Augustiner Keller München

Update Review, May 2022

Sigh.  Every time I'm in Munich I wind up at Augustiner Keller.  I've never liked anything there, not the food, not the drinks, not the pretzels, not the dessert (which you've read about before) ... but, it *is* an institution there, and is located close to our office.  Oh, and to say they can handle groups is an understatement.  I think the night we were there they had at least 6 different 50+ person groups just in the seating section we were in!

For a refresher, Augustiner Keller is a massive establishment, spanning several style of dining and drinking.  Inside is a massive beer hall with a full service restaurant, serving all the Bavarian food you can imagine.  Huge menu, huge place, all long communal tables, noisy, rowdy, and worth it for the experience alone.  

Outside is an even more massive beer garden.  It extends for blocks, all enclosed in garden walls.  Tables, tables, tables as far as the eye can see.  This area has a much simplified menu, entirely separate kitchens (in little sheds out there), waitstaff wearing lederhosen regularly carrying 10 giant steins in one hand (seriously, the muscles on these servers to heft them around is impressive!), and much, much beer consumption. Again, worth it for the experience. 

We were seated outside, but on the decks, rather than out in the beer garden.  These areas serve a bigger menu than the garden, but still greatly reduced from the indoor hall.  This is where most large parties go, where they can opt for a la carte or family style.  Our host was thrilled to find a place that offered a la carte for 55 people.  A small group of us decided to share anyway, which certainly aggravated our server as we wanted things like sharing plates.

Orders for drinks, for food, etc took a while to place, and even longer to be filled, but, everyone seemed to get what they ordered eventually, even if not actually hot when it arrived.  And hey, we got to dine outside, in a safer setting (May 2022, it still felt better to be outside rather than inside for Covid purposes), and everyone got what they wanted.  The food though?  Just as awful as I remembered, and really, really I have no desire to ever go back here.

Cold Dishes, Vegetarian, Fish.

The reduced menu in the area we were seated had a few sausages, a cheese plate, simple salad, a token vegetarian risotto (yeah, what?), a single seafood option (grilled salmon), and the necessary käsespätzle.  Inside the restaurant there are double the number of cheeses, salads, soups, sausages, fish ... and a slew more vegetarian items.

I was quite sad because the dish I most wanted (Gemischte Schwammerl) is available inside in the full restaurant, was not on offer where we were.  We actually even asked about it, but were turned down.  Not available in that area, only for full restaurant seating.  Wah!

Mains, "Best Seller", Dessert.

Mains were basically all the different forms of schnitzel, or variations on roast pork or duck.  Most dishes came with potato dumplings or cabbage.  Another dish I wanted (Maultaschen) was only served inside.  Le sigh.

The same goes for the desserts.  We had a small reduced menu, which included only 4 items, 3 of which I had last time, and one of which was just vanilla ice cream with berries.  Inside you can get kaiserschmarrn (really the only German dessert I truly enjoy) or apple fritters that sound quasi interesting.

Drinks.

Drinks are a kinda feature of the establishment.  I don't even call it a "restaurant" exactly, as so many patrons are just there for drinks, particularly out in the beer garden.  The drink menu isn't actually all that extensive either - it isn't like they have a large variety of beer to pick from, mostly, just how big you want it.  They also have your basic soft drinks, water, coffee, tea, and token wine by the glass.

I'd guess that 95% of the patrons have beer, split about 50-50 between giant steins and regular large Pilsner style glasses (not standard American pints).

Merlot D.O.C. 4.70.

The menu had exactly 3 wines, and only one was red.  Merlot it was.  I had zero expectations for this, particularly given the ridiculously cheap price (for .2L serve), but ... honestly, it wasn't awful.  Not too much acid, not too much tannin, not to grape-y ... just, quite drinkable.  A entirely acceptable "table wine".

***+.

Pretzels. 1.30 each.

When I realized that one of my fellow diners had not yet had a pretzel in Germany, and I suspected it would be at least an hour before our meal came giving our group size, I suggested getting a pretzel.  A few others joined in.  1.30 each.

The pretzels were highly unremarkable.  Served cold, as they do in Germany.  No mustard or anything.  Just, a cold pretzel.  Eh.  It was nicely salted and had a decent chew, not too stale, but, yeah.  Nothing special here, and since none of our food coming had sauce to want to dunk into, I saw no use for these pretzels, besides helping us pass time as we waited for the rest.

