Munich likes to call itself the northernmost city in Italy, and the connection goes back a long way: the Osteria Italiana in the Maxvorstadt opened in 1890, then still as ‘Osteria Bavaria’, …
Munich likes to call itself the northernmost city in Italy, and the connection goes back a long way: the Osteria Italiana in the Maxvorstadt opened in 1890, then still as ‘Osteria Bavaria’, and was among the first restaurants in the city to specialise in Italian cooking. After the German-Italian recruitment agreement of 1955, around two million Italian workers came to West Germany by 1972. Since then Italian hosts have shaped the country’s food culture.
Today’s leading addresses have grown over decades. In Schwabing, Il Borgo has been cooking since 1989, and in Bogenhausen two fixtures sit on Mühlbaurstraße: Mario Gamba’s Acquarello, opened in 1994, and Hippocampus, founded in 1996. On the Nymphenburg Canal, Acetaia followed in 1999. What they share is handmade pasta and a distinctly Italian wine list; several restaurants also offer their own lunch menu, considerably cheaper than the evening menu.
Tip: Several upmarket Italian restaurants offer a weekday lunch menu well below the evening price, at Acquarello for example the three-course business lunch for €85 (Tuesday to Friday).
An Art Nouveau restaurant on the Nymphenburg Canal with a shady courtyard, aged balsamico and a large Italian wine list.
Mario Gamba’s ‘Cucina del Sole’ in Bogenhausen: a fixture of Italian haute cuisine in Munich since 1994.
A classic ristorante in Bogenhausen with walnut panelling, marble floors, around 160 Italian wines and strong fish cooking.
Information as of October 2026. Please check opening times and reservations directly with the restaurant.
