Stein Garten, Southampton

Ostensibly a German-style pub and, while there are Weiss & Pils beers from over there, what you have here really is a loud youngsters bar with a German theme. There was nothing of great interest on the bar, so I opted for the house beer - Stein lager which I suspect is as German as I am. The loud music and subdued lighting suggests that this place has little interest in the subtler aspects of the European brewing scene. Half-price on some pints must be a prime attraction during the "Happy Hour". Basically, it's a pre-club venue but with better beer than most.

A German-themed single room bar with large bierkeller-style tables. They serve German-themed food, though it was odd that the member of staff to whom I spoke didn’t speak German. Three or four German beers on tap, which were OK and made up for the lack of real ale to a certain extent, and there were a few other lager offerings. The toilet floor was running in what looked like weak German beer but turned out to be urine, so using that facility was like playing hopscotch to avoid leaving a trail back into the bar. OK for a bit of group fun and playing on the cliches, but it wouldn’t be my first choice for a night’s drinking.

Official site of Stein Garten - www.steingartenbar.com

Official site of Stein Garten - www.steingartenbar.com