My hotel breakfast buffet had considerably better pretzels.

**+.

Käsespätzle.

"Swabian-style cheese noodles topped with crisp-fried onions and served with a mixed salad."

The same diner who had not had a pretzel in Germany also had never had käsespätzle ("the thing like mac and cheese?", he said, clearly having been told by someone else that he needed to try it).  So, käsespätzle was definitely in our lineup.

It was ... fine.  Not great.  The noodles were just kinda mush, the sauce not particularly creamy nor cheesy, and the fried onion strings no different than what you get from a can.  The little bit of crushed red pepper on top was nice though.  The version from Zum Dürnbräu was so much better, an entirely different league.  Really, to me, this was like boxed mac and cheese compared to a nicely homemade version.

I had my few bites and quickly moved on.

**+.

Mixed Salad (with Käsespätzle).

It came with an odd little side salad.

Three huge pieces of lettuce, a tiny tiny tiny portion of sprouts, 5 kernels of corn, 3 slices of cucumber, 3 small pieces of bell pepper, 1 tomato chunk.  No dressing.

I actually appreciated the greens and juicy cucumber, but the tomato was mealy and not good, and I'd be sad if I had ordered this actually as a salad.  Again, compared to the side salads at Zum Dürnbräu?  That is like comparing a McDonald's salad to Sweetgreen.  Not nearly in the same category.

**+.

Münchner Schnitzel. 15.50.

"Pork escalope with a mustard and horseradish crust, served with cold potato salad."

Next up, schnitzel.  One diner really wanted us to get schnitzel, and didn't care which we got.  I don't particularly like schnitzel, but I didn't mind trying a little.  After all, I *was* in Germany ...

Augustiner Keller has several versions on the menu, such as the pfefferschnitzel (pork with spicy peppercorn sauce and spatzle), wiener schnitzel (veal), or the one we got, Münchner Schnitzel, which was veal with a mustard/horseradish crust, and cold potato salad on the side.  The decision was easy for me as I had heard good things about the potato salad, and wanted to try that (plus, we already had käsespätzle, we didn't need plain spätzle with our schnitzel).

The schnitzel was ... average.  Decent crusting that didn't fall off, and the hint of horseradish and mustard really did give it nice flavor.  Pork was boring, a bit chewy, but fine.  The lemon was key as it added a lot of needed acid/flavor.  So, slightly interesting crust, but very average, and not something I ever really want anyway.

The potato salad was a big portion, good since we were sharing, but still quite a bit on top of the pretzels and spätzle ... carbs, carbs, carbs!  Meat and carbs, that's the German way ... (yup, that side salad was the only vegetable seen at our entire 50 person table!).  It was decent, German style so not all mayo (although it was pretty creamy, not sure if that was potato mash or if there was some mayo?), slightly acidic from vinegar, with some mustard flavor too.  The potato was small bits, plus some mashed, fairly soft.  Not much else to it, just, potato.  I liked the flavor, but I can't really imagine having a big portion of it like this.  I kept the leftovers and threw a scoop on top of a salad the next day at lunch, and that worked well.

**+.

Wiener Schnitzel. 21.90.

"Breaded veal schnitzel served with sautéed potatoes and cranberry sauce."

One of our tablemates, who wasn't in our family style sharing group, opted for the wiener schnitzel, and he offered me a big hunk to try.  His was *much* better.  Sure, the coating was just regular breading and so it didn't have the nice mustard/horseradish zing, but, I liked the flavor of the veal more (as in, it had some!), and the meat was much less chewy.  

I also liked the complimentary cranberry sauce with it (and, with the pork one I had on my plate too).  Definitely more my style to have a sauce.  I didn't try his potatoes, but he didn't touch them.

This was considerably, considerably better than the pork, but not something I'd really go get myself.

***.

Bayrische Vanillecreme. 4.95.

"Bavarian vanilla cream pudding with berries and cream, served in a glass jar."

Last time I was at Augustiner Keller we had a non-dessert sharer (he was gluten-free) who got the Bavarian cream.  We had another such person at our table this time.  The only notable thing was everyone was happy to see a little fresh fruit.  It seemed fairly lackluster though, not gathering any real comment from the person who ordered it, although he did finish it.

Apfelstrudel. 8.15.

"Apple strudel with vanilla custard and whipped cream.

