Oktoberfest Party at Bavarian Bier Cafe

Bavarian Bier Cafe
http://www.bavarianbiercafe.com/



After my fantastic night at Sake Restaurant, I felt very privileged and excited to be invited to the Bavarian Bier Cafe Oktoberfest Media party. The chance to try exclusive German beer and a selection of pure Bavarian food? Hell yeh. Pencil me in.



I had never been to the Bavarian Bier Cafe before but Mochi claimed the food was good and I find her judgement to be very reliable. To say I was keen is an understatement. As a testament to my eagerness, Byron and I dashed down to Brisbane (from Toowoomba) after work last Tuesday to attend.


Once we found a car park, it was a lovely, leisurely stroll down Eagle Street Pier to the restaurant.


I wasn't sure what to expect but... Bavarian Bier Cafe was 'different' to what I expected. It wasn't 'pub-like' and it wasn't 'fine dining' but yet, there was an element of both. The feel of the restaurant was a strange hybrid allowed only by the prime, upmarket location and the robust, festive style of cuisine. Case in point: we were greeted at the entrance of a beautiful, contemporary-style restaurant (with fabulous river views) by a girl in a checkered beer wench outfit. The contrast blew my mind but succeeded in giving the restaurant lots of character.

Thumpin' live music

The party was held in a roped off section in front of the bar (how convenient!)

First of the night

We started with a Stiegl (his) and a Paulaner (mine). Byron basically inhaled his so I'm not sure what his opinion was but mine was quite light and fresh. I am by no means a beer connoisseur so that's the most beer-describing I'll attempt in this post.

I couldn't wait to start trying the food because a) we had come straight from work and didn't have time for dinner, b) I love German cuisine and c) I know jack about beer but I can write 2c worth about food.

Assorted canapes

The first platter we spotted contained small canapes of mixed toppings on rye bread. They were little bursts of flavor. Nice and easy to grab but by no means substantial.

Standing around, eating food... doing what we do best

Next, came the hot platters which were much more exciting. I tried many varieties of German sausage (all extremely juicy and flavorsome) accompanied by dips (tomato sauce, mustard and some kind of chutney). The wedges were really nice and Byron scored himself a piece of pork crackling.

Prized pork morsel

We also sampled some mini portions of schnitzel. They were a tad dry but we saw the full-sized servings being brought out to diners and they looked fabulous. I would definitely go back to try that.

Kransky and sauce

The stand out of what we ate was definitely the little sausages. They were perfecto with beer. Initially we were worried that we would go hungry because only finger food was served but even Byron was full by the end of it. German food can be quite hearty.

The big moment

As we were there, we watched them crack open the official Oktoberfest keg. I am pleased to say I did score a pint from that precious barrel. Hopefully I'm now blessed by the Beer God to have many entertainment highs in the months to come.

Big thanks to these guys for trying their hardest to make our unphotogenic faces look beautiful

It was a fun night, even though it was during the week. I had a great time catching up with other food bloggers. The worst part was the drive home! I'd love to get back to the Bavarian Bier Cafe for a proper, sit-down meal some time.