What to eat in Stuttgart - Maultaschen
It is practically mandatory to try the Maultaschen (pictured below), one of the most famous typical foods of southern Germany. I tried this kind of ravioli in 3 places and I liked the cheapest one the best! lol They are bigger than Italian raviolis and the dough is heavier than Polish pierogi, but the concept of "packet/package of pasta with different fillings" is the same. Some of the classic fillings are spinach, cheese, ground beef, etc.
Maultaschen originates from the Swabian region (today officially an administrative region within the state of Bavaria, but formerly extended across Baden-Württemberg and even Switzerland and Alsace, France) and one of the legends says that it was invented in the Maulbronn Monastery to hide meat in meals during Lent! Since 2009, schwäbische maultaschen (Swabian maultaschen) have received the protected geographical indication label from the European Union.
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| On the left, Carls Brauhaus restaurant on Schlossplatz, Stuttgart's main square. In the middle, Maultaschen from the simple but highly recommended Herr Kächele Maultaschen and on the right, a meal at a random restaurant in the main square of Schwäbisch Hall (a nice day trip I made leaving Stuttgart). |
What to eat in Stuttgart - Spätzle
Spätzle is a common pasta in southern Germany, Austria and other places of Germanic influence, often consumed in the version with cheese and onion (Käsespätzle). I met her through a German friend and I ate too much the several times I was in Munich at her house (I don't know if I've ever eaten in restaurants). He's not a little ball like gnocchi, but he's not long like spaghetti either. Originally from the Swabian region, it is one of the most common typical dishes on menus in Germany, but I don't remember seeing it on any menu in Berlin, for example. The name translates to "little sparrow" and it doesn't go with potatoes like our gnocchi. Since 2012, it has the European seal of protection of origin as a regional specialty.
Where to eat in Stuttgart
Market Hall Stuttgart
I spent a week in Stuttgart, but I only toured the city in 2 days. On the day I walked around the center and its attractions, I went to see the city market. Markets are always cool attractions across Europe in general and Germany is no different. The city market was included in a list I made of amazing markets around the world!
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| The historic building is beautiful, the stalls make your mouth water and you can taste different foods, both typical of the region and from other countries. |
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| On the ground floor, there are several stalls and many people eat standing up, as there is not much space. Upstairs there is a neater restaurant, which is not cheap. I bought a slice of onion pie for 3,10 euros (last photo above) and ate it sitting on the stairs. |
Stuttgart can be the base for several super interesting day or half-day trips: Esslingen and Herrenberg, Maulbronn monastery, Ulm (city with the highest church in the world), Blautopf lake and the library of Wiblingen Abbey, Solitude Palace and Ludwigsburg Residential Palace, Castle Hohenzollern, Tübingen, beautiful university town, Schwäbisch Hall or Sigmaringen Castle.
Mr Kächele Maultaschen
I recommend it on all websites and guides about Stuttgart, it was the best Maultaschen I ate. I ordered the one with potato salad and the soft drink in the photo, it came to 9,00 euros. I got there about 20 minutes before closing and it was already empty, but as I went to the small unit right in the center of the city, it usually fills up at lunch time because of the people who work in the area.
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| In addition to serving about 10 dish options, it has a fridge with various products for you to take and make at home. I saw a lot of people buying maultaschen to make at home! |
Carl's Brewery
One of the most traditional restaurants in the city, it's right on the main square and it's not cheap. But it's one of the few places in Stuttgart that stays open a little later. I ordered the option that came with a tasting of 3 types of maultaschen (with 3 different fillings) and salad, but I don't remember exactly what they were - in fact you could barely taste the difference between them). As it was summer, the sidewalk tables (many!) were crowded and I sat inside. Even though the inside was empty and the waiters were passing by my table all the time to and from the tables outside, the service was terrible. I spent 16 euros - one of the most expensive meals of the 3 months in Europe. The maultaschen were one of the cheapest options on the menu, which features several types of meat.
Sky Beach Stuttgart
No Topo da Galleria Kaufhof on the main shopping street of Stuttgart and close to the city's main train station (Hauptbahnhof), is the "beach bar" open only in the warm months. It has a nice panoramic view, sand and beach chairs for people to enjoy a little bar in a more relaxed style. I had problems with delayed trains on one of the days and I only managed to return relatively late to Stuttgart and then I took the opportunity to visit the bar, which also sells Flammkuchen (a kind of pizza with a thinner crust), more typical of the Frankfurt and Alsace region (France) .
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| Vista do Sky Beach Stuttgart |
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| In some places there are variations of stuffing, but this is the traditional Flammkuchen with onion, bacon and cream/white sauce. To drink, I ordered an apfelschorle (apple juice with sparkling water) and spent a total of 12,70 euros. |
Harbor villages bakery and confectionery, Yorma'se supermercados diversos
Places where I bought several sandwiches, slices of pizza and salads ready to eat at the hotel/hostel. The first was a bakery close to the boarding house where I stayed the first few days. Yorma´s It's a "cafeteria"/convenience store chain with dozens of branches spread across Stuttgart and other cities (greater concentration in southern Germany) and prices are usually unbeatable for a coffee or snack.
Germany is first world, but I had a sequence of mini perrengues that almost ruined a weekend in the south of the country!
Leonhardts
There's a restaurant up there in the TV Tower, but I ordered one iced coffee on the branch downstairs just as I left the tower. This one cost 5 euros - sometimes the eiskaffee is an iced coffee and sometimes it's a coffee with ice cream and whipped cream, depending on where you buy it.
There are several interesting museums in Stuttgart and I told you everything in this post, including the most famous one - Mercedes-Benz Museum!
Shopping Milaneo - Tobi´s
O shopping Milaneo it is brand new and is in a brand new area also still under construction around the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) and the train tracks. Nearby is the famous library on Instagram (photo below) and as it was close to one of the hotels where I stayed, I had dinner there one night. I had to rush to arrive in time before the mall closed (varies according to the day of the week - between 20pm and 21:30pm). There are several gastronomic options, more or less international, more or less expensive, outside the mall or in the food court, etc. I had been recommended the cafeteria Tobi's, that has branches serving typical swabian food, with low prices. I wanted to try several things, but I had already eaten Maultaschen elsewhere, I already knew another typical food from the region - Spätzle, so I decided to order the lentil (Linsen) with sausage and spätzle.
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| The mall seen from the outside, the library across the street and my dinner when I ate at the mall's food court. |
I paid 9,20 euros for a soda plus a portion of sausage, which wasn't great, spätzle which is that little piece of dough on the left of the box, but it didn't have any sauce or seasoning and the Lentil (which is a typical Swabian dish too) - it wasn't bad, but the fast food version was generally not approved. I think it was the first and only place I saw this pale sausage that looks more like a Brazilian sausage in Germany and the presentation left something to be desired, even when it comes to fast food that I already didn't expect so much. They have another restaurant that looks a little nicer in the center of Stuttgart. I wouldn't go back to the mall's fast food, but maybe I'd give the downtown restaurant a second chance.
Where and what to eat in Stuttgart on the map
I marked all the options I tried in orange on the map below and I marked in blue, places that I was recommended, but I couldn't go. I also marked in purple the liveliest places for the night in Stuttgart - I couldn't go to any of them and I found the night in Stuttgart very quiet and quiet, even spending the weekend in the city. Maybe I was unlucky and I didn't go to the right places on the right days...
