The desire for Mediterranean food has had lasting effects. In Munich alone, there are around 600 bars and restaurants where Tuscan, Ligurian or Venetian food is prepared. Where ordinary cooks – who began as building workers – are now at work popping the Coniglio into the oven. And then there are the Mediterranean “Masters of the Cooker”, whose sole ambition is to prepare true orgies of indulgence in their Ristoranti and to prepare catfish with such artistry, that even the “Guide Michelin” testers don’t hold back on their stars.
The Osteria Italiana is and remains what it always has been: an up-market restaurant, aware of our tradition, serving top-quality meals where every Italophile is given a slice of that holiday feeling. In the courtyard especially, it takes no more than 10 minutes to forget that you are actually in Germany. Maybe this is the reason why one catches sight here and there of a celebrity enjoying a meal.
Where the love of Italian cuisine began
1890
When Josef Deutelmoser, a worldly gastronome and Italophile, opened the “Osteria Bavaria“ at 62, Schellingstraße on the 23 May 1890, he did it with the desire to offer a contrast to the menus of the Bavarian beer houses and to export to Germany the wine taverns (“Osteria”) so popular in Italy, where people come together over a good glass of wine and simple Mediterranean antipasti.
Impressed by the Italian ars vivendi (et cenandi), he opened the first Italian restaurant in Germany. Soon, the “Osteria” became an established haunt for artists, writers and scientists of the Munich academic quarter as a place to gather, discuss and feast.
The Italian room in the period before World War II.
The Deutelmoser family ran the restaurant in its old tradition until after the Second World War until Clotilde Salvatori, herself an experienced gastronome, took over the “Osteria Bavaria” and re-christened it the “Osteria Italiana”, without relinquishing the original concept.
“La dolce vita” in the sixties – when there were no cell phones … Source: STERN magazine
The present-day proprietors, Prisco De Stefano and Umberto Bressanin continue this tradition; nothing has been changed to the character of the old wine bar with its wood-panelled walls and dark coffered ceilings and, as before, only water and the finest wines are on offer in the Osteria, alongside first-class cuisine.
Detail of the mural by Carlo Wuttke, commissioned by Joseph Deutelmoser for “Osteria Bavaria” in 1980.
The success of the “Osteria”, which ranks among the best Italian Ristoranti this side of the Brenner Pass, is based on the upkeep of old traditions, which manage well without flashy tones and chic styling. It is this continuity which is the special attraction of the Osteria, and it is this nostalgic charm which is especially appreciated by the guests.
Garden in the “Osteria” courtyard, postcard from 1911.
La Casa
Whoever decides to go to the “Osteria” to eat wants to stay there not only for an hour, but preferably for the whole evening. The longer the guests sit at the table, the more the mysterious charm of this sanctuary of fine delights will envelop them.
La nostra squadra
Our team of almost 20 kitchen and service staff, who have worked together for years, are a decisive factor in the success of the Osteria Italia. We focus above all on dishes that have been proven by tradition and have enjoyed great popularity over the years, for instance Bollito Misto. That does not mean to say, however, that no creative experiments take place. With their professionalism and the correct tone, our waiters ensure a unique and congenial atmosphere.