Zum Franziskaner is a Bavarian restaurant right in the heart of Munich, a short walk from Marienplatz.

We usually go there for dinner before going to the ballet.

They serve all our favourites, like roast duck, roast pork and steak tartar; there are also burgers, vegetarian and fish options. We have never had a bad meal there.

Service is good, and very fast. Menus and service are available in German or English.

The restaurant is huge, plus there are tables outside for the warm weather.

The one downside is that they serve Löwenbräu beer, which is why I usually drink Weißbeir there.

You probably don't need to book, although we usually do, just to be safe; also, the reserved tables are in a nicer part of the restaurant.

The Schneider Bräuhaus is the very best of the Bavarian beer halls/restaurants in Munich. We usually go there when we want a Bavarian breakfast of Weißwurst and pretzels (they stop serving Weißwurst at midday, as per tradition).

There are lots of tables: in the front, in the back, upstairs and outside on the pavement/sidewalk, but we nevertheless reserve a table when we go there for a Bavarian breakfast, because it is always busy at that time. It is very popular with both locals and tourists.

This is a beer-lovers paradise, with a great selection of beers. The food is also excellent, with a wide range of traditional Bavarian dishes, although I don't recommend the sour lung, and my Gröstl (a fried dish of leftover meat and potatoes) is better than theirs.

Service and menus are available in German and English.

The company has at least one other location in Munich.

Sushi CentNot just a sushi bar, but a nice low-priced Japanese restaurant. The staff are very friendly. Service is excellent.

The sushi & sashimi (which I prefer over sushi) is excellent and freshly made. The menu of hot dishes is not huge, but also excellent. They have some good wines.

As well as a restaurant, you can order food to take away, or have it delivered.

Unlike many of the places recommended here, Ke Bazza is not fine dining. It is a Turkish fast food joint providing kebabs, pizzas, pasta, baklava and the like.

Service is very good, and the kebabs are much better than most.

Customers can eat there or get take-away.

It is located in Das Einstein shopping mall, on the ground floor.

The Rusticana (web-site in German & English) has really excellent steaks and ribs, very popular with American tourists. They also do steak tartar.

The ribs are famous throughout Munich (people get take-away ribs to take to the beer gardens in the summer); the steaks are properly ripened, and when you order "rare", it is rare; the sides (tomato salad, corn on the cob, coleslaw, etc.) are also fantastic.

It can be a bit cramped at the tables and the bar, and you might be asked to share a table with strangers.

The major negative is that they server Spaten beer, which is nasty, which is why I either drink Weissbier or wine when there. Always busy, so you need to book.

Friendly service. English menus are available, and the staff speak English.

Beef Crew is a top quality burger restaurant close to the Museum Lichtspiele cinema and the Deutsches Museum.

They have not only great burgers, steaks and salads, but also some nice wines.

Service is usually fast, efficient and friendly.

Hamburgerei is another gourmet burger restaurant, with two locations in Munich.

You can dine there, or order food for collection or delivery. For the warmer weather there are tables out the back.

Every month there is a different burger of the month.

The only thing on the menu that is not good is the coleslaw; that is not unusual for restaurants in Germany and elsewhere.

MUN is a top quality sushi and fish restaurant.

They have set menus and an à la carte menu, plus an excellent wine list.

The restaurant is lovely inside and the service is outstanding.

I had the best sushi of my life there. Unlike many places, the wasabi is already in the sushi, so if you din't like wasabi (like Sheryl) this is not the place for you.

It is pretty expensive, but worth it.

Pequeño is a Mexican restaurant and cocktail bar.

As with all Mexican restaurants in Germany, the food is not great (not spicy enough), but the cocktails are great.

They have "Happy Hour" (half-price cocktails) every day from 17:00 to 19:00 (5pm to 7pm) and 23:00 (11pm) to midnight.

The Hofbräukeller is a classic German beer hall and restaurant.

It is owned by the same company as the world famous Hofbräuhaus, and sell the same Hofbräu beer, but the Hofbräukeller is much less crowded and not full of tourists. For this reason the service is better.

Food is typical Bavarian comfort food: rotisserie chicken, roast pork, sausages, sauerkraut, potato salad, and so on, and is always good.

Inside there is table-service; outside in the beer garden, only the tables with table-cloths have table service (and higher prices), and the rest are self-service.

Like with all beer gardens in Germany, at tables without table-service, customers are allowed to bring their own food (but not their own drink!).

The beer garden has a children's playground and a cocktail bar.

In the summer it gets crowded, so arrive early.

Restaurant Zaza's (web-site in English) is very classy restaurant with an exciting menu. We visited a few years ago. In the red-light district.

You need to reserve.

Friendly service. Menus and service in English.

The Seafood Bar (web-site in English and Dutch) has 6 locations, and has fantastic seafood: the seafood tower (a mixture of cooked and raw seafood) is three layers of awesomeness.

It is busy (less so in Utrecht) so a reservation is recommended, but they keep 40% of their tables for walk-ins, although you may then have to wait.

Friendly service. Menus and service in English.

We have been to the one in Utrecht, and the one at Spui 15, Amsterdam; both were excellent, although the Utrecht restaurant has.

The Restaurant Ambassade is the restaurant at the Hotel Ambassade.

It is fine dining (not for someone on a budget).

The food is excellent, and the wine list is great.

Service is friendly (although a little snooty) and efficient, and the restaurant is beautiful.

We went there for my birthday a few years ago, and had a wonderful time.

