Hans im Glück is turning into quite a franchise. They now have nineteen restaurants around Germany, seven of them in Munich.
I visited the Königsplatz joint with Allison and Annka on a beautiful spring evening – which was perhaps the reason the restaurant was pretty empty. It worked out well for us anyway, as our internet reservation had failed to go through.
Allison was unaware of the concept of Hans im Glück and was a) surprised (in a pleasant way) to find out they only did burgers and b) bewildered by the abundance of birch trees in the restaurant. I’m not sure what to make of the trees either. It’s creative, but the faux forest feel wasn’t entirely what I needed when heading out for a burger. Despite this, the rest of the interior (mostly black, sleek and contemporary) was cozy and attractive.
We settled down for our drinks – an Engelstrompete for Annka (an Aperol, passionfruit and lime cocktail), a beer for Allison and a mint and elderflower Schorle for me. I had a sip of Annka’s cocktail and bloody hell, it was good. Several other friends have told me that Hans im Glück’s cocktails are unbeatable, and I was a bit miffed I stayed off the alcohol. But – my Schorle was delicious too – fresh mint, elderflower syrup and ice-cold water was the refreshment I needed after an afternoon of strolling around the city.
Our burgers arrived quickly – I’d ordered a cheese and bacon burger, Allison hat the Wild West burger and Annka hat a veggie burger – a walnut patty with gorgonzola and rocket. We unanimously agreed they were wonderful. You can choose between a white or wholemeal bun – I’d chosen a classic white bun – and it was soft and floury and everything you want a bun to be. Most definitely the best burger bun in Munich. The cheese was molten, the bacon was crunchy, the beef was tender – all freshly made and good quality. The fries were thick cut – and there were plenty of them.
Hans im Glück also gets plus points for its huge list of veggie burgers on offer – way more than other Munich restaurants. For the entire menu, click here.
While the food was really good, the restaurant lacks charm. It has no soul. With excellent cocktails and such good food, I can wholly understand Hans im Glück’s exponential growth, but they’ve left the individuality and character part behind. Of course, this may not be true for other Hans im Glück restaurants – and maybe we picked the wrong day, but the one at Königsplatz felt a little tired. It also didn’t help that the restaurant was empty by 10pm – and at 10:30pm the staff asked if it was possible to turn the lights on to clean up. Full to bursting, we headed out into the night to walk off our dinner.
Overall – the food was great and the drinks are grand. If you’re mostly concerned with filling an empty belly, you won’t be disappointed.
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