Ristorante Cleo

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Friendship, a Legacy, and a Kitchen

The story behind Ristorante Cleo reads, as the Süddeutsche Zeitung once put it, like a genuine Italian fairy tale. Childhood friends Giovanni and Gioacchino grew up practically stealing wooden spoons from their parents' kitchens. They spent over 25 years together at the heart of the much-loved Ristorante Cleopatra on Landsberger Straße, shaping Italian dining in Munich along the way. When that chapter closed, the two did what felt inevitable: they opened a place of their own. Ristorante Cleo was born — "typisch italienisch, wie bei Mamma, aber mit dem gewissen Etwas," as Gioacchino puts it.

That combination of deep-rooted tradition and a personal creative touch has earned the restaurant recognition from Gambero Rosso, Italy's most authoritative food guide, which awarded Cleo 2 Forks in 2025 — a mark of genuine quality for Italian cuisine abroad.

The Kitchen: Sicilian Roots, Seasonal Instincts

The cooking at Cleo is grounded in Sicilian-Italian cuisine, and that heritage shows in the ingredients. Fresh fish — swordfish, tuna, anchovies — appears regularly alongside lamb, veal, and wild rabbit. Lemons, oranges, tomatoes, fine olive oil, and fresh herbs are the backbone of most dishes. Everything is made in-house, and the pasta is a particular point of pride: handmade tortelli, linguine, and orecchiette are among the shapes that come out of the Cleo kitchen.

Truffle dishes are singled out as a highlight, with a dedicated truffle menu that changes with the seasons. The weekly Sunday menu offers a sense of what the kitchen does at its most composed — a recent example ran from tuna tartare with marinated cucumber and capers, through ravioli with porcini and butter-thyme sauce, to trout fillet with artichokes and mashed potato, closing with a chocolate cake and strawberries, all at €47 per person.

The classics menu covers the full range of Italian cooking: Vitello Tonnato, Rindercarpaccio with rocket and Parmesan, grilled sea bass, veal medallions in lemon sauce, and a beef fillet with pepper sauce among them.

The Room and the Occasion

The dining room in Munich's Laim neighbourhood is decorated in soft, muted tones — understated enough for a business lunch, relaxed enough for a long Sunday with friends. In summer, a shaded front garden extends the space outdoors. The kitchen closes at set times, but guests are warmly invited to stay on at their table afterwards.

Beyond regular service, Cleo handles private parties, events, and catering — birthdays, weddings, company celebrations — with the same kitchen behind it all.