Munich restaurant recommendations

My favorite restaurant in Munich is Paulaner am Nockherberg, a moderatelyu upscale Bavarian restaurant and a brewery for Paulaner. About 2.5 km from Marienplatz, so not exactly in the Altstadt. You can get there via taxi or it is close to Tram #25. Interior is more modern and open, than dark and romantic. https://paulaner-nockherberg.com/en/

I like the Augustiner Klosterwirt, one of several Augustiner beer places in Munchen, which is just up the street from the Hunting and Fishing Museum, and just outside the entrance to the Frauenkirche. Much better than the Hofbrauhaus. You might also try the Atzinger Wirtshaus, which is a Lowenbrau property, up by the University.

Or you could just look for a "Keller", which is a place in the basement (cellar) like Ratskeller München under the old city hall (rathaus).

Munich is full of traditional restaurants, without too much difference in quality or selection, all pretty decent, so when walking, you could probably find a half dozen places meeting your needs.

One that I can recommend, having just been there in September, is near the Viktual Mart, so right in the heart of the old town, is Zum Alten Markt https://www.zumaltenmarkt.de/

They do a bit of a modern twist on traditional dishes, use lots of seasonal ingredients, and situated in a cozy little building. I found them to be lighter, tastier, and much more interesting than the list of Bavarian standards you get elsewhere, and would say they are a bit more upscale, though prices are reasonable. Take a look at the menu in the link above, if it fits your taste, then I suggest making a reservation. We had luck just showing up early, but the place filled up fast.

Thanks so much for these recommendations! Several are near our hotel and look enticing.

KGC, do you consider Augustiner Klosterwirt to be the best Augustiner restaurant in Munich? I will be in Munich in April/May and I want to get to an Augustiner restaurant.

It's my favorite of the Augustiner places, but that's more due to the location than anything else specific. It's been a couple years since I visited the beer garden in the English Gardens, but in the spring I think that has one of the best views. As for "best" that's subjective. I really like Schneider's which is an old student hangout across from McDonalds, just a block from the Marienplatz. A lot of the time I just eat on the go. It's not hard to find good food in Munich. The place I miss the most was off OskarvonMuller ring; a hole in the wall with Italian chef who'd had a 2 star place and was only open for 4 hours in the evenings. It's gone now.

We tried in july this year the restaurant
„Wirtshaus in der Au“ (Lilienstraße 51, 81669 München)
We liked our meal and liked the beer.

Augustiner Klosterwirt and also the one am Platzl are both great for what you are describing. They serve my favorite small sausage and sauerkraut as well as their dark beer. Ratskeller München is also a solid choice especially on a busy night without reservations since the place is HUGE! Good food and a great chocolate lava cake for dessert! We also liked the biergarten at the Viktualienmarkt and just getting some food from any of the stalls and sitting with a nice bier under the trees. Weather permitting of course. Hoffbrau would be low on my list.

English Garden Biergarten food was not as good as I remember in previous visits, but the setting makes up for it. Public trans and a short walk or you can take a taxi.

Ali's superfood right on the Marienplatz is also a great option for a nice Döner Kebap or wrap and a decent amount of to go food for less than 10 Euro. The gelato shop next door is amazing but they do all this dripping of the wad into the cone presentation so the line is always pretty long!

Thanks for the additional ideas! I'm now adding the market and English Garden as lunch spots.

Haxengrill is very good. A bit upscale, but not dressy, nice ambience, right in the heart of Altstadt. Ayinger am Platzl in Altstadt is also very good, nice ambience as well and not dressy.
https://haxengrill.com
https://www.ayinger-am-platzl.de

Almost all of the mentioned places will get you a good but basic dinner, wurst or haxe/schnitzel and, a dumpling and kraut. The beer is all good. I actually enjoy the Hofbrau Hause for the atmosphere and the band. I generally avoid eating in the brew houses. The food tends to be all the same.
If the idea is to get a good meal, I really like the kitchen at the Bauer in Feldkirchen. I recommend it over the others mentioned. It's a short train ride and bus trip away from Munich.

Great info here, thank you all.

My wife and I were in Bavaria for the last 3 weeks, including Munich. Last Saturday, early afternoon, we went to the Augustiner Wirtshaus. It's a good walk west of the Marienplatz, on the south side of the Kaufingerstrasse, and a bit past the Hunting & Fishing Museum. The front of the building has "Augustiner Brau Ausshank" engraved above the doors. Unfortunately, it was Saturday with a big fussball match in Munich, and the place was full of guys with FC Bayern jerseys. Any empty places had "Reserved" signs. So, no room for us. We walked back toward the Frauenkirche and ate at one of the outdoor cafe's along the side of the church. Pretty crowded, a bit expensive, but great food of course. Listened to the church bells from 1500 to 1515.

Days earlier, we had also gone to the Schneiderweisse place mentioned, across from MacDonalds and a big Lederhosen store. Great food as well. You can eat outside or inside. Not crowded at 2 pm.

BUT, what I wanna say:
Many years ago (before I was not so smart as I am now...) (!?), my wife and I and another couple were in the Augustiner place. Mark saw "Maitjesfilet" on the menu. I said "I don't know what that is, but this is Germany, it will some great tasting, big piece of meat". Oops. When our meals arrived, it was a large, cold, complete fish, with some lettuce and greens. Fortunately, our wives took pity and gave us some of their large, meat-centric meals. We laughed so hard, the folks nearby were laughing.

So Mary Beth, I think you should go to the Augustiner place, make sure "Maitjesfilet" is still on the menu, don't order it, and remember my story.

Thank you for listening...

Add another vote for Zum Alten Markt. They go well beyond the usual wurst-und-schnitzel that many Bavarian restaurants do so well. But I love Bavarian cuisine, and Munich and Salzburg suited my tastes to a tee. If you like it, good restaurants in Munich are thick on the ground.

I generally avoid eating in the brew houses. The food tends to be all the same.

That's true, with the exception of the Spatenhaus (opposite the Bayerisches Nationaltheater). However, it is also somewhat more expensive than the others.
If you're more into wine, the Pfälzer Weinstuben in the Residenz is the place to go. They have a large selection of Palatinate wines (after all, the Palatinate was Bavarian for a long time). The food is no better or worse than in the beer halls.

Thanks all for the wonderful suggestions.
@travelerguy - Yikes! I will definitely be using my translation app before I order any meals!!

Watch out for Google translate but also be wary of your recollection of high school or college German.
A colleague of mine and I were once taken to a very outstanding restaurant somewhere near Munich (I wish I could remember where) that specialized in wild game. He had been using his German skills throughout the day and had done reassembly well.
Looking at the menu, he lit up when he saw that they had venison. When it was his turn to order, he proudly proclaimed that he would like to order the Frisch geshissen Rehe. The waiter did not know quite how to react until I burst out laughing, at which point my colleague realized what he had done.

Yikes! I will definitely be using my translation app before I order any meals!!

I find just a regular Google Search does better than translate, restaurant dish names do not translate literally very well, and Google will usually give you a picture and and description, at least for the more common dishes. It also works better for main ingredients.

My favorite example is to consider a non-English speaker visiting the US and doing a literal translation of "Hot Dog"

My wife and I were just in Mittenwald, and there were some 4 choices of "Wildgerichte" meals. The one I chose was called "Wildererschmaus". My translate app said: "Poacher's Feast". It was my very favorite meal of the trip. Venison, wild boar (?), bacon, grilled mushrooms... amazing meal! E 19.80. The menu said it was all locally sourced.