Bavarian Grill Haus

Bavarian Grill Haus
http://www.bavariangrillhaus.com.au/

Mum and dad had a pork knuckle meal at Bavarian Grill Haus last time they were in the Tamborine Mountain region. They loved it so much that when I suggested meeting up last Sunday, they decided to drive all the way up again to show me what it was like. The weather wasn't too flash Sunday morning but interestingly, the further South we drove and the closer we got to our destination, the brighter it got. I take that as a sign we made the right decision!

Bavarian Grill Haus is a cute little cottage with a beautiful wooden interior, high, thatched ceilings and a real fire place. I was completely taken by the decor. It really set the mood. There's even a back deck overlooking a cute lake.

The menu contains all the usual German classics including a variety of sausages, shnitzels and whatnot. Their speciality is the pork knuckle, which is what mum and dad loved so much last time. My teeth were sore from an orthodontic adjustment so we ordered a platter for 2 and a bowl of soup for me.

We had some beer to start out with. I'm really unfamiliar with German beer. I've tried a few but can never remember the names. I think this was the Einbecker... the non-dark version. I really liked it regardless of what it was called.

Pumpkin and curry soup

My pumpkin curry soup was alright. I prefer a thicker, chunkier soup. This was runnier but it had a decent flavor. It was served with a plain bread roll.

Bavarian platter for two - with pork knuckle, meat loaf, pork loin, German sausage, mashed potato and saurkraut

The platter was impressive for the eyes to behold. There were chunks of meatloaf, 2 varieties of German sausage, mashed potato and sauerkraut.

Close-up of pork knuckle

Oh, and the centrepiece of course... the glorious pork knuckle. Boy was it a big hunk of meat. The rest of the platter was fair but none of it as exciting as the pork knuckle. I liked the sausages, in particular the white one. The meat loaf was ordinary. I've never been a fan of saurkraut. The mash was nice and creamy though.

My plate

I had been skeptical about the knuckle because I thought it would be like those other large portions of meat that are only popular because they are novel. I was completely wrong about this one. The outermost layer of the skin had a glass-like crunch which gave way to the body of crackling which was just the right amount of chewy and gelatinous. The meat itself was smoky and tender. It could be pulled off the bone with a spoon.

I thought the Bavarian Grill Haus was pretty swell all over. Often, these kinds of places are just entertaining because of the decor, music and people in cute costumes. Most of the food was 'ok', at a boring and unremarkable level, but truthfully the pork knuckle was VERY tasty. As impressed as I was, mum and dad claimed that the one that had previously was even better! I'd recommend a visit to this place for the pork knuckle and a stein of beer.