TL;DR: In the tradition of the Munich beer halls, the Bavarians have brought the Munich Brauhaus all the way up to Brisbane. German cuisine has had a small cult-like presence within the general city area, but it has not truly gotten under the skin of what the dining experience can be like within the said country. All this is changing now, with more than one story to fit it all in, a good environment that has gallons of beer to go around, and complete with all the Bavarian classics on hand.
Over the period of a couple of months, I had been mulling over whether or not to go and try the signature food challenge at this place. It is the Schnitzelmesiter, and that is a kilogram pure veal schnitzel (meaning no fancy seasonings or sauces on it) with a choice of four sides. That gets eaten in an hour, and the whole meal is free. On the side, I was saving up small bits of money to cover it in order to give the thing a burl, and that is what I did.
The challenge possibly is not as hard as some of the others that are out there, and for the most part I was almost at the cusp of finishing it. Just two or three minutes off, a couple of big handfuls of vegetables - and a reversal of fortune caused a disqualification. Nevertheless, the food here was enjoyable enough and if you are able to manage such a large amount of food - this is certainly worth a burl.
The food challenge aside, with each other aspect including the decor, the service, and the vibe that they are going for, the folks here have been doing a good job. What it boils down to is the mission statement, and that is to create the experience of having Oktoberfest during any time of the year. To me German food is one of the most under-rated cuisines, and provides some of the best and most memorable food experiences. It really is one that should be doing a lot better than it does over this nape of the woods, particularly since all the basic elements
What doesn't hurt is that this place is two stories tall. There is plenty of space inside, and from what I know, a whole lot of attention to detail has one into it all. Beyond the al fresco tables, and the counter to pay for the meal, I cannot attest to much of the decor. The outside tables were nicely decked out though, with the salad menu in notepad form, cutlery in the middle to collect, and all sorts of fliers describing the place. They have gone to a good effort here to showcase what they are.
Service is also one that is par excellence. Ordering the food is done at the table, and payment is up at the counter. The ladies here are really friendly, and will hover around all the tables to get any additional orders if necessary. It is safe to say that they make you feel welcome here, and their presence is among the most apparent and frequent among many of the big places in town. That gives it that quaint, inviting feeling within somewhere that is an institution.
Munich Brauhaus has one big and broad menu that will guarantee almost any client has something to eat and drink here. To get it out of the way first, meat eaters will have such a wonderful time here. It starts off with a small lot of bar snacks, finger food that will go great with some of the drinks they have on tap - just you wait.
The main cuisine certainly is German, but they certainly manage to sneak a bit of Australian influence into there. The classical schnitzel is there in all its glory, different kinds of meat (chicken, veal, and pork) plus different versions of preparation, and some specialty ones giving out an international influence. Pork rules the roost as well, especially with the knuckle (no having to pre-order for here, it seems). On the mains part, most of the options are practically pub specialties that can be found at any place akin to this.
And the other big German specialty is right here, the sausage. Two sorts of sausage are here, the classical ones and some gourmet ones which are more experimental. With its own section on the menu is salad, one that is separate and in notepad form at the table. It is to be filled out accordingly, then handed to one of the waitstaff. Breakfast is also here, though admittedly it is a bit on the basic side. Finishing off the main part of the food menu is a small lot of sides and sauces to compliment the meals. A few desserts are straight after, just some middle European classics and reliable old ice cream.
Those in a group having a hard time deciding what to have have got a good range of platters to mull over: all the meats, and sausages, plus sides and condiments. One even comes with the choice of what beer to have. Even for a solo experience, tasting platters are right there with several kinds of meats to sample. That is also not to mention the group menus with several courses at a set price.
Now we get onto the next part, one that would make it for most people - the beverage list. Beers, beers, and more beers is the mainstay right here. Via the draught, or via bottle, each one is sectioned well and has several options underneath them. You can easily tell that this is made of fans of the hops, to the extent that bigger glasses shaped like boots and tubes can be filled with the choice of drink. After all that, it is a choice of many wines, a whole lot of schnapps and some cocktails to behold. In addition, tea and coffee are available and I would presume all the usual sodas and juices are just as much.
Just reading about all of this reminds me just why this place is going to work out well. Everything that one could want for a good casual get-together is right here, and can be utlised well to any sized group. Portion sizes don't hurt the prospects either.
While waiting for the schnitzel to be cooked, some drinks were offered. I went with the usual double espresso. Whatever the brew was, I forget it at the moment. It was probably one of the middling ones, which usually do fine enough. The coffee itself was nice, a slightly fruity hint underneath the beans was apparent, and the extraction was done well. Not really anything too strong, nor lacking in the slightest, the strength was decent on its own.
With the Schnitzelmeister, the four sides I got fries, mushy peas, red cabbage, and sauerkraut. Insurmountable size aside, all the components of the meal managed to be tasty and good quality. They put on a good effort here, that is for sure. They must choose some pretty good quality sources for the meat, since over 90% of this massive sucker managed to be quite tender - a few gribblies here and there. It was coated pretty nicely, in a crumb batter that was neither too thick or too thin for the meat, and being pipping hot definitely did wonders for it. On the seasoning side, it was a bit bland and might have benefited from a little seasoning here and there. Overall, the piece of meat was pretty good.
As for the sides, each one of them was lovely and the serving size was generous across the board. First off are the fries. These were hot little numbers, done with a herb-based seasoning that was delicious and mixed well with a good amount of salt. The right balance was achieved with texture, the outer crust being quite crispy, and the potato on the inside was fluffy like a cloud. That it the mark of a good place, fries were decent. Both the red cabbage and sauerkraut were similar to each other, a difference being the tastes - sauerkraut with a more vinegary note, and the red cabbage had a semi-sweet flavour to it. Both were robust and very filling. Lastly was the mushy peas, a creamy mixture that is good when done right, and that it was here.
All-in-all, Munich Brauhaus has enough strengths to become a welcome addition into the South Bank area, not just as one more place serving good quality food, but one that has an actual vibe and character that will ultimately draw a good number of patrons if it has not already. While it is certainly not got the most authentic vibe to it, being a meeting between both Australian and German foods suitably brings out a dynamic environment that combines many of the institutions of the Australian pub, and the open, social experience of a Munich beer hall. Putting it right in the middle of the South Bank area might be the best choice of location here, with the interaction of bypassing pedestrians and general populous, which is all the more better when the weather is good. South Bank is now getting on the mend as a dining location, and this is one more example of that.
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