Thursday, 22 August 2024
Forget about sushi, pizza, pasta, burgers, curries and other globalized commonplaces – in Dresden it's much easier to find hearty home-cooked dishes made from locally sourced ingredients rooted in local and regional food traditions. This does not necessarily mean German – mind you that the borders with Czechia and Poland are close, so many menus reflect influences rather from Eastern than Western or Southern European cuisines.
Many dishes include meat, yes, but all the places I am covering here have a decent selection of tasty vegetarian options readily available.
Old town
A few steps from the Altmarkt, just across Kreuzkirche you'll find Cafe Aha which is covered here. Longer west, facing the modern building of the University of Music in Schützengasse you may be surprised to find a small island of baroque buildings with a wild garden, housing the city's environmental centre, and a great disappointment: The cosy rustic wholefood restaurant on ground flour dubbed Brennnessel ("stinging nettle") once used organic ingredients and still can be found listed as an organic restaurant, but alas! – no more.
For a filling ayurvedic lunch or snack a few steps from the tram hub Pirnaischer Platz pay a visit to the
Qio bistro, in the vicinity of Cafe Aha. The place is a add-on to a small organic snack bakery – needless to say that you can buy their vegan sweet and savoury crackers made from legumes instead of wheat here alongside with a range of teas and other organic food items. On prior notice they also serve ayurvedic breakfast. So far I haven't had the opportunity to eat (or have a coffee) here, so let me know what you think.
Neustadt
For rustic food and surroundings head for one of the oldest independent pubs in town, the Planwirtschaft ("planned economy") in the Neustadt neighbourhood, popular since its beginnings as an illegal pub in the late GDR. On mezzanine level they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as coffee and cake while the basement houses a pub which opens in the evening. When it comes to their supplies they focus on buying from local farms and enterprises as the (unfortunately not organic) independent butcher's directly across the street or a tea shop next door from which they also source the organic teas on offer. The goat cheese is always organic. They used to have an organic meat dish (which was marked as "bio" on the menu), but unfortunately no longer. My vegan dish of the day (celeriac in a hearty plum-fragranced sause with polenta and green salad) was absolutely tasteful. Have a tasty organic apple cider or beer, and ask about organic ingredients.
Young German kitchen is the promise of the Lila Soße ("purple sauce") gastro bar within the eccentric
Kunsthofpassage with its small boutiques and lovely places. Apart from daily changing main courses (most of them meat or fish, and often with an Italian touch) you can order tasty German "tapas" to your liking – warm, cold and sweet – served in a glass as well as dips and bread. None of the courses are fully organic, but many ingredients are, and chances are high that you can combine cleverly if you ask. They offer organic softdrinks, but no organic alcoholic beverages.
Out of town
If you take the urban train number 2 from the Neustadt train station, either on the way to the airport or to a stroll in the woods of Dresdner Heide, get off Bahnhof Klotzsche (one stop before the airport) and have breakfast, lunch, tea or a snack in its 110 years old railway station. Since the folks of Vorwerk Podemus took over and restored the historical building in 2015 it has been home to a bicycle shop, an artist's studio, an organic supermarket, and the now fully organic station restaurant dubbed Bio-Bahnhofswirtschaft with its pleasant beergarden.
Travellers and ramblers may be glad to hear that they can fetch an organic breakfast or packed lunch on the go, though
unfortunately not on Sundays as the restaurant is closed that day.
The vineyards on the slopes of the river Elbe around Dresden form Europe's smallest, most northern wine region, and fortunately the Saxon state winery of Hoflößnitz in Radebeul turned organic. The small town located west of Dresden on the northern shore of the river is famous for the writer of travel fiction, Karl May and its Museum of North American Indian Culture and can be reached easily, both by urban train, tram no. 4 and bicycle. Follow the Elberadweg cycle route on the southern shore, cross the bridge at Niederwartha and turn back east on the northern shore cycle route through Radebeul until you find signposts pointing to the vineyards on the hill.
The Hoflößnitz winery has a small self-service restaurant, the Hoflößnitzer Weinterasse, with an outdoor seating area shaded by horsechestnut trees from where you have a great view over the grapewines and the valley while tasting the local wines. All wines, but not all the food are organic: Your best choice is the "Winzerplatte" – home-made white bread with pickles, a little salad and a number of spreads of your choice of which the bread and the vegan spreads are organic.
There's also a small museum with information on all Saxon wineries and a wine shop where you can buy their products, mainly white and sparkling wines. Stick to Hoflößnitz for organic ones.
No longer organic
In 2012, when the
Mensa U-Boot ("submarine") on the campus of the Technical University on the campus of the Technical University was opened after major refurbishment work
it was re-opened as a fully organic students' refectory offering
one vegetarian and one omnivore meal at a very competitive price. All food and drinks at that time were certified organic. Unfortunately this is no longer the case in 2022: Given low frequent visits during the Corona pandemic the staff decided to not prolong their organic certification and turn to cheaper ingredients.
