We were in need of last minute dinner reservations in Munich after a couple of our first choices were already booked for the evening. Opentable, a trustworthy online reservation system in the US, has thankfully expanded to some cities in Europe and allowed us to discover Malzraum. Located in a quieter part of Munich, Malzraum (Malt Room) can be best described as a neighborhood gem serving great gastropub fare.
Navigating our way to our table, we had to step over the calm sleepy dog:
They had a full bar that offered some Tiki-style cocktails, but we opted to start with a refreshing Aktien Helles beer and a rather generous glass of Aperol Spritz:
They offer a daily selection of tapas, and this evening’s selection included bacon-wrapped dates, dolmas, cheese-stuffed cherry bombs, marinated mushrooms, beet salad and shrimps in olive oil. All of the tapas were really tasty and not something we expected to find in Munich:
They have a short but interesting wine list comprised of reasonably priced bottles. We really liked this white wine from Austria made from Zweigelt grapes, a blue-skinned variety typically used for red wines. It had an interesting complexity that paired well with the tapas:
Their menu is internationally influenced and provides some interesting twists to Bavarian food in most cases. Italian food is quite popular in Germany, and this Carbonara pasta made with German speck was very rich, cheesy and satisfying:
We feel that Spargel (white asparagus) is to this region in Bavaria like white truffles are to Piemonte in Italy. In other words, we order it here whenever it is available, and it is generally available in May when we come. The version here doesn’t feature the fat ones found at other places, but the platter comes accompanied with some ham and some super delicious roasted fingerling potatoes in a creamy tomato sauce:
We switched to drinking this excellent Manga del Brujo Spanish Rhône-style red made with a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Tempranillo:
It was interesting that the Schnitzel could be ordered two different ways: with a layer of orange Bavarian cheese or with mustard between the veal and breading. We chose the mustard version, which is a great addition to the schnitzel and wondered why more restaurants don’t serve it this way. The slightly vinegary potato salad was the perfect accompaniment:
For dessert, we shared an order of Kaiserschmarrn for dessert. Literally translated to “Emperor’s Mess,” the sweet pancake batter is shredded while cooking, then covered with powdered sugar. The bites are served with an apple sauce dip:
Malzraum was a great discovery for us thanks to Opentable. We would definitely come back and have added it to our list of places to return to for our yearly sojourn to Munich.
Note: The BarFlys are vacationing in Germany. SF posts will return soon; in the meantime, please enjoy these travel-related posts.
BarFlySF 