MELBOURNE | When hospitality worker Deepak Jetti first visited Germany, he fell in love with the Bierhalle experience, and German culture and traditional around it. Moving to Australia, Deepak followed this passion, managing Melbourne’s Hofbräuhaus for eight years, before taking on the manager role at The Hof Downtown. When the former owner of the latter, Ash Reddy, opened Das Bierhaus in Geelong in April last year, Deepak, and his brother Giri, followed him. A few months ago, the trio opened Das Bierhaus in Richmond, with the aim of bringing a true German Bierhalle experience to the neighbourhood. I was recently invited in to take a look.
Das Bierhaus is housed inside the space formerly home to Burnley Brewing. It’s a fitting continuation, in a way, given that the former venue’s head brewer, Michael Stanzel, trained in Germany, and was known for brewing some of Melbourne’s best German-style beers. The front room is what Deepak describes as a modern Bierhalle meets sports bar. There’s booths and tables – the same basic layout as Burnley, with screens playing sport, and on-theme paraphernalia dotted around.
The second space, behind the bar, is more your traditional Bierhalle, and resembles the sorts of spots that initially sparked Deepak’s love of the concept. A family-friendly space, long, communal tables, furniture imported from Germany, and space for a live band. There’s plenty of German beer posters and trinkets, and the world’s largest freestanding operational cuckoo clock, built in the Black Forest.
Chatting to Deepak and Giri, and seeing the way that they interact with all of the customers, you can’t help but admire their passion. They’ve thought about a lot of little details that they wanted to get right, down to things that most probably wouldn’t notice. Things like the cutlery holders, and specialty cooking tools, are imported from Germany, as are ingredients, when a suitable local alternative can’t be sourced.
Pretzels, for example, come from a specially selected supplier in Germany, and are baked fresh on site. It’s a great way to start, along with things like flammkuchen (pizza-like Alsacen topped flatbread), and Schwarzwälder Schinken, Black Forest ham with Obatzda (a Bavarian aged Camembert and butter spread), on sourdough.
For mains, it’s classic dishes like six types of schnitzel, crispy Otway pork belly, and roast pork knuckle, with mashed potato, sauerkraut, apple caramel, mustard, and pork jus. I highly recommend the rinderrouladen. It’s a traditional dish of slow-cooked rolled beef, filled with bacon, gherkin, and caramelised onion, served with a pretzel dumping, braised red cabbage, and gravy. If it’s a schnitzel you’re after, the pretzel-crumbed chicken version, served with pan-fried potatoes, braised cabbage, and creamy mushroom sauce, is great.
One of the main reasons to visit a Bierhalle is of course, the beer. There’s a selection of around 16 different beers on tap, plus bottles. Classics like Hofbräu Original, Weihenstephaner Hefe, and Bayreuther Hell. If beer isn’t your thing, there’s also schnapps, German-themed cocktails, and a selection of local and German/Austrian wines and sodas.
Das Bierhaus
650 Bridge Road
Richmond
Victoria 3121
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9499 8208
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Tue – Sun: 12:00pm to 11:00pm