Closed
The following places ceased to exist, although you still may find references to them on the web:
-
Lilisou, Louisenstr. 58 (vegetarian, burgers, soups, curries)
- Lingner, Lingnerpl. 1 (German, international)
-
ElectricLotus, Louisenstr. 58 (vegetarian, ayurvedic, Indian)
- Abutheke, Alaunstr. 68a (Middle-Eastern)
- roots, Hauptstr. 35 (vegan fast food)
- Wurzelküche, Alaunstr. 11 (vegan)
2024-08-22 17:00:00
[Dresden, Radebeul, Elbe_cycle_route, Elberadweg, Neustadt, vegan, organic, coffee, lunch, dinner, snacks, restaurant, pub, wine, beergarden]
[direct link · table of contents]
Monday, 03 June 2024
With the word Hof meaning "farm" in German it is a tough job to search the web for organic places in this nice medieval town in Franconia. To many the name of the city may be known as the first West-German train station on a train ride crossing the border between the two former German states, the GDR and the FRG, but in fact the city dates back to around 1230. Extra state fonds for being a frontier town are a thing of the past, but the town still has a philharmonic orchestra, a theatre and a noteworthy film festival. It's frequently reachable by regional trains (e.g. two hours from Nuremberg or 2.5 hours from Leipzig or Dresden) and has a beautiful station building. The city is also a nice stop when you take the Saale-Radweg bicycle route, if only to get a glimpse of an archetypal West-German city of the 1990ies.
Daily necessities
Located between the main train station and the centre of the old town you will find
Voll gut, a traditional owner-run organic supermarket. Pick a tomato or other small vegetable, choose some cheese and a roll, and the friendly shop keeper will prepare a sandwich for you, to take away or to eat at the sole coffee table with an organic coffee drink or tea. There's no dedicated zero waste corner with gravity bins, but you will find a decent selection of dry food in deposit glasses as well as dairy products, plant-based milk alternatives and beverages in returnable glasses and bottles. Some cottage cheeses and preserved meat spread come in glasses which you can return without a deposit.
Hof isn't far from Töpen, the homebase of one of Germany's major organic wholesale traders, Dennree, and hence the city's branch of the affiliated Biomarkt supermarkets, the
Biomarkt Speisekammer in the neighbourhood of Alsenberg (south of the main train station) may count as a local organic supplier. The shop emerged from a smaller traditional organic shop in Ludwigstraße.
Of course, there's also a traditional health-food shop in the pedestrian area of the inner city, the
Reformhaus "Gesund&fit". As in any other Reformhaus you'll find organic dry food and sweets, dairy products and vegetarian alternatives, bakery products, herbs and spices, tea and beverages, canned food and preserves, natural bodycare and sustainable cleaning agents, but only about half of it is organically certified, so check labels if unsure.
Sweets, chocolates, tea and more
If you like tea for real you should better pay a visit to one of the city's tea specialist shops.
Tea 4 You near Lorenzkirche offers a decent selection of organic green, black and herbal teas. Bring your own tea boxes or jars to avoid waste.
More organic tea as well as organic seeds can be found at the
Alraune tea shop in the Westend neighbourhood. The shop moved recently, so do not be surprised if you find it listed under its old address on the opposite side of traffic-heavy Marienstraße, in number 52.
If you have a sweet tooth pay a visit to the
Feinzeugs confectioner's store in the old town. It's not dedicated organic, but there's a decent selection of organic sweets, cookies, olives, oil and other delicatessen. They used to sell the city's official organic and fair-trade certified chocolate, the "Hofschokolade",
produced by the city's oldest confectioners', the
Viennese style coffee house Café Vetter, but this city marketing product does no longer exist.
The cafe is located in the Münsterviertel, a nice neighbourhood dating from the Wilhelminian period, to the right of the attached bakery shop. With its red plush chairs it invites to have an organic tea or coffee drink. Unfortunately this artisanal bakery cum confectionery does not use organic ingredients.
Just like the Voll gut supermarket it accepts the local "currency", the Hof Geld, a re-usable plastic card voucher scheme supporting the local economy.
There's a second Café Vetter branch
by the city's hospital. However, I wouldn't expect more organic items in these surroundings.
Coffee and lunch
For partially organic, vegetarian or vegan lunch and/or an organic coffee drink with or without a piece of home-made cake head to cafe
Jasmin, indoors lovingly decorated with small figures and other nick-nack.
It's the place where you, in other cities, would expect to mingle with students, artists, young parents with prams and/or health-conscious office workers during their lunch break. However, just as in any other shop I managed to visit during my lunch break and on my way to the train station in the early afternoon, it was far from crowded, despite the outdoor seating and the beautiful summer weather.
Artisanal toys and gifts
Wooden toys and games, doll houses, pottery, candles, stationary, oils, honey, liqueurs and other high-quality products made by people with handicaps can be found at the
Invito manufactory shop in the suburb of Stelzenhof. The nice shop near Lorenzpark unfortunately does no longer exist.
More to try
Without doubt a hundred percent organic or (when it comes to body care and household chemistry) of natural origin are the products of
Violey,
a leading and reliable organic webshop in Germany. They ran a nice chemist's shop in the old town, opposite the townhall (Rathaus),
but when I came there in summer 2022 I came a little too late: A few weeks ago the shop closed for good, in favour of an outlet store on the premises of their warehouse which I did not have time to visit.
