It’s easy to spot at busy times by the huge crowd queuing for entry.
The Bierkeller is part of a major bar complex that also includes Parkrow and Shooters. It promises an authentic Bavarian experience. I think “authentic” and “strereotypical” are synonyms in their dictionary.
Everything about this place is a cheesy stereotype of German culture: beer is served by the stein (which to drink from you need to pay a £4 deposit and agree to a scary list of terms), there’s a menu featuring currywurst and schnitzel, and there’s even regular oompah music. Yeah.
No dancing on the tables. Really.
Much as we might have wanted to give this place a low rating for everything, it actually scores pretty well on the beer front. They have many different kinds of German beer (yes, serveral varieties of weiße and dunkel included) as well as a reasonable selection of Belgian bottles (including La Chouffe). Even their “Hausbier” is passable and much more interesting than a bland generic lager. There are no casks but they’re genuinely happy to go upstairs to Parkrow and get you a pint from theirs(!)
Bavarian flags everywhwere. Funny, but I don’t see any Bavarians.
Sadly, the good beer is where the good stuff ends. We made the mistake of eating and we got served completely the wrong food, overcooked and cold. The drinks menu extends to include Jägermeister (on tap) and stein cocktails. The giant picnic tables are clearly encouraging people to dance on them, although there are signs everywhere warning people that this is unacceptable. Honest. The clientèle here are primarily an extension of the Greek Street suited crowd, as well as big parties of people and a few people who really like getting their beer served a litre at a time.
If you really really like German beer, oompah music or drunken meat-markets you might be able to see past its faults and have a good time at Bierkeller. Otherwise I’d recommend saying auf wiedersehn to this one.
Tags: food, live music, membership discount
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Even if you really, really love German beer, German music, German food, dancing, a singalong and good cheer, never ever go here. Forced jollity is a circle of hell and if you go down those steps you will have entered it. The oompah band come across like the sort of barely disguised racists that would have been thrown out of the Phoenix Club. The patrons are generally chain-smoking, chain-drinking, chain-everything lovers of life and no-one in that room will let you even sit down and enjoy the show without having to take part in everything. This wasn’t created by anyone wanting to provide an authentic Bavarian experience but an ultra-cynical lowest common denominator business seeking to persuade people to dedicate their entire afternoon to excess and public embarrassment. As they also own the awful Shooters and the terrible Around The World In 80 Beers, enough said. Horrendous.