German food culture: Brot, Kaffee und Kuchen, Abendbrot and the Biergarten

Many families still eat this way, especially at weekends. The hot meal is at midday, and the evening meal is usually cold: bread, cheese, cold meats and pickles.

Sunday afternoon coffee and cake with family is a fixed point in many German weeks. The cakes have names worth knowing; tap one to hear it.

Beer gardens, especially in Bavaria, have their own unwritten rules. Follow them and you will fit right in.

1. 1
   Share the table

   Istishierherenoch frei?still free▶

   ist HEER nokh FRAI · “Is this seat free?”
2. 2
   Bring your own food in Bavaria

   Wirwehabenhaveunsere Brotzeitour snackdabei.with-us▶

   veer HAA-ben UN-ze-re BROHT-tsait da-BAI · “We’ve brought our own snack.”
3. 3
   Look people in the eye

   Prost!cheers▶

   PROHST · “Cheers!”
4. 4
   Wish everyone a good meal

   GutengoodAppetit!appetite▶

   GOO-ten a-pe-TEET · “Enjoy your meal!”
5. 5
   Order a Maß with care

   Eine Maß,a litrebitte.please▶

   AI-ne MAAS, BI-te · “A litre of beer, please.”

Each region guards its own dishes, from fish in the north to dumplings and noodles in the south.

German table phrases are short and fixed. Toasts come with eye contact: looking away is said to bring seven years of bad luck.

Many German families eat their hot meal at lunch and have Abendbrot (“evening bread”) at night: bread, butter, cheese, cold meats and pickles. Tap each item.