Closed
2024-06-03 21:00:00
[Hof, Hof_Saale, Saale-Radweg, organic, vegan, coffee, lunch, snacks, cafe, supermarkets, grocery, bodycare, zero_waste]
[direct link · table of contents]
Saturday, 01 June 2024
Traditional corner stores in general have been almost extinguished from the streets of Munich, surviving mainly in the form of immigrant grocery stores which unfortunately rarely stock organic items. However, there are a few survivers from the time when organic was an unknown word in supermarket chains: small supermarkets equipped with wooden shelves and as crammed to the brim as possible for orderly German souls. Usually they have everything you need for your daily life, just give you fewer choice between brands and varieties. Sometimes you'll find delicatessen the big players don't stock, and fresh produce is as fresh as from their competitors. Prices may be a few cents higher than the cheapest option in one of the retail chains, but you will be surprised to learn that many products actually are less expensive in a corner shop. In addition you may have a chat with the shop assistants, sometimes the owners themselves, and usually will be given a competent answer to questions you may have. Many of these shops have some tables and chairs where you can have a coffee, snack or vegetarian lunch.
Groceries
The (to my knowledge) oldest full retail organic neighbourhood shop in town, theLebascha in Haidhausen, was run collectively by a bunch of friendly women until they retired. The shop would have been lost for the neighbourhood if not the distributor had been tieing up strings with the community supported co-operative Ökoesel ("eco donkey" is derived from a pet name for bicycles – "Drahtesel" – as they started up as a bicycle delivery service) in Neuhausen. Since 9th of July, 2022 the base line of the shop has been financed by membership fees (depending on self-assessment), but Lebascha continues to be open for everyone: None-members simply pay (a usually low) market-price, members are entitled to discounts (usually between 12 and 20 percent). With its (conventional) liquorice shop-in-shop (to my knowledge offering the largest selection liquorice in town) the Lebascha also is a hot tip for aficionados. An assortment of loose-weight herbs and spices, and a basic range of loose-weight cereals, nuts, legumes and grains, detergents and soap make the Lebascha the only surviving zero-waste shop near Ostbahnhof. Note that it is closed on Wednesdays and does not accept cards, but members may chalk up and pay later.
A few corners away from tube stop Implerstraße in Sendling the neighbourhood grocery Hollerbusch ("elderbush") offers
vegan and vegetarian lunch as well as yoga, pilates or singing lessons in a backroom.
The shop is also a delivery hub for the Munich based community supported agriculture project Kartoffelkombinat and offers gravity bins to refill dry food and reduce package waste.
Immigrant shops and traditional corner stores
While these small supermarkets cater for all daily necessities including fresh fruits and veges there's no such thing as an all-organic immigrant grocery focussing on the latter and supplementing with a selection of dry goods and delicatessen from their owner's place of birth. The nearest you come is Giesinger Fruchtmarkt near tube-stop Kolumbusplatz. As about three quarters of the fruits and veges as well as most of the Italian delicatessen are conventional you have to carefully watch out for the bio keyword. Apart from organic greens they also offer organic choices for olive oil, wine, pasta and cheese.
A similar owner-run mini market, Varieta am Körner Eck, is located in the Glockenbach neighbourhood, on Auenstraße between the Reichenbach and the Cornelius bridges. The bakery items are all organic, and organic products in the self-service area are clearly marked "bio" on the shelf. The shop offers a lot of directly imported Italian dry food, but unfortunately none of it in organic quality. Also most of the fresh fruits and veges are conventionally produced.
Remember the tales of parents or grandparents about the corner shop they went to as children to buy a single sweet which the shop keeper would put down on a list for their parents to pay later on when they came to shop bread, milk, veges and all the ingredients for the home-cooked meal? The spirit of these shops from the past you may find left in some immigrant shops and this is the reason why I list the Viktualieneck in Bogenhausen in this section. I learned about this crammed greengrocer's shop opposing the newly build neighbourhood of Prinz-Eugen-Park on my quest for shops supporting package-free shopping, but when I went there it turned out a likeable traditional supermarket offering
fresh fruits and veges, regional delicatessen, bread and rolls, wine and all kinds of food. About half of it is organic, namely all the bakery products and certainly more than half of the pre-packaged food. Most of the fresh fruits and veges come from a conventional local market garden
– the turnaround for organic greens wasn't good enough among his customers, and his emphasis was on avoiding waste the shop keeper told me. Package-free shopping is possible for all fruits and veges as well as all items from the bakery, meat and cheese counter.
I cannot tell you whether the shop chalks up for trustworthy customers, but if you are in the vicinity support this shop instead of the supermarket chains nearby.
Delicatessen
The upmarket contrast to these somewhat shabby grocery stores is naturally to be found in the posh neighbourhood of the Lehel:
Studio Hindiba offers oils, herbs and condiments, olives, all types of rice, the famed ferments of Berlin's Markus Shimizu, a carefully selected range of wines and other predominantly organic delicatessen. For the smaller purse it may be just a beautyful shop to marvel at, but if your budget isn't painfully tight it's the perfect place to shop a foodie gift for someone special.
