Restaurant in Munich, Germany
Bib Gourmand value, serious wine list.
Gasthaus Waltz holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2024 and 2025, and tops Star Wine List's Munich rankings for 2025 — remarkable credentials for a €€ gastro-pub. Chef Florian Lerche's modern Austrian classics in a warm, conversational room on Ickstattstraße make this the strongest special-occasion option at this price point in Munich. Booking is easy; the wine list is not to be ignored.
Gasthaus Waltz earns its 2024 and 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand awards — the guide's signal for exceptional food at a price that doesn't require a rethink of your travel budget. At €€ pricing in a city where the serious dining rooms all sit at €€€€, Waltz is one of the few places in Munich where a celebratory dinner doesn't mean choosing between the wine list and a taxi home. If you're weighing a special-occasion meal in Munich and don't need a formal tasting menu, this is one of the strongest options at this price tier.
Waltz occupies a compact gastro-pub space on Ickstattstraße in Munich's Isarvorstadt district, and the atmosphere does the heavy lifting from the moment you sit down. It's warm and unhurried — the kind of room that rewards settling in rather than turning over a table quickly. The sound level stays conversational even when the room fills, which makes it a better choice for a date or a small celebration than many venues that share its price point. If you want the energy of a lively Munich evening without the noise that makes conversation impossible after the second round, Waltz positions itself well.
The venue is the project of Stephan and Markus, alumni of Grapes Wine Bar, returning with their own room and a focused take on modern Austrian classics. Chef Florian Lerche runs the kitchen, and the Bib Gourmand recognition two years running confirms this isn't an accident , the consistency is there. The programme sits in Alpine cuisine territory: expect Schnitzel and Sauer classics handled with the care of a kitchen that knows exactly what it's doing with the format, rather than one chasing novelty for its own sake.
The wine programme is the other reason to book. Star Wine List ranked Waltz at both #1 and #2 in its 2025 Munich rankings, which is an unusually strong pair of credentials for a gastro-pub at this price level. For a special occasion where the wine matters as much as the food, that's a meaningful signal. The list is likely the most serious wine offering you'll find at €€ pricing in Munich, and the Grapes Wine Bar background of the founders makes this a deliberate programme rather than an afterthought.
On service: at this price tier in Munich, the risk is usually a trade-off , either the food is good but the service is indifferent, or the room feels more canteen than considered. Waltz appears to thread that gap. The Bib Gourmand standard requires quality of welcome as well as quality of plate, and the Google rating of 4.7 across 330 reviews suggests the service is holding up in practice, not just in theory. For a date or anniversary dinner, that consistency matters more than the occasional flourish you might get at a €€€€ room.
Booking is rated Easy. That's a genuine advantage if you're planning a trip without much lead time, or if you want the flexibility to lock in a date once your travel plans are confirmed. The most serious tasting-menu restaurants in Munich , Tantris, Tohru in der Schreiberei, and Alois - Dallmayr Fine Dining , typically require weeks of advance planning. Waltz's accessibility is part of the value proposition.
For solo diners, the gastro-pub format works in your favour. A single seat at a smaller room with a strong wine programme is a comfortable proposition, and the informal atmosphere means dining alone doesn't feel incongruous. For groups, the space is cosier than a large-party venue, so it's better suited to two or four than to a table of eight.
If you're building a broader Munich trip, the full Munich restaurants guide covers the range from Waltz's tier through to the city's formal fine dining. For context on how Waltz sits within Germany's wider Alpine dining picture, Gourmetrestaurant Tannenhof in Sankt Anton am Arlberg and Die Geniesserstube im Alpenhof in Tux represent the Alpine fine-dining end of the same culinary tradition. Munich's broader scene is covered in the bars guide, hotels guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide.
See the comparison section below for how Waltz sits against Munich's €€€€ fine dining tier.
Yes. The gastro-pub format is well-suited to solo diners , there's no social awkwardness attached to a single seat, the room is informal enough that you won't feel out of place, and the wine programme gives you something genuinely worth exploring on your own terms. At €€ pricing, it's also one of the more affordable solo-dining options in Munich that still delivers Michelin-level food quality.
It's a strong choice for a low-key celebration , an anniversary, birthday dinner, or date where intimacy matters more than formality. The warm atmosphere, serious wine list (Star Wine List #1 in Munich, 2025), and Bib Gourmand consistency make it feel considered without requiring black-tie energy. If you want a grand gesture with a tasting menu and silver service, Alois - Dallmayr Fine Dining or Tantris will suit better. But for a special dinner where the evening itself does the work, Waltz earns its place.
