Timetable
Gourmet restaurants are open evenings and sometimes for lunch. Traditional restaurants rarely had an afternoon closing time, so you can eat at any time of day. In the countryside, it's best to find a table before 8pm.
Budget & Tips
The average price for a main course starts at €10. A pint of beer is often around €4 or €5. In city bakeries, you'll often find bread rolls with cheese and/or cold meats, a handy way to eat on the run and for less.
What costs extra
Water is always extra. It's frowned upon in restaurants to ask for a jug of water, and you may even be refused. In Germany, it's customary to buy a bottle of mineral water (still or sparkling).
Remember that restaurants sometimes refuse credit cards. Carry some cash with you, and remember that it's customary to leave a tip of around 10% of the price, rounded up. Not tipping can be interpreted as dissatisfaction with the service. When the waiter comes to bring you the bill, you can round up the amount and announce a higher price. For example, if the bill comes to €11.80, you'll say "auf 13" when you pay, meaning that the waiter should give you change for €13 and keep the difference for himself. If you have €13, you can announce "stimmt so".
The local way
Breakfast (Frühstück) in hotels is almost always served as a buffet, often with a wide variety of breads, cheeses, cold meats, jams, spreads, cereals, juices and more.
Lunch (Mittagessen) is usually the main meal for Bavarians. For this occasion, restaurants offer menus that change daily, but are only available at lunchtime until around 2pm.
The afternoon coffee break(Kaffee und Kuchen), around 4pm, is often time for a drink and a slice of cake. In everyday life, especially at weekends, this break is considered a good opportunity to invite family and friends. The host usually offers at least one cake, either homemade or from a trusted baker. For the older generation, no coffee break is complete without black forest (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte).
The German evening meal is traditionally simple, light and cold. Many families sit down to dinner at around 6.30-7 p.m. and eat bread with slices of cheese and cold meats, with a salad for example. In Germany, this meal is called " Abendbrot " (evening bread). In Bavaria, it's called "Brotzeit" (bread time), and you'll find that some Gaststätten offer it.
In small tourist towns, hotels and guesthouses often have their own restaurant serving simple, hearty food. You don't have to be a hotel guest to eat there.