A few steps from Wiener Platz you'll find Steinbeißer, a cosy owner-driven deli advertising 'regional specialities'. Take this with a grain of salt – the organic Italian olive oil and Scandinavian candies (not organic) are small-scale produce specific to their region of origin, but certainly not from the greater Munich area. Most meat products come from small-scale Austrian farms which are likely to produce according to near-organic principles. Certified organic products unfortunately do not dominate the pleasantly arranged tables and shelves with artisanal products – predominantly foodstuffs and wine, but you may ask the owner about the provenance of his fare.
Wine, pepper and coffee from carefully selected small-scale producers, that's the focus of Grenzgänger ("border crosser"), a lovely shop directly located at the beautiful Bordeaux-Platz in Haidhausen, just opposite Café Reichshof. When you come here during the cold season you may find yourself welcomed by the warmth of a fireplace, and you can get a speciality coffee (14 types of Arabica to choose from) into your own mug. During covid-19 restrictions cream-ware cups aren't provided, so if you come without a mug you will be charged an extra 20 cent for a plastics-free one-way cup.
Unfortunately most of the products aren't certified organic, with the notable exception of the Demeter-certified honey and bee wax candles of a local beekeeper who is working in accordance with biodynamic principles, i.e. the gold standard for animal welfare.
Specializing in cheese and supplements – wine, olives, oil, herbs, condiments, to name a few – the Luigino's booth in the Southern part of Viktualienmarkt, opposite the crossing of Reichenbachstraße and Blumenstraße is the perfect place to shop for a picnic or the no-frills romantic candle light dinner. Once an almost entirely organic cheese booth the percentage of organic products on sale has diminished during the past years: mainly due to the advent of artisanal, yet conventional Italian cured meats, partially due to a lesser focus on organic labels on the selection of cheeses.
When ordering an Italian-style sandwich to take away you may wish to enquire about the ingredients and probably stick to the vegetarian ones since the Italian cured meat products usually are not organic.
The owner once run a delicatessen in Maxvorstand which was replaced by an organic ice-cream parlour in 2018.
Herbs and spices
Not exactly a spice bazaar, but a pleasant spice and herbs shop Gewürze der Welt ("spices of the world") had a long tradition on its former location in Thiereckstraße in the very city centre, but when the historic Ruffini house re-opened after a two-year period of restoration work in 2020, the shop moved back to its roots in the Sendlinger Straße (now) pedestrian area. As the name suggests you will find a world of spices, herbs, blends and condiments, a notable part of them in organic quality.
Munich's first organically certified herbalist is tucked away in a non-descript side road near Sendlinger-Tor-Platz, just a few steps aside the remnants of the Glockenbach neighbourhood's famous queer bars. Light and friendly the
Kräutergarten offers all kinds of organic dried herbs, spices, natural cosmetics and the like.
Sonnentor, the leading Austrian producer of organic herbs and spices, has a shop in Munich, too: Located in the basement of
Stachus-Passagen, a generally boring shopping mall a level above this central urban train and tube station, it's probably not the shop that you'll find by accident while taking a stroll through the city. Apart from herbs, spices and condiments they also have a selection of natural body care – an easy place to shop for a nice last-minute give-away.
Special shops
The only operating corn mill in Munich with its cosy mill shop is located in a small street a few steps from the tourist hotspots of Marienplatz and Hofbräuhaus. The Hofbräuhaus-Kunstmühle offers all types of flour, bruised grains, semolina, bran and cereals, predominantly of corn grown in the region. An increasing number of these artisanal products are organic, so watch out for the 'bio' keyword on the classic paper bags or the listings of the web shop. These products are also the base ingredients for the artisanal home bakery E. Knapp & R. Wenig next door where you can buy hand-made bread and rolls based on traditional, predominantly Munich recipes. The mill shop also stocks a selection of organic dried fruit, olive oil, raising agents and other baking ingredients as well as dry breads like South-Tyrolean Schüttelbrot.
Another very special mono-themed shop, Hanf – der etwas andere Bioladen, sells everything containing THC-free hemp: beer, lemonades, cookies, bars, tea, ice-cream, chocolates, body care, clothes, liquids, pet food and more. Although the name suggests it not all products are certified organic, especially not in the non-food range, but the sheer number of goods based on this versatile plant is quite impressive. The main shop (which is closed on Mondays) isn't located in the most inviting part of town but can easily be reached from Leuchtenbergring urban train stop. But wait: in 2019 a second one opened at a tourist-friendly location between Isartor and Marienplatz.
Ceased to exist
The following places shut down and were replaced by other, not organic ones. So don't be confused when you find references to them on the web:
2024-06-01 10:45:00
[Munich, Haidhausen, Schwabing, Lehel, Maxvorstadt, organic, lunch, snacks, coffee, supermarkets, deli, grocery, Italian, vegan, hemp, flour, mills, fashion, bodycare, spices, herbs, delicatessen, eatery, zero_waste, unverpackt]
[direct link · table of contents]
Saturday, 13 April 2024
For an organic or at least partially organic lunch you have far more options than full-fledged restaurants or cafes with lunch options: There are a lot of eateries mainly catering for people working or studying nearby, shopping or travelling. You order your food and drinks at the counter, pay and find a place to sit down with your tray. However, if you come off the peak hours you will often be served, or the staff will offer to bring your coffee to your table after you finished your meal.
