Information:
Recommendations for the best around Sankt-Jakobs-Platz

GRANO
Tucked away in Nieserstrasse, one of Munich’s most simpatico restaurants is a warm respite for customers in the city center. Film stills of a luscious Gina Lollobrigida preparing salad adorn the walls and fashionable furniture revives the golden age of Italy in the 1960s. Each day, a blackboard features the recommended pizza and pasta of the day. (Prices are unusually agreeable for the location.) The pleasantly chaotic staff adds to the allover charm of the place, which tends to be crowded in the evening.
Sebastiansplatz 3 (entrance Nieserstrasse), Phone: (089) 23 26 99 39

BLAUER BOCK
Hans Jörg Bachmeier—a scholar of acclaimed chef Eckart Witzigmann—has turned this traditional inn into a modern temple of high cuisine. Each dish at Blauer Bock highlights basic flavors and refrains from superfluous flourishes: It’s straightforward Alpine cooking with Mediterranean influences. The selection of wines is exceptional and the service reflects what gastronomy is really about—expertise, elegance and friendliness.
Sebastiansplatz 9, Phone: (089) 45 222 333, www.restaurant-blauerbock.de

MÜNCHNER STADTMUSEUM & SERVUS HEIMAT
Even if you are no longer a newbie, and you think you know Munich like the back of your hand, a visit to the Munich City Museum will refresh your knowledge on how a small settlement near the Isar developed into a contemporary metropolis. Since last year, the new permanent exhibition “Typically Munich” instructs visitors on the city’s history, as well as more international topics. Other sections of the museum deal with subject matter not necessarily linked to the city: photography, musical instruments and puppet theater, for example. An on-site movie theater also features an interesting selection of historic cinematography. In accordance with the museum’s contemporary approach towards folklore themes, the shop of the exhibition hall is a branch of Servus Heimat—a store that humorously fuses Bavarian kitsch with modern design. It’s the perfect place to go for small presents.
Sankt-Jakobs-Platz 1, Phone: (089) 23 32 23 70, www.stadtmuseum-online.de
STADTCAFÉ
Throughout the year, the Stadtcafé—located on the premises of the Münchner Stadtmuseum—is a comfortable meeting point for visitors of the museum, families and a creative crowd. Acclaimed Munich movie director Helmut Dietl frequently brainstorms with his scriptwriters here. Each year on Faschingsdienstag (Carnival Tuesday), however, tables and chairs make way for Carnival revelers. Christos Davidopoulos, owner of the city’s longest existing record store, Optimal, will play his favorite records. Get there before noon! Any later, and you’ll miss out one of the city’s most legendary Fasching parties.
St.-Jakobs-Platz 1, Phone: (089) 26 69 49, www.stadtcafe-muenchen.de
OCUI
The latest addition to Munich’s sophisticated fast food joints takes its name from “open cuisine.” Indeed, cooks await your order behind their open stoves. Pizza, pasta, Asian dishes and more are prepared on the spot—all with organic ingredients. Panorama windows make the restaurant a cozy den, even on darkest winter days. It is one of those places where you will never be out of your element, whether coming in for a quick stop from shopping or having a late dinner in your evening gown.
Oberanger 31–33, Phone: (089) 45 22 60 01, www.ocui.net