Bavarian Beerhouse, Bristol

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Blackthorn _ left this review about Bavarian Beerhouse

One of three Bavarian beer houses in the UK with the other two being in London, this has been open for a couple of years now and occupies the site that has been many other unmemorable bars over the years, including Bar Essential and Azucar.

On entering we were approached by a waiter and told to sit at a table where someone would be over to take our order. Clearly ordering at the bar is not an option here. A drinks menu was helpfully provided on the table though. Inside it’s all one open plan room with wooden boards on the floor and rows of long communal tables covered in chequered red and white tablecloths and bench seats. Being a corner plot there are windows on two sides and these are very large, floor to ceiling ones letting in plenty of light. The small pillars in between are decorated to look as though they are covered in foliage. Waitresses were all dressed in tradition German costumes and were all very friendly, although perhaps in a slightly over-bearing TGI Friday’s sort of way – “Hi, I’m Kate, give me shout if there’s anything you want” she said, whilst pointing at her name badge to make sure we hadn’t missed her name.

A small dance floor and DJ booth is at the rear and there is apparently a DJ there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately we were there on a Thursday which meant we had to suffer his entertainment. Not only the music which was slightly too loud for easy conversation, but the fact that he was extolling everyone to sing along and join in with various dances which seemed to involve jumping up and down on the benches. The waitresses were enthusiastically leading the way, which made for a somewhat less than relaxing atmosphere if you’ve just popped in for a quiet pint, and would surely bring on a bout of indigestion if you were in the middle of a meal. It rather reminded me of some dodgy 1970’s holiday camp.

There were no real ales on tap unfortunately, just seven German beers on keg. These did seem to offer a good selection of styles though, with lagers, wheat beers and dark beers among them. Prices appeared not unreasonable at first for this sort of establishment with most of the pints coming in at £3.90, although closer inspection showed that this was actually for 500ml (is that legal in this country?) and due to the table service a 12½% service charge was added on, so that’s actually £4.98 a pint. The solitary (bottled) cider was a German “apple wine” which wasn’t really to my palette to be honest.

We didn’t eat on this occasion, but the menu very much followed the German theme with lots of sausages and schnitzel. Main courses were mostly in the £10 - £13 range and there were also a number of snacks, buffets and group platters to choose from. I’ve mixed feelings about this – if you were out with a large group it could actually be quite fun, but if you want a quiet pint and a chat then this probably isn’t for you.

On 14^th August 2015 - rating: 5
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