Just a few years ago this type of eating opportunity was almost exclusively offered by
owner-run organic groceries, usually taking the form of hearty vegetarian wholefood and sandwiches. Nowadays it's a much more volatile market
-- hip places come and go more frequent than in other categories.
Many of them have opening hours matching those of the cornershops – closed on Sundays, in the evening, and often also on Saturday afternoons.
Near the university (Maxvorstadt)
The streets near the university buildings in Maxvorstadt are a natural place to look for places offering organic food, and they've seen a lot of shops popping up and closing down. Two long-established, though very different eateries are worth a try, both located in Amalienstraße: the Mutter Erde grocery offering vegan meals and the Pommesboutique grill. The latter was one of the first places in town to take no compromises with regard to meat, but it is following a more laissez-faire approach when it comes to the veges and condiments. So you have to ask about the origin of the latter if you care. All the sausages, burger patties, köfte and other (minced) meat come from an organic farm in the vicinity, and you can choose from a huge range of sauces. If you prefer your fries chewy – this is the place for you. Sometimes the tables are a bit too greasy for my liking, but with a little luck you come along when they have live music.
If you prefer your meat the Mexican way walk around the corner into Schellingstraße for Pureburrito, the second branch of a small climate-neutrally cooking local fast food chain serving burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Unfortunately only pork and beef are organic, not the chicken, and you will find organic softdrinks of the Bionade brand in the fridge. There's another branch (much) farther up the street, near tube station Theresienstraße. All Pureburrito branches are closed on Sundays.
Build-your-own bowls and rolls with predominantly organic ingredients can be had at (and ordered from) Greens & Grains.
Even if the concept can become a little boring after a while it's an easy way to bring vegans, vegetarians and omnivores together for a quick and healthy lunch.
If you aren't very hungry it's a good idea to bring along a box to take leftovers home as the servings are huge.
The place is self-serviced and doesn't allow anonymous payments, only cards.
The second branch at Max-Weber-Platz does no longer exist.
City centre
To find organic food late on an evening out is a challenge in itself – night birds usually do not tend to be picky about the origin of calories at this hour. But if you enter the party zone Sonnenstraße (or spend an evening in one of the cinemas) the Bikini Mitte deli and bar comes to the rescue, conveniently located opposite a petrol station. During the day it's a decent, partially organic eatery offering bowls and sandwiches, usually made with organic veges, alongside organic soft drinks of the Proviant and Charitea brands. Bread and meat (apart from the occasional pulled pork) are not organic. Apart from Sunday the place keeps open until midnight, catering until the early hours Thursday through Sunday, and since the bar stocks locally produced organic gin, wodka and amaro (alongside a wide range of conventional spirits) your drinking can always be responsible.
The place may be known as "Bon Valeur" to locals as this is its former name (and the name of the company running it).
Just a few steps away, you'll also find the newest Pureburrito branch in the basement of the Stachus-Passagen mall.
The multi-cultural quarter in the vicinity of the central train station with its special mixture of electronic and immigrant shops should be the natural place to find organic food from the Levant, but only in 2020 a happy crowd of young Bavarian chefs with different roots opened Servus Habibi, a pita, hummus and falafel place cum (outside corona) bar serving organic meat and home-made pickles. Unfortunately none of the drinks are organic. Note that the place is closed on Wednesdays. If you are in the mood for falafel on this weekday try Beirut Beirut in Sendling.
Another organic institution of old is Leo's Organic Kitchen near Isartor.
It started
as "Basic Bistro" in 2010, changed its name to "Byoo" when the organic supermarket on the first floor opened its own self-service eatery and changed it once again following its 10th anniversary, but the general the concept has not changed much since. So climb the stairs to this 100 percent organic place run by a friendly Vietnamese family, their extremely tasty, perfectly spiced (vegan) Saigon soup is worth it! Vegans, vegetarians and omnivores are all catered for with a happy fusion cuisine, often with an oriental touch. If you can't decide for one of the usually two soups and six main courses on the daily changing menu you can still pick from the antipasti and salads bar. A family-friendly place they will happily heap a helping of a side dish on your plate if you ask. They usually do not offer dessert, but you can have a freshly squeezed smoothie or an Italian-style coffee and cake, or simply a freshly brewed mint tea made from fresh herbs. Bring along your own jars if you you wish to take your food with you.
When taking a stroll through the Viktualienmarkt market gourmet restaurants like the Tian aren't your only lunch option: A few steps away (opposite Schrannenhalle) you'll find Yum 2 Take, an (evening open)
Thai eatery and take-away serving organic meat.