The kitchen is built around modern Austrian classics , Schnitzel and Sauer preparations are the anchor dishes. The Bib Gourmand recognition suggests the core menu is consistently well-executed, so lean into the classics rather than looking for workarounds. The wine list is the other thing worth ordering carefully: with Star Wine List credentials at #1 in Munich for 2025, this is a room where asking for a recommendation from the floor is worth doing.
At the same price tier, Brasserie Cuvilliés and JAN are worth comparing depending on your cuisine preference. If your budget stretches to €€€€ and you want a full tasting-menu experience, Tohru in der Schreiberei is the most distinctive room in Munich's top tier, while Tantris is the city's most historically significant fine dining address. For creative modern cooking at the leading level, Alois - Dallmayr Fine Dining is the cleaner choice. Beyond Munich, Germany's Alpine dining tradition extends to venues like ES:SENZ in Grassau. See the full Munich restaurants guide for a broader picture.
Three things: First, the wine list is the surprise , for a gastro-pub at €€ pricing, Star Wine List #1 in Munich is not what most visitors expect, so engage with it. Second, booking is Easy, meaning you don't need to plan weeks ahead the way you would for a Michelin-starred tasting menu room. Third, the room is intimate and leading experienced without a rush , this isn't a place for a quick meal before a show. Give it the evening.
At €€ with a Michelin Bib Gourmand for two consecutive years and the top-ranked wine list in Munich for 2025 according to Star Wine List, yes , the value case is clear. You're getting kitchen-level quality that the Bib Gourmand standard requires, a wine programme that punches well above its price tier, and a room with a 4.7 Google rating across 330 reviews. For comparison, the €€€€ tasting menu rooms in Munich , Tantris, Tohru, Alois , offer a different kind of experience, but Waltz is not a lesser substitute. It's a different proposition that happens to cost a fraction of the price.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasthaus Waltz | Grapes Wine Bar alums Stephan & Markus are back at it, now with their own take on modern Austrian classics in a cosy gastro-pub setting called Waltz. Wine lovers abound, tucking in to Schnitzel, Sauer...; Star Wine List #2 (2025); Star Wine List #1 (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | €€ | — |
| Tantris | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Tohru in der Schreiberei | Michelin 3 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Alois - Dallmayr Fine Dining | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Atelier | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Acquarello | Michelin 1 Star | €€€€ | — |
How Gasthaus Waltz stacks up against the competition.
Yes, the gastro-pub format suits solo diners well. There's no awkwardness around a single seat, and the informal atmosphere at Ickstattstraße 13 makes it easy to settle in with the wine list — which is worth your attention even on a short visit. At €€ pricing, it's a low-commitment solo dinner with Michelin-level food quality behind it.
Yes, if the occasion calls for warmth over formality. Waltz holds two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024 and 2025) and the #1-ranked wine list in Munich per Star Wine List 2025 — which makes it a credible choice for a birthday dinner or anniversary without the €€€€ outlay. Skip it if your group expects a formal room or a long tasting menu format.
The kitchen is grounded in modern Austrian classics, with Schnitzel and Sauer preparations as the anchor dishes. The Bib Gourmand recognition points to execution that goes beyond pub-standard cooking. Beyond the food, treat the wine list as a priority: a Star Wine List #1 ranking for Munich in 2025 at this price point is an anomaly worth using.
At the same €€ tier, Brasserie Cuvilliés and JAN are worth comparing depending on cuisine preference. If your budget stretches to €€€€ and you want a more formal experience, Tantris or Atelier are the natural step up — though you're trading Waltz's value equation for a significantly higher spend. For Austrian-leaning food at relaxed price points, Waltz has few direct Munich comparisons.
Three things: the wine list is the surprise — Star Wine List #1 in Munich for 2025 at €€ pricing is not typical, so come ready to order a bottle rather than defaulting to house wine. The kitchen comes from Grapes Wine Bar alumni Stephan and Markus, so there's a track record behind the concept. And the setting is compact and cosy, not a sprawling dining room — book ahead rather than chancing a walk-in.
Yes. At €€ with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (2024 and 2025) and the top-ranked wine list in Munich according to Star Wine List 2025, the value is clear. You're paying gastro-pub prices for a kitchen and cellar that punch well above that tier. The honest caveat: if you want a grand dining room or a tasting menu, Waltz is the wrong format — but on price-to-quality terms, it's hard to fault.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
