Restaurant in Rauhenebrach, Germany
Two Bib Gourmands. €€ pricing. Book it.
Gasthaus Hofmann has held the Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025, making it one of the most credentialed country cooking options in Franconia at the €€ price point. Chef Michael Scherz runs a kitchen focused on regional produce and honest technique. Booking is easy, regional wine pairings are the move, and the value case is hard to argue with.
If your instinct is to drive past Rauhenebrach toward a €€€€ tasting menu in Franconia or Bavaria, reconsider. Gasthaus Hofmann is what those flagship restaurants quietly wish they could also do: honest country cooking, priced accessibly, executed well enough to earn back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025. The Bib Gourmand is Michelin's signal that a restaurant delivers quality above what its price point demands. At the €€ tier, Gasthaus Hofmann is one of the more credentialed options in its category in this part of Germany. Book it, especially if you have already been once and are ready to go deeper.
Gasthaus Hofmann sits at Schindelsee 1 in Rauhenebrach, a small commune in Upper Franconia. The name and address tell you what you are walking into before you arrive: a Gasthaus is a working inn or tavern, not a design-forward dining room, and the address is a hamlet address, not a city street. Visually, expect a room that reads as traditional Franconian hospitality — timber, practicality, the kind of interior that signals the kitchen is the priority, not the décor. For a returning guest, that continuity is part of the appeal. You are not coming here for a transformed space; you are coming because the food earns the return visit on its own terms.
Chef Michael Scherz runs a country cooking menu that works in the register Franconia does well: regional produce, technique that respects the ingredient, and portions that feel like they belong to the tradition rather than performing a version of it. Two consecutive Bib Gourmand awards confirm this is not a one-year anomaly. The 2025 recognition in particular matters: Michelin inspectors revisit, and holding the award a second year means the kitchen is consistent, not just occasionally good.
The wine question is worth addressing directly for anyone returning. Gasthaus Hofmann's price tier is €€, which typically means a wine list weighted toward regional producers at accessible price points rather than a deep cellar programme. In Franconia, that regional focus is a genuine asset. Franken wines — particularly the dry Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau bottlings from producers in the Main triangle , are structurally built for the kind of food Scherz cooks. They have enough body and mineral spine to hold against rich meat dishes and braised preparations without overwhelming the plate. If the list includes Franken Silvaner from the Würzburger Stein or Iphofen area, order it. It is the pairing argument for being here rather than at a restaurant with a more elaborate cellar but less regional coherence. For a repeat visitor, asking what is new on the Franken section of the list is a reasonable opening move; producers in the region release new vintages annually and small additions to a list like this can shift the pairing dynamic meaningfully.
If the wine program runs toward a short, well-chosen list rather than encyclopaedic depth, that is the right call at this price point. A Gasthaus with thirty focused bottles beats one with two hundred unfocused ones. The food-wine alignment here is the story, not the length of the list.
Gasthaus Hofmann sits at the €€ price range, which puts it well below the €€€€ bracket occupied by Germany's Michelin-starred fine dining circuit. Booking is rated easy, which reflects both the venue's rural location and its capacity relative to the demand it generates outside of peak Franconian tourism windows. That said, the Bib Gourmand recognition does draw guests from further afield, and weekend tables will fill faster than weekday ones. If you are returning for a second visit, a Friday or Saturday reservation benefits from being made at least two to three weeks ahead. Midweek is more forgiving. Phone and online booking details are not confirmed in our current data , check the venue directly for current reservation options. Rauhenebrach is a drive destination; if you are combining the meal with an overnight stay, see our full Rauhenebrach hotels guide and experiences guide for what pairs well with the trip.
Gasthaus Hofmann is the right call for a returning guest who wants to go further into the wine list, try different dishes across the menu, or bring someone new to Franconian country cooking without the financial commitment of a multi-star tasting menu. It is not the right call if you need a formal tasting-menu structure, a deep sommelier programme, or urban accessibility. For that version of Germany's fine dining offer, see JAN in Munich, Victor's Fine Dining by Christian Bau in Perl, or Waldhotel Sonnora in Dreis. For comparable Bib Gourmand-level country cooking elsewhere in Europe, 21.9 in Piobesi d'Alba and Andrea Monesi - Locanda di Orta in Orta San Giulio offer useful reference points in the same register. Also worth knowing: Bagatelle in Trier, Schanz in Piesport, and Restaurant Haerlin in Hamburg each represent a different price-point and format if the brief expands. See our full Rauhenebrach restaurants guide, bars guide, and wineries guide for everything else worth knowing in the area.
Two Bib Gourmands at €€ pricing in a rural Franconian setting is a specific and valuable thing. Gasthaus Hofmann does not try to be more than it is, and that discipline is exactly why it keeps earning Michelin's attention. If you have been once, you already know whether the cooking suits you. If it did, go back and work through the wine list more carefully. The regional pairing argument alone is worth the return trip.
4.6 out of 5 based on 267 Google reviews.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gasthaus Hofmann | Country cooking | €€ | Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| Aqua | Contemporary German, Italian/Japanese, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Schwarzwaldstube | French, Classic French | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| CODA Dessert Dining | Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Tantris | Modern French, French Contemporary | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Vendôme | Modern European, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Rauhenebrach for this tier.
Yes. A Bib Gourmand-recognised gasthaus at €€ pricing is one of the better formats for solo eating in Germany: you can work through the menu without the bill escalating and the setting is informal enough that dining alone does not feel awkward. Chef Michael Scherz runs a country cooking format that suits a single cover as well as a table of four.
The venue data does not confirm a formal tasting menu, so do not plan around one. What Gasthaus Hofmann does offer is Michelin Bib Gourmand-level cooking at €€ prices, which is the value case here. If a structured multi-course progression is your priority, Tantris or Vendôme operate in that format, at considerably higher price points.
Specific group capacity is not documented, but a traditional Franconian gasthaus format typically handles small-to-medium parties without difficulty. For larger groups or private events, check the venue's official channels via the address at Schindelsee 1, Rauhenebrach, as no phone or booking system is listed in current records.
Book as early as possible, especially for weekends. Two consecutive Bib Gourmands (2024 and 2025) will have put Gasthaus Hofmann on the radar for Franconia day-trippers and Michelin-aware travellers, and the rural location means there is no walk-in foot traffic to absorb — tables are the full business. Aim for at least two to three weeks in advance.
It works well for the kind of occasion where the meal itself is the point, not the theatre around it. Two Bib Gourmands signal consistent quality, and €€ pricing means you are not stretching a budget to justify the evening. For milestone celebrations where formal service and wine ceremony are expected, a Michelin-starred room like Tantris is a closer fit.
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