You may recall that last time I kinda hated the apfelstrudel, and I told this group as much, but one person still ordered it.  This time it came with just a small little bowl of vanilla custard, rather than the giant gravy boat we had last time (and that I gladly consumed all of, dubbing it the best part of our meal!).

The strudel was deemed average, the whipped cream seemed canned, and, yup, I ended up basically getting the entire bowl of vanilla custard, which really was just a thin generic sauce, but with good vanilla flavor to it.  Not nearly as magical as I remember it being, but actually, yes, still the best thing I ate at Augstiner Keller, which is not saying much.

Ofenfrische Dampfnudel. 7.20.

"Steamed honey-coated dumpling with hot vanilla custard."

Everyone else at the table wanted the dampfnudel, even though I tried to describe it to them and said it wasn't great.  Not that we had many options, as I mentioned, the real good desserts were not available outside.  So, a bunch of dampfnudel were ordered.

When they arrived, everyone was 1) amazed how big it was and 2) exclaimed that it wasn't what they were expecting.  I had tried to describe it well, but, I guess I failed.  They still really thought it was going to be a "dumpling" in a form they recognized.

It is safe to say that everyone was highly underwhelmed by this.  A few half hearted bites were taken, and our table wound up a graveyard of abandoned dampfnudel.  After all, it really was just a barely warm big chunk of slightly sweet bread, with barely warm thin generic custard around it.  Basically ... like a King's Hawaiian roll with a little custard around it.  Not really sweetened (not sure where that "honey coating" was), and really, really not hot as described.

Major meh.  I left, and went to get alternate dessert.

*+.

Original Review, October 2016

On my recent visit to Munich, nearly every person I asked for restaurant recommendation from said to go to Augustiner Keller.  But, they weren't really telling me to go for the food.  It was more about the beer, and the experience ... not exactly a match for my interests.  Augustiner Keller is the largest beer garden in the world.  I don't really drink beer.

The first night we were in town, Ojan's work group had a big dinner there.  He came back not impressed, and told me I'd hate it.  He said it was an experience, but, he didn't really want to return himself, and he had another dinner scheduled there later in the week that he wasn't looking forward to.

Yet everyone kept recommending it, and, it was close to the office.  So, several days into the trip, my colleagues headed there.  I decided to eat dinner at the office and then join them for dessert, since I knew the desserts were supposed to be at least decent, and hey, this way I'd get to finally try a real German dessert.

Or so I thought.

The Space

Augustiner Keller is really two different establishments: a beer garden and a restaurant.  Both are quirky in their own ways, quite distinct, and massive.

Outside Beer Garden.

Outside is a beer garden, with big screens showing sports, and a counter where you order food, wait for it out in a little shack, and seat yourself.  I imagine that on a sunny afternoon this place is quite popular.  As it was, it was a rainy evening, and it was still pretty busy.  It was there that my co-workers had gathered, so they could watch the game on the tv screens.  This area is massive, with picnic tables going as far as the eye can see.

When I found my co-workers, they had only giant beer steins and equally massive pretzels on the table, so, I quickly went to the counter area to order dessert, only to find that the limited menu outside did not include dessert (besides an ice cream freezer).  Don't get me wrong, an ice cream freezer is an exciting thing, but I had just left my office with a stellar ice cream freezer, and wanted a "real" dessert!

(In case you are wondering, of course I tried the mega-pretzel, and, it was actually quite good).

Thus, I convinced some of them to join me inside so we could order from the dessert menu.

Front Hall.

The second half of the establishment is a restaurant, with outdoor and indoor seating, and table service.  It has a much more extensive menu, and a real kitchen.  Like the beer garden, it is also massive.

This photo shows just the calm front hall.  There is also a downstairs that you can reach from this area, and two side outdoor patios.

And then the main dining hall.

Main Dining Hall.

The main room was a sight to behold.  Like a giant mess hall, with huge, long tables running the entire length of the room.  Parties are seated where they fit.

It was packed and quite loud.  Each table had a basket of normal sized pretzels waiting on it.

The decor was fascinating, ornate woodwork, paintings on the ceiling, and massive round light figures with exposed bulbs.

It looked like a scene from history books.

Stage.

There is also a stage inside.  With a painting on the wall behind it.

Instead of a band setup though, there are tables.  And, within a few minutes of our being seated, people were seated up there.  Where they special?  We have no idea.  It was totally weird to have people up there.

