Archives for “local” tag

The place is part of the Viktualienmarkt, Munich’s awesome food-market. I actually overlooked Sababa for quite some time as it is sort of hidden – which is a shame because I would go out on a limb here and say it’s the best falafel and shawarma in town!

While you can also get Arabic food items to take home, I have to admit that the only thing I ever get from Sababa is pita bread filled with either shawarma or falafel and loads of toppings. They typically hand you the bread filled with hummus (the chickpea-based spread) and the meat/falafel so you can fill the pita with vegetables and dressings of your choosing.

The Sababa shawarma is definitely my favorite but the falafels are great as well. Sometimes falafels can taste a little bland in some places but these are loaded with fresh parsley and cilantro (they are actually green inside).

Sababa is not really a place you want to sit down in as it’s more of a snack bar but it does have some sort of tent with stools right at the entrance. It is however a fantastic place to stop by if you are downtown and need a quick lunch or if you’re looking for a worthy Leberkassemmel-alternative.

Walking from Marienplatz, you can find Sababa by passing “Nordsee” on the Viktualienmarkt and then making a left where Westenriederstrasse begins. Make a right at the next street corner where the market ends and you’ll see Sababa to your right.

Baal is located in a quiet side street of Dachauerstraße near St. Benno church. Here students, people from the neighborhood and hipsters hang out together. 

Baal is hard to categorize in terms of regional cuisine. Although it calls itself an “Osteria” with an emphasis on tapas, you will find the occasional Portuguese wine or some petiscos on the menu. All that in a Bavarian wirtshaus. The menu changes constantly, but the pasta is always delicious (they do get creative with the sauces!) and the tapas are perfect if you’re not feeling like having dinner but just want a bite to share with friends. Baal never seems to be really empty and for those who are into playing pool, there’s a table here!

To sum it up: Bavarian beer and gemütlichkeit, Iberian snacks and wine, paired with Italian food – it can’t get much better, right?

Note: Sunday is pasta day at Baal, so every pasta will only be 6 euros.

Munich has a great choice of public swimming pools run by the city’s utilities provider SWM. Dantebad, located in the Gern neighborhood north-west of the city center, is a special one. It is a swimming pool (and stadium, originally built for the ’72 Summer Olympics’ diving and water polo competitions) that unlike most other outdoor pools runs year round.

The water at Dantebad is heated to above 30 degrees Celsius even if it is snowing (not so likely these days…) or raining outside. Doing your laps out in the cold is extremely refreshing – for those who want to relax afterward, there’s also a wellness pool with water massage jets and chairs. On warm and sunny days, the stands of the stadium are a popular place for sunbathing.

The admission fee (7.10 Euro, no time limit) is on the higher end, but I guess that’s what heating a huge pool all year round costs these days. To save money, go early (up to 2.5hrs after opening) or late (1.5hrs before closing) and you pay only 3.70 for 90 minutes of swimming – which is usually enough to get some exercise. During the summer, the cheaper “Freibad” is also open, which shares some of its facilities with the “Warmfreibad”. This one though is only open between 09:00 and 18:00.

To get there, take tram lines 20 or 21 and get off at “Borstei” or ride the U1 to Westfriedhof.

During my time in school, I came here almost every day. Deli Star has two outlets, both just a stone throw away from Ludwig-Maximilians University’s main campus, so they’re always packed with students and faculty staff.

The coffee is quite good and they have a decent selection of sandwiches and salads to take out but the bagels and the free wifi are what made me come to Deli Star in the first place.

This is a coffee shop where staying for hours to work on your laptop (or better: pretending to work while being on Facebook) is pretty commonplace and not frowned upon. It’s not exactly quiet but if you’re a student or freelancer and can work in a chatty environment or want to work together with others this is a really cool place.

Some of the tables at the window almost seem to be designed as individual workspaces, with by-passers on the street providing excellent distraction from your actual work. The only downside is the lack of power outlets, so do bring an extra battery if your laptop runs out of power rapidly.

I love meat, raw meat even more. And seafood. So when my sister brought me to (vegetarian restaurant) Prinz Myshkin first, I was skeptical. That skepticism vanished pretty quickly. The food here is not crunchy are all, the pizzas are extremely tasty (try shitake and Roquefort topping), and the other dishes I’ve eaten here don’t feel at all like there’s something missing.

The interior I think is really cool with high ceilings and wooden tables. Of course, I am aware that this is probably the most mainstream vegetarian restaurant in Munich. Maybe there are better or more sophisticated places to eat vegetarian. But Prinz Myshkin is central and has an inviting atmosphere, so it’s a good place if in a group with vegetarians. Making a reservation is recommended as is going there for lunch (around 6 Euro for the dish of the day).

You can find it by walking down Sendlinger Straße from Marienplatz past Sport Scheck and making a right at Hackenstraße where the big Bavarian restaurant (Hackerhaus) is. Prinz Myshkin is right next to that.