Restaurants: XXL Benchmark

In Munich - the self-proclaimed ‘World City with a Heart' - South German cordiality and Mediterranean dolce vita embrace each other more than in any other German city. The close proximity to Italy plays a key role in the atmosphere of Bavaria's capital where people are said to be more relaxed, full of life and pleasure loving than anywhere else in the country. And it was this particular way of life that Rudi Kull and Albert Weinzierl, one a trained restaurateur, the other an architect, wanted to capture and appeal to with their XXL restaurant. So, they called their three-way operation – grill plus pasta plus bar – ‘Brenner’ after the Alpine pass that links Austria and South Tyrol. A place that, for travellers heading for Italy, marks the point at which they begin to look out for olive trees, stone pines and espresso bars. It is, in other words, a symbol for the transition fromCentral to Southern Europe.
 
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