Michelin-starred cuisine in Munich and the Chiemgau: what became of the stars
In 2022 we introduced you to the Michelin-starred scene between Munich and Lake Chiem. Today, the Chiemgau boasts a three-star house, Munich counts two of them, and a celebrated Tegernsee chef has stepped away. Here’s the update.
When we wrote about Michelin-starred cuisine in Munich and the Chiemgau in 2022, it felt like an open ledger. Edip Sigl was chasing a third star in the Achental valley, the Tantris was clawing its way back from a renovation hiatus, and Christian Jürgens reigned supreme at Lake Tegern with three stars. Three years on, the scorecard has been reshuffled. Who delivered, who fell short?
- The Es:senz in the Achental near Grassau earned a third Michelin star in 2024, the only German restaurant to do so that year.
- Munich now has its first pair of three-star houses in 2025: the Tohru at the Schreiberei and JAN by Jan Hartwig.
- The Tantris remains at two stars, while Florian Berger’s Gabelspiel holds its single star.
- Christian Jürgens has been relieved of his duties following allegations; his Überfahrt restaurant at Lake Tegern restarted in 2025 with one star.
- Between 16 and 17 venues in Munich now carry at least one star, making the city’s scene denser than ever.
Munich has been the cradle of German fine dining since Eckart Witzigmann and the Tantris opened in 1974. That legacy still shines today, reaching all the way to the Chiemgau-and it’s only grown stronger. The 2025 Michelin Guide now lists roughly 17 Munich restaurants with at least one star, including two three-star houses for the first time. What sounded like an outlier in 2022 is now the norm: the region from the old town to Lake Chiem has become a European hotspot.
The Gabelspiel in Obergiesing, which we once hailed as an affordable insider tip close to our office, still holds its star. Head chef Florian Berger, who trained among others at the Tantris, continues to blend regional ingredients in unexpected ways. The neighbourhood has since become pricier and slicker, but the restaurant-with its 20 seats-remains the same: small, refined, and uncompromising.
The Essence and the Third Star
The biggest story isn’t set in Munich, but in the Achental valley near Grassau, south of Lake Chiemsee. Edip Sigl, German-Turkish head chef and former sous-chef at Munich’s Les Deux, had just earned his second Michelin star for Es:senz in 2022. In March 2024, a third star followed-making it the only German restaurant to climb into the top tier that year. Sigl’s signature dish, the deceptively lifelike “Chiemsee pebbles” with cod, has now become a national calling card.
The four-star resort DasAchental belongs to Dieter Müller and Ursula Schelle-Müller, founders of the Motel One hotel chain. A gourmet restaurant wasn’t even part of their plan; they were convinced by Sigl. The glass, cylinder-shaped fireplace feature installed in 2022 was already a talking point. Today it sets the scene for one of only three three-star houses in all of Bavaria.
Anyone who backed Edip Sigl in 2022 hit the jackpot: two stars on the Chiemsee turned into three, outpacing the packed competition from the big city.
Tantris, Tohru and the New Three-Star Line-Up
The Tantris, where Witzigmann secured its first two-and then three-stars in the 1970s, reopens after its renovation break with two stars intact and will keep them through 2025. It no longer wears the crown, but the house remains where a large slice of Bavaria’s top chefs learned their craft. If you want to understand the region, you can’t skip the Tantris.
The two Munich three-star houses now carry different names than expected in 2022. Tohru, inside the Schreiberei by Tohru Nakamura, ascended to the top tier in 2025, while JAN, led by Jan Hartwig, retains its three stars. They’re joined by strong two-star outposts such as Alois – Dallmayr Fine Dining under Christoph Kunz, the Atelier in the Bayerischer Hof, and the Tantris itself. The Esszimmer in the BMW Welt, which we praised for Bobby Bräuer’s tenure, remains a fixture in the city’s upper echelon.
The Setback at Lake Tegernsee
In 2022 we held up Überfahrt am Tegernsee, run by Christian Jürgens, as a textbook example of the summit: three stars, a destination in its own right. That story has flipped. After allegations about his treatment of staff, Jürgens was relieved of his duties by the hotel group and lost his position. Überfahrt reopened under new leadership from Cornelia Fischer and reclaimed one star in June 2025-an opening act, not a return to former glory.
The episode shows how quickly the summit can crumble. A three-star house lives or dies not only on the kitchen, but on leadership, culture and values. Where those are misaligned, even the finest menu won’t save the day. For Lake Tegernsee, it’s a heavy blow: Überfahrt had been the lake’s culinary emblem for years.
Turkish Fine Dining Keeps Gaining Ground
Edip Sigl isn’t the only chef with Turkish roots shaping Munich’s scene. Ali Güngörmüş, a TV personality, runs Pageou in the Fünf Höfe, bringing the Anatolian and Oriental flavors of his homeland to the plate-from lemon chicken à la Mama to flatbread baked on the floor like Grandma used to make. Pageou remains in the Guide Michelin and is worth a detour even without a star.
Back in 2006, Güngörmüş’s Le Canard Nouveau in Hamburg probably became the world’s first Anatolian starred chef. He handed the star to his co-owner after a fire and returned to Munich. What he shares with Sigl isn’t just heritage, but a humility that’s rare in the rarified world of Michelin stars. Sigl and Güngörmüş prove that top-tier cooking and down-to-earth values can go hand in hand.
What an Evening Costs
Fine dining remains a luxury with a price tag. At Es:senz, the grand tasting menu recently topped €200 per person, with wine pairings running into three figures. Pageou is noticeably easier on the wallet, offering a gentler on-ramp if you want to sample the league without diving in head-first. The service-often underestimated-is what keeps these houses afloat. Without it, many starred restaurants would have to hike dish prices even higher just to survive.
So here’s the takeaway: if you’re chasing the full experience, head to the Achental. If you want big-city flavor on a manageable budget, the Gabelspiel or Pageou is the move. Both routes deliver cuisine at a level that was even scarcer in 2022 than it is today. Our first article on starred dining lives on in the archive, where you’ll find the bigger context behind the Michelin three-star logic. For a quieter, mindful meal in Munich, Ahimsa is another great option.
Good to Know
▸Which restaurant in the region holds three Michelin stars?
In the Chiemgau region, Es:senz at DasAchental Resort in Grassau earned three stars in March 2024. In Munich, there are two in 2025: Tohru in the Schreiberei by Tohru Nakamura and JAN by Jan Hartwig.
▸What happened with Christian Jürgens and Überfahrt?
Christian Jürgens was relieved of his duties by the hotel group following allegations about his behavior toward staff. The Überfahrt restaurant on Lake Tegernsee reopened under Cornelia Fischer and was awarded one Michelin star in 2025.
▸Does Gabelspiel in Munich still hold a star?
Yes. Florian Berger’s Gabelspiel in Obergiesing retains its single Michelin star in the 2025 guide and remains one of the more affordable gateways to the city’s top-tier dining scene.
▸How many starred restaurants does Munich have in total?
In 2025, around 17 restaurants in Munich hold at least one Michelin star, including two newly awarded three-star venues. The city is now one of Germany’s densest clusters of starred dining.
