Höppner Restaurant celebrates Bavarian Flavors with a revamped menu and exclusive wine pairings

The award-winning hotel hosting the experience in Gramado is the Ritta Höppner, managed by the Höppner family of German immigrants, and is currently enjoying strong international recognition. In 2025, it was elected the best hotel in South America and earned a position among the best in the world by TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Best of the Best. Its excellent service also earned the establishment the title of best boutique hotel for weddings and events in Brazil and South America, awarded by the Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality & Lifestyle Awards. This combination of family tradition, sophistication, and handcrafted hospitality shapes the setting where the Flavors of Bavaria experience unfolds.

The origin of the Flavors of Bavaria experience

Created in 2013, the concept originated during Prince Heinrich Prinz von Bayern's stay at the hotel, an occasion that brought a delegation of Bavarian royal chefs to Ritta Höppner. The encounter inspired a menu that reinterprets memories, stories, and references from German cuisine, transforming the restaurant into a meeting point between European culture and mountain hospitality.

A menu revamp after a decade.

More than ten years later, the experience has been given a contemporary makeover, preserving its Bavarian soul while presenting a six-course gastronomic journey. The kitchen works with textures and ingredients with sensitivity, exploring current techniques without abandoning the tradition that gives the restaurant its identity. Each stage of the menu has been designed to build a continuous sensory narrative, guiding the diners through flavors that move between emotional memory and innovation.

Pairing with labels from Kleine Kirche Bier

To enhance this journey, the restaurant has adopted a complete pairing with craft beers from Kleine Kirche Bier, in Igrejinha, made exclusively for the hotel. The experience begins with the lightness of the Pilsner, with its golden and refreshing body, progresses to the creamy smoothness of the Cream Ale, which balances malt notes and delicate bitterness, and continues to the Weiss, a classic interpretation of German wheat beer marked by aromas of banana and clove. Next, the intensity rises with the Red Ale, which combines reddish color and toasted nuances, while the Dunkel Weiss brings depth with its soft texture and dark malt character. The journey culminates in the complexity of the Double IPA, a beer with personality, marked by the expressive presence of hops and a dry finish, perfect for more structured dishes. This curation not only complements the flavors but creates a dialogue between the palate and the German brewing tradition reinterpreted in the Serra Gaúcha region.

A cuisine that preserves German traditions.

The restaurant upholds pillars of German gastronomy that are part of the Höppner family's history. Classics such as the mix of typical sausages served with demi-glace sauce and sauerkraut, the schnitzel prepared with breaded pork loin and finished with mountain herbs, the slow-roasted eisbein accompanied by mustards and potatoes in cream sauce with bacon, and the duck in red fruit sauce express the union between traditional techniques and regional ingredients. The cuisine also embraces international influences, offering dishes such as salmon with citrus sauce and spaghetti with gorgonzola and escalopes, while preserving the elegance present in the restaurant's identity.

The sweetness of traditional desserts

Among the desserts, the Apfelstrudel reflects the hotel's German heritage with its delicate pastry, aromatic apple filling, and topped with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. The Petit Gateau, with its creamy interior served warm, and the ice cream with sauce complete the selection, reinforcing the balance between tradition and contemporary flair that accompanies the entire experience.

Served daily at lunch and dinner, the Flavors of Bavaria experience transforms the Höppner Restaurant into a stage of memories, technique, and hospitality. 

Christmas and New Year's Eve at Höppner Restaurant

Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations take shape in carefully crafted gastronomic experiences designed to transform festive nights into memories marked by flavor and elegance. At Christmas, dinner served at the table welcomes guests in a cozy atmosphere, with a welcome cocktail, live music, a DJ, and the traditional visit from Santa Claus, who delivers gifts and reinforces the hotel's characteristic warm and affectionate atmosphere. New Year's Eve takes on a tropical tone, celebrating the freshness of summer in an evening that combines haute cuisine and a celebratory spirit designed to mark the turn of the year with sophistication.

Reporting by: Mary de Aquino.

Photo: Courtesy of the Hotel Ritta Höppner.