Even more amusingly, Ojan said the night he was there, the stage was filled with diners, and there was a live band ... off on the side, rather than on the stage.

I feel like there must be a story here.

Dessert

So, dessert.  The server came over, asked if we were hungry, and I said, "yes, for dessert!"

He handed me two menus, all in German, and walked away.

The first menu was the classic menu, with items always available.  The second was the daily specials.  Both had 4-5 desserts on them.  Again, all in German.

I pulled out handy Google translate on my phone, and got to work.  Several minutes into my fun translating (which, works really well with the app by the way, you just hold it up and it translates in real time, totally amazing!), one of my co-workers said, "hey, do you just want me to translate it for you?"  It was then that I remembered he was Austrian.  To be fair, he lives in New York now, I know him from his time in San Francisco, and before that he lived in Melbourne, so he speaks with an Australian accent.

Anyway, once we translated the menu, we were ready to order, and our server did come back in a reasonable amount of time.

One diner is gluten-free, so he ordered the only thing that seemed gluten-free (Bavarian cream with berries).  The rest of us decided to share things so we could try several.  There were 4 of us, and I knew that the desserts would all be huge.  Of the 4 of us, one person said he didn't want dessert, and one was stuffed, so I suggested we get only two desserts.  Yet somehow we got three.  It was definitely too much dessert, but, we did order the top three things I wanted to try, so, not all a bad thing.

Ofenfrische Dampfnudel in der Honigkruste mit heißer Vanillesoße.

"Freshly baked dumpling in the honey crust with vanilla sauce."

From the standard menu, we picked the dumpling.  I will admit, this is not quite what I was expecting, as, uh, it didn't look like a dumpling, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Basically, it sorta reminded me of hybrid between a bread pudding and a doughnut?  The dough was super soft, fluffy, and had an underlying sweetness.  Sorta like any good, fresh, sweet roll from a bakery.

It was surrounded by vanilla custard.

It was served warm (both the dumpling and the sauce), which I really appreciated.

Overall, this was pretty good.  I liked the warm bread and the custard.  It was my favorite dish, one other diner's second favorite, and the other ranked it tied for second place.

Ofenfrischer Rahmapfelstrudel mit Vanillesoße und Sahne.

"Applestrudel, straight out of the oven, served on a creamy hot vanilla sauce."

When every person has talked to me about dessert in Germany, they've told me to get an apple strudel.  Never, ever what I'd pick, as I don't like apples really, but, I decided if there was a time to try the iconic German dessert, doing it in a group at a famous beer hall might as well be it.

My opinion was exactly as I expected.  Yup, it was filled with apple.  I love pastry, and, the strudel form doesn't provide much pastry.  Just lots of apples.

Of course, I liked what came with it, a generous puff of whipped cream topped with little berries and a mint leaf, and an entire dish full of "vanilla sauce" to pour over it.

As I've been known to just eat bowls of crème anglaise, it should come as no surprise to you that I did the same here.  The others found this to be odd behavior, saying things like, "And you aren't even drunk!" or "Do you realize how many miles you'll have to run to burn that off?"

Clearly, these folks don't know me very well.  This is totally normal behavior for me, and, honestly, is it really any different than eating a bowl of custard pudding or ice cream?   Yeah, I didn't think so.

Anyway, I didn't care for the strudel, because, apples, making it my least favorite, but it was the favorite of one diner, and tied for second for the other.

Topfenstrudel mit Vanillesoße und Walnußeis.

Finally, we also picked a daily special dessert, another strudel.

This one was filled with a cheese filling, it reminded me of ricotta cheesecake, so I'm guessing there was some ricotta or cream cheese involved.  Again, not enough pastry to evaluate the pastry, it was all about the filling.  I like cheesecake, but, I didn't really see a reason to serve it like this.  Clearly, not the dessert for me.

On the side was the same vanilla sauce and generous amount of whipped cream.  These were again good, and of course, I again ate them by the spoonful.

But, this dish also came with something special: walnußeis.  That is, walnut ice cream.  The ice cream was really, really, really good.  Loaded with caramelized nuts.  It was super sweet, the nuts added a great crunch, and, I totally stole the entire tiny scoop.  Seriously good ice cream.

This ice cream was, hands down, the best item of the night, making this my second favorite dish overall.  One other diner ranked this last, as he loved the apple strudel and the dumpling, but the other also ranked this first, saying, "That ice cream is really, really good!"