The best dining destinations for food and wine lovers in Germany’s Rheingau wine region

A few days ago, my calendar reminded me the annual ‘Rheingau Gourmet Week’ had just kicked off. While I will miss the event this year – a fabulous kermess of wine and food themed events with more than 100 of the local wineries and most of the local restaurants taking part – there is no reason to be sad (OK, maybe just a bit). Over the coming months there will be many more wine festivals and eating well in the Rheingau is never a problem.

The Rheingau, one of the 13 official German wine regions, is hands down one of the most exciting destinations for wine and food lovers. It is the birthplace of German Riesling wine, has some of the best wineries in Germany (and some of the most historic ones), a beautiful bucolic landscape, historic castles, monasteries, and monuments, small historic wine towns, and plenty of accommodation from hostels to rural inns and luxury hotels. Like most wine regions, the Rheingau has also no shortage of places where you can find excellent food. From local food and wine festivals to wine taverns, bistros, and gourmet dining, there is something for everybody.

As a food and wine lover living close to the German wine country, and the Rheingau only a 50 minutes-drive away, I’ve spent many weekends exploring local wineries, and eating my way through the area’s fantastic restaurants.

If you are planning a trip to the Rheingau and wonder where to eat, below is my pick of seven of my favourite restaurants.

How to eat your way through the Rheingau

Trust me if I say you won’t leave the Rheingau hungry. Like many wine regions around the world, the area is not only home to excellent wineries. Dining options are abundant, including several excellent gourmet dining restaurants.

Each of these places are setting the bar for the best seasonal and locally sourced food, and innovative cooking and excellent wine lists.

Hotel Kronenschlösschen

This popular 4-star hotel is hands down my favourite place to stay when in the Rheingau. Not least because it’s also one of the most amazing culinary destinations.

Awards like ‘best wine list in Germany’, the ‘most beautiful terrace in Germany’ and the restaurant being the host of the renowned annual ‘Rheingau Gourmet and Wine Festival’ featuring Michelin-star chefs from around the world certainly sets high expectations. And Kronenschl?sschen delivers.

If it’s a light lunch or dinner you are looking for, the hotel’s Bistro offers a refined traditional menu.

If you are looking for something special, it’s the gourmet restaurant that will treat you to a truly special dining experience. There is a focus on regionally sourced produce while the menu is inspired by flavours from around the world.

This is only topped by the special culinary events the restaurant organizes throughout the year. Most of them will put a certain wine style (think Riesling or Bordeaux wines), or wine region into the focus with a menu specifically created to perfectly match the wines.

Hotel Kronenschlösschen, Rheinallee, Eltville-Hattenheim

Hotel und Restaurant zum Krug

The stunning historic half-timbered house in the middle of the small historic core of Hattenheim has hospitality in its bone. Starting as a simple wine tavern in 1720, the place ever since enjoyed a huge popularity among locals, and increasingly visitors coming to the area.

Eventually taken over by Josef Laufer I in 1945, today Hotel and Restaurant zum Krug is run by Josef Laufer III in (you guessed it) the third generation of the Laufer family. The place is what you call a restaurant with rooms.

Having trained at some of Germany’s renowned gourmet restaurants and internationally, Josef Laufer continues the family tradition offering local seasonal specialities while at the same time adding a modern, internationally inspired twist.

The wine list includes wines from the own Krug winery along with a good selection of other local and international wines.

During the warmer months, lunch and diner are served at the small courtyard terrace. Inside, the restaurant features a cozy rural atmosphere with old wooden tables and wood-clad walls.

Weinhaus und Hotel zum Krug, Hauptstra?e 34, Eltville-Hattenheim

Adler Wirtschaft

Adler Wirtschaft is another highly popular restaurant in the Rheingau though the restaurant. Since 1993 the restaurant is well-known to deliver gourmet dining in a relaxed and traditional atmosphere, somewhere between a rural wine tavern and bistro.

At the helm of the restaurant is chef Franz Keller, who has taken over the rains from his namesake father Franz Keller, a former Michelin-star chef who opened the restaurant with the vision of a no-frill traditional, seasonal, and locally focused menu.

That said, a past carrier that had led him to work with some of the top chefs including the famous Paul Bocuse has left a distinct mark. Something that is still noticeable dining at Adlerwirtschaft today.

Current chef Franz Keller (the son) continues to follow the farm-to-table approach established by his father. Among the flagship dishes are steaks from Bentheim Black Pied pigs and beef from Charolais and Limousin cows, which come from the restaurant’s own organic farm in the nearby Taunus.

Restaurant Adler Wirtschaft, Hauptstraße 31, Eltville-Hattenheim

Restaurant Schlossschänke, Schloss Johannisberg

Fancy overlooking some of the oldest vineyards in Germany while digging into great food? Then Restaurant Schlosssch?nke at Schloss Johannisberg is the perfect joice.

