Thigh-slapping Revelry: Hopfenstube German restaurant
“Isn’t this the second time ‘Go West’ has played?”
“Dunno. Maybe this one’s the World Cup remix.”
I don’t think it was. But the music shows the vibe this huge German restaurant is gunning for. With 300 seats, a dozen plasma TVs showing sports, and a copper microbrewery, it’s all about thigh-slapping, glass-chinking revelry of the Munich beer hall variety.
Though not entirely. A sparse design scheme, equal parts upscale hotel buffet and Bavarian church (think stained glass and faux-medieval chandeliers), indicates a more formal dining intent. The menu is a typically red-blooded selection of sausages, steaks, schnitzel and potato-based sides, with five soups and as many salads.
Our “Bavarian Brewhouse Platter” (RMB 88), eschewing plating niceties for sheer protein, looked like someone had rolled a hand grenade into a barnyard and caught as many flying bits of animal as they could on a plate. Pork knuckle, chicken breast, frankfurter and Thueringer sausages, shards of pork crackling and processed German meatloaf were all tumbled together over mashed potato and sauerkraut. Apart from a scandalously underdone sausage, everything tasted fine, especially the tender pork knuckle with accompanying boat of meaty gravy.
Prices do seem a shade higher than competing German joints, but Hopfenstube’s lunch menu is a steal. RMB 48 affords diners unlimited trips to a salad bar of fresh greens, pickles and Swiss cheese; a bread basket with delicious salty pretzels; a daily soup and a trio of main course options (go for the Nuernberger sausage). What’s more, it’s just RMB 10 on top for a glass of excellent home-brewed beer.
In fact, the only real disappointment was the apologetic splat of lukewarm mashed potato. Fortunately, this side dish turned out to be surplus to requirements … we were stuffed.
Standout dishes: Bavarian Brewhouse Platter, pork escalope with French fries
Also try: Schindler’s Tankstelle, Paulaner Brauhaus
Hopfenstube 慕尼黑啤酒屋
Daily 11am-midnight. 3 Sanfeng Beilu (opposite Cashbox KTV), Chaoyang District (5909 6666/22)
朝阳区三丰北里3号（钱柜KTV对面）
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