Hearty, fully organic German lunch is being served at the Bistro ÖQ in the back of the Virtualienmarkt branch of the Herrmannsdorfer Landwerkstätten organic butcher's. Usually you will be waited but better keep your eyes open whether it seems more appropriate to order directly from the open kitchen and at the end go and pay there. Naturally this is a place for omnivores and meat-lovers but there's always a tasty vegetarian dish available. The kitchen draws both, from German and Italian countryside kitchen traditions, serving mouth-watering risotti and pasta dishes as well as a piece of meat or fish with side-dishes, following seasonal availability and properly prepared. For the real Munich experience do not miss their potato salad (not suitable for strict vegetarians, though)!
Carnivores and beer-lovers are also catered for a few steps away, in the mumble-jumble of Viktualienmarkt: The market stall of Kleiner Ochs'nbrater ("little ox grill") serves Munich fast food specialities, which naturally means beer and meat. Have a Leberkäs (meat loaf), sausage or pork roast (Schweinebraten) – (except for the beef and some side dishes) it's all organic, locally sourced and tasty – as are the Brezn (pretzel) and the drinks (beer, wine, softdrinks). It can be difficult to find a place to sit down, so watch out before you order a dish on a plate. Even though the Viktualienmarkt is a tourist hot spot, it's one where tourists and locals mingle (opposed to e.g. the legendary Hofbräuhaus).
On nice weather days the grill may keep open a little longer than 6 pm. Note that it is closed both, on Mondays and Sundays.
The time of the vegan hotdog shop
Organic Garden behind Heiliggeist church is gone,
but the former chef of the male German football national team is now running the refectory of the Bavarian state ministry of agriculture, forestry and tourism the which is open to the public for lunch.
If you prefer low-processed plant-based food head for the Glockenbachviertel. Here
Noams Deli offers filling bowls and hearty one-pot wonders as stews or curries
predominantly (if not only) made with organic ingredients. Bring a jar if your appetite isn't huge, to take the remainders with you, as the clean-eating inspired dishes often are more filling than anticipated. On nice weather days the outdoor tables allow for people-watching while having a coffee drink and perhaps a banana bread, brownie, or raw sweet. The shop with its stylish, polished wooden interior isn't open in the evening, but on the other hand its focus on healthy
food may be too much for the night.
There's a second Noams branch in the university town of Gießen.
Near Ostbahnhof station
On the East side of the railway tracks, inside the developing Werksviertel party, start-up, and cultural area there's a Pureburrito branch serving Mexican style street food with organic pork and beef (see here). Unfortunately party-goers will be disappointed since it stops serving food by 9 pm.
Haidhausen with its majority vote for the Green Party has several organic hotspots, and one of them is Elsässer Straße East of Bordeauxplatz. A few steps from Haidhauser Oase, next to an organic bakery and opposite the organic neighbourhood grocery Lebascha you'll find Erbil's, the only vegan doner kebap shop in town. Instead of meat you'll get organic seitan, and some (but not all) of the vegetables also are organic. Choose an organic softdrink or beer from the fridge, but have an eye on organic labels since not everything is organic. They also serve organic tea and tisanes and use organic oat drink for coffee drinks. Unfortunately they do not sell baklava for dessert during covid-19 restrictions, instead you can choose from a number of home-made cakes for take away.
More vegan lunch in the form of Israelian-style vegan mezze can be had just a few steps away at Oliver offering an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at the very competitive price of 10 EUR. The friendly owner assured me that all of the ingredients except herbs and spices were organic. You can also borrow a blanket and picnic basket and take your lunch to the park at Bordeauxplatz. Lunch time stops when everything is sold, and you may of course use your own jars and boxes for take-away. In the afternoon and evenings step by for
hand-rolled vegan ice-cream, freshly prepared while you wait: A plant-drink based "batter" is poured onto a freezer plate, stirred with fruit, berries, home-made cookies, nuts and other flavourings you specify, frozen to a thin sheet of ice-cream, rolled up and served in a bowl.
When the weather is nice and warm the shop keeps open until 10 pm on weekdays except on Mondays when it is closed.
If you proceed in direction Max-Weber-/Wiener Platz (coming from Rosenheimer Platz or Ostbahnhof you may take the tram) to the tram stop Wörthstraße (and can resist beautiful, fully organic Cafe Reichshof on your way) you'll reach Würzbar. The name of this pleasant ayurvedic vegetarian eatery, cafe and spice shop is a pun derived from the verb "würzen" (to spice up) and "bar" (as bar) and the homonymous suffix "-bar" meaning "to be capable of something". The food is all organic (as are the drinks), but not all of the products for sale are certified.
As of July 2022, there's unfortunately no gastro service, but let's hope the eatery will be back soon.
On busy Rosenheimer Straße, a few steps from the Ohne zero-waste shop the
Heartbeet salad bar serves salads and bowls. All
veges, the ice-cream and some (non-alcoholic) drinks are organic,
and at an extra price you can get organic eggs on top of your bowl. It's a heaven for clean-eating lovers, but if you love spices this isn't a place for you. The concept had been a success story during corona delivery and take-away, leading to the opening of branches in Neuhausen and w/in the Feinkost Käfer deli near Münchner Freiheit, but they had to close again. Insist to get your food in deposit dishes if not bringing your own boxes. If you cannot fetch you order by bicycle yourself their delivery service will pedal it to you.
