Restaurant in Pilsach, Germany
Honest Bavarian cooking at honest prices.
MEIER in Pilsach holds the Michelin Bib Gourmand for both 2024 and 2025 — credible recognition for a country cooking kitchen at €€ pricing. Chef Michael Meier's seasonally driven menu rewards visits in autumn when the format is at its best. Easy to book, genuinely good value, and a compelling case for making the detour into rural Bavaria.
MEIER in Pilsach earns a direct recommendation: if you want grounded, seasonal country cooking in rural Bavaria at €€ pricing, this is the address to book. Chef Michael Meier has held the Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025, which means Michelin's inspectors found quality here that exceeds what the price tag would lead you to expect. That combination — recognised kitchen credibility, accessible price tier, genuine regional cooking , is harder to find than it sounds, and it makes MEIER worth planning a detour for rather than just a stop if you happen to be passing through Pilsach.
MEIER sits at Hilzhofen 18, a rural address outside Pilsach in the Bavarian countryside south of Nuremberg. The setting matters here, because it shapes what the kitchen does. Country cooking in this region is not a nostalgic affectation , it is a format where the quality of what lands on the plate is directly connected to what is available locally and seasonally. Chef Meier's approach, reinforced by two consecutive Bib Gourmand recognitions, suggests a kitchen that takes that relationship seriously.
For a special occasion in this price range, MEIER offers something that most €€ restaurants cannot match: a credible culinary credential. The Bib Gourmand is awarded specifically for good cooking at moderate prices, not consolation recognition for a restaurant that almost made it further. At this tier in Germany, MEIER sits in a narrow group of restaurants where you get Michelin-validated quality without the €€€€ commitment that defines most of the country's fine dining circuit. If you are celebrating something and do not want to stretch to the full fine dining spend, this is a compelling alternative to a generic restaurant with no external validation at all.
Country cooking, by its nature, changes with the calendar. In Bavaria, that means the menu at MEIER will read differently depending on when you visit. Spring typically brings lighter preparations built around early greens and the first produce of the growing season. Summer shifts toward garden vegetables and fresh herbs. Autumn , arguably the strongest season for this style of cooking in southern Germany , opens up game, mushrooms, and root vegetables that suit the format particularly well. Winter cooking in this tradition leans toward preserved, braised, and slow-cooked preparations.
The practical implication: if you have a choice of when to visit, autumn is the window that most rewards country cooking of this type. The ingredient quality is at its peak and the style of the food aligns most directly with what the kitchen's format does leading. That said, the Bib Gourmand applies year-round, so there is no bad season , only seasons where the specific character of the menu changes. If you are making a special occasion reservation, booking in September or October gives you the leading odds of hitting the menu at its most seasonally expressive.
Booking difficulty at MEIER is rated easy relative to the category. A rural Bavarian address with €€ pricing and no online booking profile in the wider reservation systems means walk-ins may be possible, but calling ahead is the practical move. With a 4.7 rating across 1,259 Google reviews , a meaningful sample for a restaurant of this scale in a village setting , the kitchen clearly has a loyal local following that fills tables on weekends. For a weeknight visit, you likely have more flexibility. For a Saturday dinner or a specific date tied to a celebration, ring ahead as far as you can, ideally a week or two out. The Bib Gourmand recognition in 2025 may draw more visitors from outside the region, so the usual rural restaurant assumption of easy walk-in availability is worth reconsidering.
No dress code is specified, which is consistent with the country cooking format and the price tier. Smart casual is a safe default, but this is not a formal dining environment. Groups planning a celebratory meal should note that the address is Hilzhofen 18 in Pilsach , if you are travelling from Nuremberg, build in appropriate travel time for the rural route.
If MEIER's format appeals but you want to explore similar traditions across Europe, two addresses are worth knowing. 21.9 in Piobesi d'Alba offers country cooking in the Piedmont wine country , a different regional tradition but the same commitment to seasonal, local produce. Andrea Monesi - Locanda di Orta in Orta San Giulio applies the same country cooking framework in Piedmont's lake district. Both share MEIER's philosophy of place-driven, seasonally honest food. For more dining options across the region, see our full Pilsach restaurants guide, our Pilsach hotels guide, our Pilsach bars guide, our Pilsach wineries guide, and our Pilsach experiences guide. In Bavaria and beyond, JAN in Munich and ES:SENZ in Grassau represent the step up to Michelin-starred territory if you are ready to move beyond the Bib Gourmand tier. For Germany's broader fine dining circuit, Restaurant Haerlin in Hamburg, Schanz in Piesport, and Victor's Fine Dining by Christian Bau in Perl anchor the high end of the national conversation. Waldhotel Sonnora in Dreis is particularly relevant if a country-house setting with higher ambition is what you are after.
Within Pilsach itself, HIO is the other notable address, operating in the creative cooking format at a different style register to MEIER's country cooking. If you are open to the wider Pilsach area and surrounding Bavaria, JAN in Munich and ES:SENZ in Grassau offer Michelin-starred experiences at higher price points. For country cooking specifically, MEIER has a clear advantage in the immediate area at the €€ tier.