Miyagi and Jones have locations in Utrecht (where I have eaten), Arnhem and Haarlem in the Netherlands. They serve sushi and a selection of Indonesian hot dishes, both as set menus and à la carte.

The food is delicious, and the service is friendly and attentive.

There is indoor and outdoor seating.

I tried several Indian restaurants in Utrecht (all rubbish) until an Indian colleague recommended Surya, which is excellent. After that, I used to go there regularly.

They actually have 4 locations (Utrecht, Amsterdam, Hilversum and Bodegraven), although I have only tried the one in Utrecht.

They serve a range of classic Indian dishes, and a selection of Nepalese specialties. Everything that I tried was outstanding.

Their menu contains good selection of beers (as one would expect in the Netherlands) plus a great choice of wines.

Service is extremely good and friendly.

The inside of the restaurant is beautiful, and there is also outdoor seating for the warm weather.

De Beurs serves a selection of comfort food (e.g. burgers), sandwiches and Dutch classics (e.g. satay). I often ordered the Caesar salad, although it is not really a Caesar salad.

As expected in the Netherlands, they have a wide range of beers (Dutch, Belgian, German and International) and wines.

Service is usually fast and efficient, although they have off days.

It is located on a square which is surrounded by restaurants and cafés, with seating indoors and on the square.

I never needed to reserve a table.

The Kamasutra restaurant is my favourite Indian restaurant in Köln (Cologne). Once I discovered it, I went there often while working in the city.

It is a family run restaurant with excellent and friendly service, and a great menu. I never had a less than perfect meal there.

RAS (web-site in English, Dutch and French) is a high class restaurant by the river Schelt in Antwerp.

We went there in 2019, on the train from the Netherlands during my job in Utrecht, and found the RAS purely by chance. We ate on the terrace, although there is indoor dining for when the weather is cold or wet.

RAS is a Dutch/Flemish acronym (Restaurant Aan de Stroom, meaning restaurant at the stream), with views over the river.

Going to the restaurant was confusing: it seems like a light-industrial zone until you get into the restaurant. Don't be discouraged - it is worth it.

The food and wine are outstanding quality French, with service, place settings and decor to match. It is not cheap, but to my mind worth ever penny.

Tim Ho Wan are Dim Sum specialists; Hong Kong style. They have locations in Hong Kong (3), Taipei (2), New York (2), Las Vegas (1), Waikiki (1), Houston (1), Tokyo (3), Irvine, California (1), Los Angeles (1) and Singapore (8); too many addresses, web-sites and phone numbers to list. sadly they do not have a restaurant closer to home.

We went to one in Taipei in 2019 (twice in our three days in the city), and had the best Dim Sum of our lives.

I don't know if this is true of all their restaurants, but the one we went to doesn't do reservations; you wait (usually a few minutes) until a table becomes free.

One of the Dim Sum that I love is barbecue pork buns, but Sheryl doesn't like the frozen ones we get in Munich; those at Tim Ho Wan are a different matter, and I had to fight her off. She liked them so much that she found a copycat recipe online and we tried making them at home (sadly, not a great success).

The Brasserie France is a classic French restaurant in the heart of Oslo.

An excellent menu, very efficient and friendly service, and a great wine list (at typical Oslo prices, of course).

Most days of the week you will need to book.

If I had the money I would happily fly to Oslo just to eat at the Brasserie France.

The Gate of India is the best of the many Indian restaurants that I tried in Oslo.

Whilst most Indian food in Oslo is bland and under-spiced, the Gate of India is spicy enough for English taste buds.

Great and friendly service, lovely food and a terrific drinks menu in a beautiful restaurant.

It was very close to the apartments where I and my team lived, so we went there often as a group and were never disappointed.

Ruffino is a quality Italian restaurant in the heart of Oslo.

I ate there several times while working in Oslo, and had a lovely meal every time.

Not only are the food and wine great, but the service is outstanding, and the restaurant is beautiful.

Seaport (Restaurant with a View) is, as one would expect, a seafood restaurant.

Located by Oslo harbour, it has wonderful views of the water, the occasional tall sailing ships, and the buildings.

I had some of the best ever seafood, in a nice restaurant with excellent service. The menu includes lobster, crayfish, king crab legs, crabs, prawns and a range of shellfish.

The Norwegians love their seafood, and it is always fresh and of the highest quality, but be warned that it is not cheap.

The Grand Café is attached to the Grand Hotel, which is centrally located. I went there often because it was a favourite of my Belgian boss and colleagues.

They have an impressive wine list, and a huge range of Belgian and German beers.

The food menu includes mussels, caviar, steak tartar, veal schnitzel and more; all of it good.

The inside of the café is gorgeous, and the service is good.

The Lorry Restaurant is a traditional Norwegian restaurant, rather like a German beer hall.

Rather than one large room, it is divided into smaller rooms on two floors.

I went there often with colleagues, whenever someone was in the mood for reindeer. We were never disappointed.

Service and menus are in Norwegian and English, friendly and efficient.

Biaggi's is an Italian restaurant with three locations in the Chicago area, and other locations throughout the USA.

We went to the one in Deer Park, Illinois, for a large gathering of Sheryl's family.

Initially I was a little suspicious: an Italian restaurant with a head chef with a Greek name didn't sound good. In fact, all the food was excellent, and everyone enjoyed their dinner. The wine list was also extensive and top quality.

The service was outstanding: being in America, you can order substitutions if there are ingredients that you don't like, and you can order extra sauce; I did both.

I went there twice, and will try to go again next time we are in Chicago.