Want to enjoy a delicious traditional German goose dinner from mid-November through to Christmas? Follow these essential tips to find the best places.

Setting the clock back to wintertime this past weekend not only means notably shorter days. It’s also a reminder we are now entering that time of the year when seasonal menus start to turn festive and feature game meats and local specialities like goose. As for the letter, Germany is looking at a long tradition serving goose during the winter months.

A little history around the traditional festive German goose dinner

While today, goose dishes are a fixture on menus from mid-November through to Christmas, feasting on a classic roast goose traditionally happed on St. Martin’s Day (November 11th) and Christmas. Indeed, Germans refer to their goose eaten on these days as Martinsgans (St. Martin’s goose) and Weihnachtsgans (Christmas goose).

The tradition was born in the Middle Ages – the oldest written recipe of Martinsgans dates back to the 1350s when it appeared in a cookbook called Das Buch von guter Speise, literally meaning the book of good food. Initially, stuffed roast goose was eaten on St. Martin’s Day to celebrate the end of the annual harvest time. It marked the last opportunity to enjoy a sumptuous meal before the start of the fasting period of Advent (which in the Middle Ages begun earlier than it does today). Later on, the same stuffed goose recipe would be prepared for Christmas as well.

Despite the regional differences in local cuisines across Germany, a traditional roast goose dinner looks fairly similar from north to south, and east to west. It typically features a whole goose stuffed with apples, chestnuts, onions, dried plums and herbs such as mugwort, marjoram or thyme) will be roast in the oven. It will be traditionally served with red cabbage and dumplings and topped with rich gravy.

The best places to enjoy a traditional goose dinner (and stay overnight) in Germany

As usual, finding the best locations for a traditional goose dinner are determined by personal preferences. But if you are looking to celebrate the annual goose season with a delicious meal, you usually have three main options (plus obviously preparing a goose menu from scratch at home).

Regional Inns across Germany will offer roast goose. These are some of the best places if you live or travel in the countryside to enjoy this traditional food, and most will stick to the classic recipe.

Gourmet restaurants typically offer slightly more modern interpretations of the classic recipe (though some will go with the classic too, given its huge popularity). Though you will find many excellent gourmet restaurants in smaller cities and towns as well, gourmet and Michelin-star restaurants are the perfect locations for a delicious goose dinner in the larger cities.

Gans-to-go has become a popular option in recent years. Again, it’s mostly the regional Inns but also local butcheries and gourmet shops to offer pre-prepared goose menus you can take home and simply put in the oven to finish. Including the traditional sides.

Below, I have rounded out some of my favourite places to enjoy a delicious Martinsgans dinner across Germany. All offer the opportunity to stay overnight, which makes them perfect for a weekend getaway or a little mid-week break.

Deidesheimer Hof, Deidesheim: The popular 5-star hotel in the famous wine town of Deidesheim on the German Wine Route traditionally serves a traditional goose menu in November, which you can nicely combine with a night or two in the hotel. With a large number of wineries in walking distance, this is the perfect gourmet getaway ringing in the festive season.

Rüssels Landhaus, Naurath: Located in proximity to the Mosel River and thus easy access to region’s many local wineries, this small country hotel is a great destination to plan a short stay and explore some of the wineries and wine towns along the river without the crowds. On-site restaurant Hasenpfeffer offers its special annual goose menu from mid-November to mid-December.

Hotel Hohenhaus, Herleshausen: Tucked away in the hills of northern Hesse, right at the border to Thuringia, this country hotel is the perfect slow travel destination for foodies. Surrounded by nothing than nature (the area is part of the geo-nature park Frau Holle Land and close to the nature park Thuringia Forrest) Hohenhaus features many different culinary events year-round. From November 11th through to Christmas, the hotel offers a special three-course goose menu.

Sonne Frankenberg: This gourmet hotel tucked away in the historic part of Frankenberg is the perfect foodie retreat year-round. Kicking off on November 11th with the annual fine-dining goose menu in the Michelin-starred Philip Soldan restaurant, Sonne Frankenberg also offers a weekly goose and duck menu (this year every Wednesday starting on November 12th) in the nearby Walkemühle restaurant. At the same Walkemühle restaurant, you can also enjoy a daily goose menu for two (serving a half roast goose) and four (one roast goose) starting on November 13th.

Schafhof Amorbach, Amorbach: This is the perfect slow-travel gourmet destination to take some off-time in the beautiful Odenwald in combination with a delicious four course goose menu on November 11th and each of the next six evenings.

Restaurant Hotel Schwarzer Adler, Vogtsburg: The second-generation family-led Michelin-starred restaurant is renowned for its excellent French-inspired dishes (the border to Alsace is only around 30 kilometres away). During the annual goose season, expect classic goose dishes paired with the excellent wines from the family’s own award-winning winery.

Kronenschlössschen, Eltville: Renowned for its excellent gourmet events featuring dedicated regional wine pairings (with wines from all angles of the world) year-round, you can expect Kronenschlössschen to thraw a delicious goose dinner too. Sourced from the Oldenburg region, renowned for raising high-quality Oldenburg Goose, this year the event features local Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) from the Rheingau.

Burg Schwarzenstein, Geisenheim: This hideaway overlooking the Rhine River and rolling vineyards of the Rheingau is a year-round gourmet destination featuring seasonal specialities. The nearby renowned wineries of the Rheingau offer excellent wine tasting opportunities.  Kicking off on November 11th the annual goose menu features goose raised in the Vendée region just off the French Atlantic coast.

Hardenberg BurgHotel, Nörten Hardenberg: Nestled at the foot of Hardenberg castle ruin, the historic Hardenberg BurgHotel, part of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux, kicks off its annual three-course goose menu on November 11th (running until December 21st) featuring organic goose from Germany. Surrounded by the deep forests of Lower Saxony. Combine your dinner with a day at the hotel spa, discovering the surroundings on horseback (with the hotel’s own horses) or book a distillery tour at nearby Hardenberg Distillery.

Hotel Sackmann, Baiersbronn: During the winter season, Germany’s Black Forest takes on a particular mysterious and often snow-dusted vail. In the northern part, Baiserbronn is particularly renowned for its high number of Michelin-starred gourmet hotel-restaurants. Family-led Hotel Sackmann not only features excellent regional food. The latest renovation has turned the hotel into a highly sustainable place with ecological water treatment and an in-house combined heat and power plant. During goose season, the hotel’s gourmet arrangements include a delicious goose menu.

If food is an important part of your travel experience, I highly recommend including a classic goose dinner on your bucket list. Next time you visit Germany in winter – most likely to visit the local Christmas Markets – seeks out the restaurants at your destination for a traditional roast goose menu.