Munich's gourmet scene is just as colourful as its neighbourhoods are. We joined top chefs at their favourite lunch spots. This time, we meet Rosina Ostler from Restaurant Alois at Fräulein Grüneis – a tiny kiosk and famous meeting place in the Englischer Garten (park).
Munich now has its first two-star chef: 32-year old Rosina Ostler, who started at Restaurant Alois at Dallmayr last year and was awarded two stars straight away. This makes her one of only three female chefs in the whole of Germany at the moment to have been awarded this prestigious honour by the Michelin Guide. We meet Ostler for lunch at the Englischer Garten at the Fräulein Grüneis snack kiosk and then cycle on to the Alois restaurant. There, the Michelin-starred chef gives us a tour of the chic restaurant, her kitchen and the small rooftop garden, where she and her team grow wild herbs, spices and edible flowers.
As the name suggests, Fräulein Grüneis is tucked away in a lush, green setting: In summer, the numerous, densely overgrown trees around the small kiosk offer plenty of shade. Visitors sit on benches or beer crates, enjoying small dishes, coffee and cakes from the front counter. Michelin-starred chef Rosina Ostler is a regular here, her sister lives just around the corner and she herself resides in the neighbouring Maxvorstadt district. The two often walk the dog and then pop into the Grüneis: “It's always nice and uncomplicated here. I usually choose the vegetarian option on the day's menu.”
Today's offerings include cauliflower curry soup, penne pasta with Gorgonzola sauce, pear and walnuts, Indian chicken curry, and an Asian rice salad with pineapple. We opt for the latter and settle down on one of the green benches. While we wait for our food, Rosina Ostler shares her CV: a bachelor's degree in media management in Munich, followed by a master's degree in food culture and communication in Piedmont, Italy. While still a student, Ostler started her own cookery blog and even did private catering.
After completing her studies, she found her true passion: becoming a chef! Although she is originally from Munich, she chose to train at the three-star Schwarzwaldstube restaurant in the Hotel Traube Tonbach. Following her apprenticeship, she extended her stay for another year to immerse in her profession and gain invaluable experience. The Black Forest was the perfect place to focus on learning, but Rosina eventually longed for a change of scenery and moved to Berlin: culture, people – everything colourful. There, she cooked at the Michelin-starred restaurant einsunternull, which unfortunately did not survive the corona pandemic. “I always wanted to go abroad, so I applied to the Maaemo restaurant in Oslo. I had dined there long before becoming a chef and I knew that it would be a great stage!”
“Norway with its vastness and sparse population symbolises freedom for me!”
Ostler is fascinated by Norway's nature and vastness: “Norway with its vastness and sparse population symbolises freedom for me!” But it's not just the landscape that appealed to her; she also felt an immediate connection with the cuisine. Minimalist plates, high-quality products, everything reduced to the essentials. Rosina attributes the dedication and mindfulness in Norwegian cooking to the proximity to the ingredients: “People there truly appreciate a scallop, freshly harvested by a diver. The producers often deliver the goods to the restaurant personally.”
Perfect timing, as photographer Frank is just arriving with our lunch. The Grüneis serves cold Asian rice salad with pineapple, peas and fresh herbs – an unusual combination, but the perfect choice for this hot summer day. Fräulein Grüneis has become quite popular lately – some visitors come after a walk through the English Garden, while others, working in the nearby Lehel neighbourhood, enjoy their lunch break here. You often spot surfers too, as the lively kiosk is located directly by the Eisbachwelle, the famous river wave.
After three years in Oslo, Ostler felt homesick and ready to settle down, eager to creatively apply what she had learnt and further develop her skills. She stumbled across a job advertisement for Restaurant Alois and immediately decided to apply, even though she was convinced the position had already been filled. To her surprise, she received a reply the very next day and was offered the job shortly afterwards! Like her predecessor Max Natmessnig, Rosina Ostler presents a variety of small dishes. There are currently 10 courses on the menu at lunchtime and 16 in the evening, each offering unique and, at first glance, unexpected flavour combinations, such as char liver with whey and elderberry.
“It's an exciting, tapas-style menu, executed with the highest level of craftsmanship. The numerous small courses create a beautiful culmination of different flavours,” explains Ostler. She honed her skills in preparing such small dishes while working at the Michelin-starred restaurant in Oslo – a concept she believes is still relatively uncommon in Germany. The more courses, the more drama and excitement in the menu. As a chef, you can try things out and experiment. One of her new dishes, for example, consists of yellow courgette, santolina and coriander seeds, accentuated with pike caviar: “I totally fell in love with santolina – it grows like coriander but tastes like pickled olives,“ she enthuses.
“It's an exciting, tapas-style menu, executed with the highest level of craftsmanship. The numerous small courses create a beautiful culmination of different flavours.”
Rosina Ostler is enthusiastic about wild herbs and lots of vegetables. Yet among her circle of friends, she is also known as the one who will occasionally order a hearty “Schlachtschüssel“ (meat platter) at a pub. Reflecting on her childhood, Ostler recalls how her mother would always set aside the innards of the traditional St. Martin's goose. “That's how I learnt early on: The giblets are the best part. It's why I approach meat preparation with so much appreciation today.“
After dinner, we pack up and cycle over to the old town. In just a few minutes, we find ourselves standing in front of the historic Dallmayr building in Dienerstrasse. The first documented mention of the shop at this location dates back to 1700. Over time, Dallmayr became one of Europe's most renowned delicatessen and even supplied the Bavarian royal court. To this day, it remains a go-to place for all kinds of exotic and unusual high-quality products: from rare Japanese whiskeys to full moon sardines from Galicia.
Rosina Ostler also benefits from this special connection between the delicatessen and Michelin-starred restaurant: “When I need inspiration, I often just go down to the delicatessen. I also have weekly meetings with our head procurer, who has been with Dallmayr for over 30 years.“ He has excellent connections to winemakers and producers from all over the world and can fulfil any request, no matter how unusual. Yet, what Ostler needs, often grows right on her doorstep: wild herbs!
“When I need inspiration, I often just go down to the delicatessen. I also have weekly meetings with our head procurer, who has been with Dallmayr for over 30 years.”
The Munich star chef brings a breath of fresh air to this traditional establishment: True to her Scandinavian inspirations, she enjoys cooking with wild herbs of all kinds, which she collects herself and has recently started growing on the small patio terrace at Alois. Under Ostler's leadership, each of the nine chefs in her team now cultivate herbs in their own raised bed. So, naturally, their most recent team outing took them on a herb walk. What kind of boss is Ostler? “I'm incredibly detail-oriented and pay a lot of attention to organisation and cleanliness. I'm also very empathetic and rather calm. When I am really furious, I completely stop talking”, she says, laughing warmly with her Bavarian charm – a laugh that embraces you.
We enter the restaurant through the back entrance, where the kitchen is already busy preparing for the evening. Loud 80s hits fill the air, including “A Night to Remember” by Shalamar. Ostler describes the Alois Restaurant on the first floor as a “very special living room in a delicatessen” and it's easy to see why: The high-quality crane wallpaper creates a cosy atmosphere without overwhelming the space, while the red leather-upholstered chairs perfectly complement the wine-red carpet, which also provides pleasant acoustics.
Rosina Ostler takes us on a mental journey through her classic evening service. In Dallmayr's Michelin-starred restaurant, the highest standards blend with loving lightness: “The Alois has such a relaxed energy; nobody has to worry about whether they are dressed smartly enough. I love it when the restaurant is full with people laughing and chatting. We even join the waiters and serve our dishes to the guests. Our crew is young and you can feel it – we stick together like a football team.”