Located directly at Weißenburger Platz Spoon Up offers hearty soups and stews for lunch and promises to use regional, often organic produce. Unfortunately the only organic ingredient visible on the daily menu is meat which is marked as 'bio'.
Bogenhausen and Englischer Garten
There's a second Herrmannsdorfer Bistro ÖQ near Effner-Platz (also see here).
On the opposite shore of the river Isar, on the Eisbach not far from the famous surf wave near Haus der Kunst you'll find a former public convenience turned into a tiny cafe: Fräulein Grüneis offers no more than a handful indoor seats, during the cold season heated by a small wood oven, but as long as the weather allows for it you may prefer to have your lunch or coffee outside anyway, under the trees of the Englischer Garten park.
For lunch you can have a soup, one-pot dish or curry, vegetarian or omnivore.
The meat is always organic as is the beer, for soft drinks stick to the charitea brand. Apart from this the owners promise to use as much local and organic produce as possible, but if you want to be certain you have to ask. Avoid the ice-cream, the (small-scale local) Eizbach lemonade and the sweets by the piece, all of them without doubt conventionally produced.
Schwabing
The Yum 2 take Thai restaurant has a second branch on Hohenzollernplatz.
Ludwigsvorstadt and Sendling
A few meters from tube station Goetheplatz you'll find the mother branch of the Pureburrito chain.
Tube stop Implerstraße is the right direction for the best (and partially organic) falafel in town: The Beirut Beirut is not only a great place for take away, but also offers sufficient seating inside since they moved away from their old shop in Valleystr. While the Lebanese wine unfortunately isn't organic there's a choice of organic spritzers ("Schorle") from local producers. For more Lebanese food you may also pay a visit to their sister restaurant Manouche, now a few street corners away offering Levantine "pizza", coffee, sweets and other delicious snacks.
The Neulinger bakery also runs self-services lunch cafes on their two locations near the Großmarkthalle (Munich's biggest market hall offering fruits and veges for retail) and in the meat packing district.
Hadern
A short walk from tube stop Großhadern you'll find a Vollcorner supermarket with a work day open, 100 percent organic breakfast and lunch restaurant, before the covid-19 pandemic known as Cucina, now dubbed Vollcorner Deli. Here you can choose between soups, stews, salads, bowls and sandwiches and of course have a coffee drink with a piece of cake.
Westend
The Vollcorner supermarket on Schwanthalerhöhe (next to Theresienwiese and hence good to know if you attend the annual Oktoberfest beerfest) has a deli cum cafe which invites for a small meal or snack.
For a more elaborated breakfast or lunch follow Schwanthalerstraße into the Westend neighbourhood and stop by Das Kulinariat. Whether you'll opt for a vegetarian course, a traditional Bavarian organic Weißwurst breakfast or their speciality – Eggs Benedict – chances are high that some of the greens on your plate have been grown right in the surprisingly spacious backyard. Additional veges come from a local organic farmer, and almost everything is organic here in this culinary gem with its light and modern, predominantly wooden interior.
Pasing
A second Vollcorner Deli opened 5th September, 2019 in the former "Erdgarten" organic supermarket near Pasinger Marktplatz.
Shut down
The following (partially) organic eateries are closed for good:
- Basic Biobuffet, Herzogstr. 129
- Buxs, Frauenstr. 9 (city centre)
- Greens & Grains, Max-Weber-Pl. 11
- Greeny's, Tal 42 near Isartor (city centre)
- Soupmama, Frauenstr. 2 opposite Viktualienmarkt (city centre)
near Viktualienmarkt (city centre)
- Brotzeit bei Herrmannsdorfer, Holzstr. 24 (Glockenbachviertel)
- Annapurna (former Ganesh), Wörthstr. 7 (Haidhausen)
- Grilly's, Rosenheimer Str. 117 (Haidhausen)
- Iss dich glücklich, Preysingstr. 42 (replaced by the Sorry Johnny coffee bar)
- Heartbeet, Nymphenburger Str. 84
- Heartbeet w/in Feinkost Käfer, Leopoldstr. 57
- Lecker-Bissen, Theresienstr. 27 (Maxvorstadt)
- Little Habibi, Fraunhoferstr. 32
- Organic Garden Signature Store, Heiliggeiststr. 1
- Organic Garden Eatery inside Mercedes Benz Studio Odeonsplatz, Brienner Str. 1
- So Ham inside Jivamukti Yoga studio, Buttermelcherstr. 11–15
- Sweekies, Wendl-Dietrich-Str.4 near Rotkreuzplatz (Neuhausen)
- Bio-Brüder, Ottostr. 67 (Ottobrunn)
2024-04-13 20:00:00
[Munich, Giessen, organic, bar, eatery, breakfast, lunch, coffee, clean, vegan, vegetarian, Bavarian, German, Lebanese, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, grill, burgers, doner_kebap, falafel, streetfood, Maxvorstadt, Haidhausen, Hadern, Neuhausen, Pasing, Schwabing, Sendling, Werksviertel, Westend, Eisbach, Englischer_Garten]
[direct link · table of contents]
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
If you are looking for pioneers in the German zero waste movement you'll find one of them in Dresden's Neustadt neighbourhood:
Bring a selection of glasses, containers and bags and stop by Lose ("loose-weight"), a cosy zero-waste corner store in Böhmische Straße. Unlike other package-free supermarkets this one does not only sell dry food, natural body care and household chemicals but also offers veges and has a cheese counter. Although most of the products are organic some are not, so you might want to check the labels on the suspenders for the bio keyword or ask.