Schloss Johannisberg is part of the century-old historic monastery wineries of the Rheingau that from the cradle of German winemaking. The history of the place goes back more than 900 years while the current castle sitting on top of Johannisberg hill was built in 1715. Schloss Johannisberg is said to be the first wine estate in the world that made Riesling wine. Since 1720 the vineyards belonging to the castle are exclusively planted to Riesling grapes, while grapes were already grown on Johannisberg since around the year 817.

Expect a menu perfect to be paired with the castles’ own wines, particularly the award-winning famous Riesling wines. On the wine list, you will find both the latest vintage and (if you don’t mind spending accordingly) some of the flagship historic vintages.

On the menu are traditional classic seasonal dishes prepared in an elegant, pleasant style. Food is predominantly source locally, including steak from the castles’ own Galloway cattle farm.

Make sure to ask for a table in the glass pavilion when making your reservations. The view over the Johannisberg vineyards is absolutely spectacular.

Schlossschänke, Schloss Johannisberg, Geisenheim

Weinschänke Schloss Groensteyn

Chef Dirk Schröer is a well-known figure in Germany’s gourmet landscape, with a carrier looking back at such renowned restaurants like Nassauer Hof, Traube-Tonbach, Tantris in Munich, 3-star restaurant Vend?me in Bensberg, and Bülow Residenz restaurant Carousell in Dresden. After moving to the Rheingau over 10 years ago, he impressed at the helm of the former fine-dining restaurant at Burg Schwarzenstein (now closed) and a short stint at Restaurant Schlossschenke at Schloss Johannisberg before he opened his own little gourmet restaurant Weinsch?nke Schloss Groensteyn in 2018.

Located in proximity to the historic stately manor house Schloss Groensteyn, the restaurant itself is tucked away in the former tavern of a historic half-timbered house in the middle of the small wine town Kiedrich.

Inside the small restaurant has maintained the old rustic tavern feeling with old wooden tables and wooden wall panels. On warmer days (and evenings) nothing beat the small terrace overlooking the surrounding rolling vineyards.

Chef Dirk Sch?er serves classic seasonal food, which is predominantly sourced regionally and prepared with an innovative, flavourful modern twist. Guests can chose between an a-la-carte, small seasonal (4 courses) or large menu (5 or 7 courses with and without wine pairing). The wine list includes many excellent local wines.

Weinschänke Schloss Groensteyn, Oberstraße 36, Kiedrich

Burg Schwarzenstein

The Relais & Chateaux Hotel Burg Schwarzenstein is another of the Rheingau’s longstanding popular hotels. Though in recent years, focus has shifted somewhat towards larger events (from April through to September, nearly each weekend will see another wedding here). Regrettably, this often causes the two restaurants not being open to other guests.

When not closed for private events, Burg Schwarzenstein runs two excellent restaurants on site.

Burgrestaurant (the castle restaurant) sits in the part of the estate that appears to be an old, restored castle ruin, but was actually built exactly that way in the 1870s by famous vintner family Mumm as their summer residence. That fact aside, the setting is stunningly beautiful. Inside, large windows allow beautiful views over the surrounding vineyards and the Rhine River below while in the summer the charm of the open terrace is irresistible. On the menu, expect traditional regional dishes prepared with seasonal produce sourced predominantly from the Rheingau and nearby regions.

The second restaurant, Müllers auf der Burg, is run under the helm of acclaimed German Michelin-star chef Nelson Müller. Though the concept at Burg Schwarzenstein follows a relaxed Brasserie ambience and the menu offers elegant classic gourmet food served without the typical Michelin-star chichi.

Burg Schwarzenstein, Rosengasse 32, Geisenheim

Graues Haus

Graues Haus, the oldest still existing stone house in Germany today is a popular photo stop for tourists, a delicatessen offering a lovely small selection of international specialities with focus on Germany, France, and Italy (including when in season the famous Piemonte truffles), a café-bistro for those looking for a quick and light lunch, and the small and cozy gourmet restaurant.

More than 1000 years ago the place already attracted diners, though who came did so thanks to the mercy of Saint Rhabanus who opened the doors of the property to those in need.

Beautiful historic arched windows open up a view over the nearby Rhine River, while the small restaurant features a puristic yet cozy modern style.

The restaurant offers three fixed menus, a three-course vegetarian pasta menu, a three-course menu with the choice of either fish or meat, and a four-course menu with the choice of pasta, fish, or meat. All menus are offered for a fixed price and include one bottle of wine and one water.

Graues Haus, Graugasse 8, Oestrich-Winkel