Augustiner-Keller

The Augustiner-Keller on Arnulfstraße is one of the best-loved beer gardens in Munich and a favourite with locals, who come here after work on summer evenings. The site appears as a beer storehouse on a city plan of 1812, belonging to the long-defunct Büchl brewery. It later passed to Georg Knorr, who called it the Knorrkeller, and then to the Augustiner brewery's owner Josef Wagner in 1862. It has carried the Augustiner-Keller name since 1880.

The beer garden is the main event. A renovation in 1896 created space for around 5,000 guests, and it remains one of the largest in the city, shaded by mature horse chestnut trees, one of which is more than 200 years old. Chestnuts were traditionally planted over Munich's beer cellars to shade and cool them, which is how many of the city's beer gardens began. The house's speciality is Augustiner Edelstoff tapped from wooden barrels.

As in many Munich beer gardens, part of the garden is traditionally self-service, where you collect food and drinks from the stands, and part is served by waiting staff; check the signs before you sit down. In the self-service section it has long been the custom that you can bring your own food, as long as you buy your drinks there. Inside, the restaurant serves Bavarian food all year in a series of rooms, including the Lagerkeller, the old storage cellar.

Opening depends on the season and the weather. The restaurant is open year-round, while the beer garden opens when the weather allows and closes for the cold season. Check the notices on the website before you set off. On warm evenings and weekends the garden fills up quickly, so arrive early to find a table.

The Augustiner-Keller suits families, groups of friends and anyone who wants a traditional beer garden without travelling out of the centre. The site is about ten minutes' walk west of the main station along Arnulfstraße, and the Hackerbrücke S-Bahn station is even closer. Trams also run along Arnulfstraße. During the Oktoberfest the Augustiner-Keller makes a calmer alternative to the festival tents, and the Theresienwiese is within walking distance to the south.