't be a barrier, but confirm table availability for one when booking. The composed, low-noise atmosphere suits solo guests who want to engage fully with the meal. If a counter or bar seat option exists, that's worth requesting , contact the restaurant directly to ask. For solo dining in a city context, JAN in Munich may offer more flexible access.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in available data for IKIGAI. Given the restaurant sits inside Schloss Elmau and operates as a formal dinner-only venue, bar dining is possible but not guaranteed. Contact the restaurant directly before assuming this option is available. If informal seating at a high level is important to you, check our Krün bars guide for alternatives within the resort area.
Group bookings at IKIGAI are subject to the constraints of a formal two-star restaurant inside a resort. Larger parties (six or more) should contact the venue directly and well in advance , near-impossible booking difficulty on standard tables applies even more acutely to groups. Private dining room availability is not confirmed in current data, but at this level it's worth asking. The €€€€ price tier means a group dinner here is a significant per-head spend; if budget flexibility is a concern, see our Krün restaurants guide for other options at different price points.
IKIGAI is the highest-credentialed restaurant in Krün. For alternatives at a comparable quality level but different settings, consider ES:SENZ in Grassau (nearby Alpine region, strong critical standing) or Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn for classic French at the three-star level if you're willing to travel further. Within the broader German fine-dining tier at €€€€, Waldhotel Sonnora in Dreis and Victor's Fine Dining by Christian Bau in Perl offer similar destination-restaurant dynamics. If Munich is your base, JAN is the most accessible high-quality alternative without the Alpine drive.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| IKIGAI | €€€€ | — |
| Aqua | €€€€ | — |
| Schwarzwaldstube | €€€€ | — |
| CODA Dessert Dining | €€€€ | — |
| Tantris | €€€€ | — |
| Vendôme | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
IKIGAI is a formal dinner restaurant inside Schloss Elmau — bar dining is not part of the format here. This is a sit-down tasting experience, not a drop-in counter. If you want flexibility on a visit to the property, check Schloss Elmau's other dining options rather than treating IKIGAI as casual seating.
IKIGAI is a serious two-Michelin-star restaurant at a resort property, so group bookings are possible but require advance coordination directly with Schloss Elmau. Given the dinner-only format and high booking demand — 94 points on La Liste 2026 puts this in the top tier of German restaurants — larger groups should contact well ahead of their intended date. Walk-in group seating is not realistic here.
There are no direct Michelin-starred competitors in Krün itself — IKIGAI is the destination. For comparable fine dining in Bavaria, Tantris in Munich is the regional benchmark with its own long-standing two-star pedigree and is more accessible by city logistics. If you are willing to travel further, Vendôme near Cologne operates at a similar trophy level.
At €€€€ pricing with two Michelin stars and 94 points on La Liste 2026, IKIGAI delivers at the level the price signals — provided you are making a deliberate trip to Schloss Elmau and treating dinner as the centrepiece. The French-Japanese cuisine format under Chef Christoph Rainer is not an everyday format. If you are already staying at the resort, the value case is strong. If you are driving up specifically for dinner and leaving, factor the travel cost into your calculus.
Solo dining at a two-star resort restaurant in the Bavarian Alps is a deliberate, committed choice rather than a casual option — but the format is not unwelcoming to solo guests. The French-Japanese tasting structure suits solo diners who want full focus on the food. Booking a counter or single-seat table in advance is advisable; IKIGAI's demand level means solo spots can fill as quickly as tables for two.
Yes, and it is one of the stronger cases for a special-occasion booking in Germany. Two Michelin stars, a wine list with 1,750 selections and 17,500 bottles of inventory, and the Schloss Elmau setting combine to make this a destination rather than just a restaurant. For occasions where the full trip matters as much as the meal — anniversaries, milestone birthdays — pairing the dinner with a stay at the resort amplifies the experience considerably. Book at minimum several weeks out.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