No specific menu data is available for MEIER, so a dish-by-dish recommendation is not possible here. What Michelin's Bib Gourmand recognises in country cooking restaurants is technically sound, seasonally driven food , dishes built around what is available locally rather than imported prestige ingredients. Given that, your leading approach is to order whatever is listed as the kitchen's current seasonal feature. If you are visiting in autumn, lean into anything involving game, mushrooms, or root vegetables, where this style of cooking is at its most direct. Ask the staff what is freshest that week; in a country cooking format, that question will almost always get a useful answer.
No dress code is specified. At €€ pricing in a rural Bavarian village setting, smart casual is the right call: clean, presentable, but not formal. You do not need a jacket. MEIER is not a white-tablecloth fine dining environment , it is a Bib Gourmand country restaurant where the focus is on the food rather than ceremony. Overdressing would be as out of place as underdressing.
Three things: first, the Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025 means Michelin inspectors have found quality here that outpaces the price. That is the core reason to make the trip to Pilsach rather than defaulting to a more convenient option. Second, the menu will change seasonally , do not expect the same dishes year-round. Third, the address is genuinely rural (Hilzhofen 18, Pilsach), so plan your travel time and call ahead to confirm a table rather than arriving without a reservation, especially on weekends. With a 4.7 score across over 1,250 Google reviews, this is a kitchen with a strong local following that fills up.
Yes, with a clear qualification. MEIER is a strong choice for a special occasion if your priority is quality and value over formality. The Bib Gourmand gives you third-party credibility to anchor the booking as a meaningful meal rather than just a dinner out. The €€ price range means the evening will not carry the financial weight of a full fine dining spend, which can be a feature rather than a drawback depending on your group. If your celebration requires white-tablecloth formality or multi-course tasting menus with sommelier service, consider stepping up to Aqua in Wolfsburg or Vendôme in Bergisch Gladbach instead. For a genuine, grounded, seasonally honest dinner that marks the occasion without the ceremony, MEIER is the right room in this price tier.
No tasting menu data is confirmed for MEIER. Country cooking restaurants at €€ pricing in Germany typically operate on a shorter, frequently changing à la carte format rather than a lengthy tasting menu, though some offer a set menu option at lunch or dinner. Given the Bib Gourmand recognition, whatever multi-course format is available is likely to deliver honest value at this price point. If a tasting menu is important to your evening, confirm availability when you book rather than assuming. If you specifically want a tasting menu experience with a Michelin credential in Germany, Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn or Schanz in Piesport are built around that format.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEIER | Country cooking | €€ | Easy |
| Aqua | Contemporary German, Italian/Japanese, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Schwarzwaldstube | French, Classic French | €€€€ | Unknown |
| CODA Dessert Dining | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Tantris | Modern French, French Contemporary | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Vendôme | Modern European, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
A quick look at how MEIER measures up.
If you want to stay in the Bib Gourmand category with a rural German setting, MEIER is one of the stronger value cases in Bavaria. For a significant step up in ambition and price, Tantris in Munich operates at a different register entirely — multi-course, formal, and considerably more expensive. Schwarzwaldstube offers technically accomplished German cooking in a countryside context but sits well above €€ pricing. For a closer match on format and value, look at other Bib Gourmand holders in the Nuremberg region rather than the Michelin-starred comparisons.
The kitchen runs on country cooking — which at a Bib Gourmand-rated address in rural Bavaria means seasonal, regionally grounded dishes rather than a fixed set-menu format. The menu will shift with the calendar, so what's available in spring differs from autumn. No specific dishes are confirmed in available data, but asking the team what's in season that week is the right move at a restaurant of this type.
A rural Bavarian address at €€ pricing with a Bib Gourmand points toward relaxed, clean casual — this is not a white-tablecloth occasion. No dress code is documented for MEIER, but the country cooking format and price range both suggest comfortable clothes are appropriate. Overdressing is unlikely to be an issue either way.
MEIER is at Hilzhofen 18, a rural address outside Pilsach — you will need a car or pre-arranged transport. It holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmands for 2024 and 2025, which is the award's signal for quality cooking at accessible prices, not starred ambition. Come expecting honest, seasonal country cooking from chef Michael Meier, not a tasting-menu occasion. Phone and hours are not publicly listed, so check the venue's official channels to confirm before making the drive.
MEIER works for a low-key special occasion where the emphasis is on good food over ceremony — a birthday dinner or countryside lunch where value and quality matter more than formality. At €€ pricing with a Bib Gourmand credential, it punches above its cost, which makes it a good choice if the occasion doesn't demand a starred room. For something with more occasion weight, Tantris or Vendôme are better fits, but they operate at a significantly higher price point.
No tasting menu format is documented for MEIER in available data. The Bib Gourmand and country cooking classification suggest a more straightforward à la carte or short-menu structure rather than a multi-course set format. If a tasting menu is central to what you're looking for, CODA Dessert Dining or Vendôme are confirmed options — though at considerably higher prices than MEIER's €€ range.
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