The interior of the shop was refurbished and is now much lighter and seems spacier than before. The reason for this is that the coffee corner which had been there before the corona pandemic has decreased and the serviced counter for bakery products, cheeses, antipasti and coffee moved from the entrance area to the backpart of the shop. Mind you: like other package-free shops Lose does not have an illuminated window front, so be brave to try the door handle – the place may look quite dark even when open.
Supermarkets with zero-waste stations
Moreover all shops of the co-operatively organised local wholesale chain VG Biomarkt offer a good selection of loose-weight organic dry goods (in addition to an abundance of often locally produced fruit and veges and dairy products and drinks of all kinds in returnable glass bottles).
Their main shop is located near
Bahnhof Mitte train station, an entire organic warehouse on the premises of a former newspaper printing plant. Standing back from the main street the first floor is occupied by an organic convenience store supporting your zero-waste efforts. On the second floor there's a well assorted organic fashion store mainly for babies, children and women, with a section offering organic body care, household chemicals, sustainably produced toys, stationary and more.
For members prices are lower, but the shop is open to everyone.
On weekdays the self-service bistro directly facing the street offers delicious lunch (only snacks on Saturdays), and there's a cafe cum bakery shop featuring young local artists.
VG Biomarkt also has branches in the neighbourhoods of Neustadt (Hechtviertel), Striesen, Johannstadt, Strehlen, and Loschwitz,
Mind you that the one in Striesen, at Polandplatz isn't easy to find: Opposite the triangular park there's a driveway which one can easily miss as no sign at the entrance points to the shop. Be brave an move past, you'll find the shoü at the right hand site.
If you want to return empties, find the appropriate crate in the entrance area, pin down its code, tell the cashier and put the glass or bottle at the appropriate place.
The Loschwitz branch dubbed VG Balsamico is conveniently located
opposite the downhill station of the cable-run suspension railway ("Schwebebahn") next to
Körnerplatz at the northern end of Blaues Wunder ("blue wonder") bridge.
Opening hours and assortment (of loose-weight products as of products in returnable glasses) vary depending on the size of the market and the neighbourhood. However, all VG markets offer free drinking water refill stations and you can book cargo bikes to transport your purchase home free of charge.
While many organic groceries were closing, the Verbrauchergemeinschaft opened a new large supermarket with attached self-service restaurant cum cafe in 2023: The
VG Friedensstraße offers and abundance of loose weight and unpackaged products. Want to shop products grown or made in the vicinity? Watch out for the green "RP" ("regional partner") logo.
While these local groceries were early adopters a number of nation-wide operating organic supermarket chains have been following. In Dresden the two remaining branches of the Berlin-based supermarket chain Bio Company introduced dry food suspenders for use with your own jars.
In 2021 the Denns Biomarkt was the first branch of this chain where I found a dedicated shelf with fairly traded dry food in retour glasses and a few gravity bins with nuts, seeds, rice and noodles. A start at least, although I have my doubts that this small selection will be sufficient to nudge people towards the extra effort it takes to bring along glasses and jars.
Without offering gravity bins the Vorwerk Podemus farm supermarkets supports package-free efforts, too: Hand over your own clean boxes and bags when buying meat and meat products, cheese, bread, rolls or cake from the services counter, and prefer returnable glass bottles and glasses when choosing jogurt, honey and jams.
Farmshops and factory outlets
When you take the Elberadweg bicycle route on the southern shore in direction Niederwartha you'll pass a nice old farmyard, the organic Bauernhof Franz in Niedergohlis. It runs a subscription scheme – phone in or e-mail your order until Wednesday and collect it from the farmshop on Fridays and Saturdays, but if you happen to step by on one of these days and there's someone around you may be able to buy vegetable oil and perhaps also potatoes or other produce from the farm. But of course, shopping their farm products from one of the VG supermarkets might be easier.
In 2022 Vegannett, a Weißer Hirsch-based producer of vegan spreads, started filling products in standardized returnable deposit glasses which
you can buy directly from the manufacturer on Wednesdays.
More to try
For more vegan alternatives to cheese, meat and sausages head for
Die vegane Fleischerei in the Neustadt. January, 2023 a vegan "butcher shop" opened here, and they assured me that all of their products are made from predominantly organic ingredients.
They also offer ready-made "meat" salads and soups, and I'm looking forward to visit the shop in person. Don't forget to take boxes and jars with you.
Closed
2024-02-21 04:00:00
[Dresden, Neustadt, organic, coffee, vegan, zero_waste, unverpackt, cafe, grocery, market, supermarkets, bodycare, household, hemp]
[direct link · table of contents]