Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt

Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt: Munich Brewery Opposite the French Cathedral

Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt is located on Charlottenstraße directly opposite the Gendarmenmarkt, with the nearest train stations being Stadtmitte and Hausvogteiplatz. Its opening in 2010 was a spectacle in itself: The Munich brewery brought its beer with a team of six brewery horses and a historic wooden barrel wagon, accompanied by a brass band, through Unter den Linden, past the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Cathedral, to the capital. The establishment is divided into three areas. The main dining room accommodates up to 300 guests, is spread over several levels, and is barrier-free accessible, featuring dark wood paneling, hand-painted wall and ceiling decorations, oak floorboards, and a central counter complete with wooden barrels. On the raised ground floor is the Zirbenstube for up to 70 people, completely paneled in alpine Swiss stone pine and accessible only via a few steps. A terrace wraps around the building with views of the French Cathedral, whose floor-to-ceiling casement windows can be fully opened in summer.

Augustiner Edelstoff from Wooden Barrels and Hearty Snacks from the Village Butcher

Augustiner Bräu from Munich is served, the city’s oldest and only remaining privately owned brewery, founded in 1328 and featuring its own floor malting. The light lager and the Edelstoff flow from the tap, and when the Edelstoff is tapped from a wooden barrel, a bell rings at Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt. The cuisine is Bavarian-Alpine and continuously served warm. The crispy whole ham hock weighs a good kilo and costs 24.50 Euros with Bavarian cabbage, complemented by oven-fresh roast pork with crackling, beef goulash in dark beer, Nuremberg sausages, and for two, the Schmankerlpfanne (delicacy pan). A special section is dedicated to “Brotzeiten” (hearty snacks), from Obazda according to an old recipe for 10.50 Euros, to sausage salad made from Regensburger sausage, to a platter with hot-smoked Miesbacher ham, and beef tartare. Vegetarian options include Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), Rahmschwammerl (creamy mushrooms), and Kaspressknödel (pressed cheese dumplings), plus, as a Berlin concession, a homemade Currywurst. Service is provided in traditional costumes; in autumn, the half farmer’s duck from Pomerania with apple red cabbage takes center stage, and at lunchtime, there’s an affordable weekly menu that is freshly put together each week.