Bavarian Beer Cafe

Bavarian Beer CafeBavarian Beer Cafe
Bavarian Beer CafeBavarian Beer Cafe
Bar, Eatery

24 York St
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia

+61 2 8297 4111 | map
bavarianbiercafe.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.64
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
7
pDev:
8.79%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
 
Rated: 4.1 by Fixedodds from Australia

Mar 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by SmashPants from Australia

Dec 03, 2014
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Reviewed by drtth from Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 2.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25
Reviewed from notes taken during a recent visit to Sydney.

The vibe in this place needs a bit of attention in that the night our dinner party was there we had a nice table and some fairly good service, but the noise level from the other diners was pretty loud and made conversation difficult. They had no real open space and so it was hard for the server to access the tables.

The food was just fine, and seemed reasonably authentic belgian style. Most all of the beer menu was Belgian styles (as you might expect from the name) and I was able to sample a few things that I couldn't find here in the US easily. So there were some plusses.
Jul 27, 2014
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Reviewed by MrKennedy from Australia

3.03/5  rDev -16.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5
Part of a group of Bavarian Bier Cafe's that have spread throughout the East Coast of Australia over the past 7 years. The original venue which has since been joined by sister venues in O'Connell Street (also in the Sydney CBD), Chatswood, Bondi Beach, Parramatta, Crows Nest, Entertainment Quarter / Moore Park, and Manly in the greater Sydney area.

All cater towards tourists and business people and York Street is more about the business people being right in the Sydney Central Business District. The bar girls with tight blue low buttoned shirts probably has something to do with the clientele.

Flashy inside, low light, tonnes of wood & a central marble topped bar. Long bench tables & booths to dine at. Bar seating and tall tables to sit and drink at. All looks corporate, so not real cosy or relaxed. Seems to be more like a place to drink at after work and at lunchtime.

Service is painfully slow, with the whole glass washing rigmorole before pouring. Two staff with not many to serve, yet it seems to take forever and seems rushed. No beer knowledge, just serve and take cash.

Beer range is all German/Austrian. 10 on tap including Spaten Oktoberfest making an annual appearance. Otherwise there are Hefe & Dunkel Weissbiers, Low / No / Dark & Pale Lagers for styles coming from Paulaner, Thurn & Taxis, Lowenbrau, Spaten, Stiegl, Hofbrau & Franziskaner.

The bottled range has pretty much the same styles but with the addition of Salvator & beer from Hacker-Pschorr. No Rauchbier on the menu, or Kolsch or Altbier etc.

Pricey place, expected given the fitout, location and who it caters towards. Prices are generally $7.50 for 300ml pours, $11 for 500ml glasses & $21-$22 for 1 litre steins.

Good place to introduce new people to common German beer styles done well. Not the greatest representation of German styles. Handy location for good beer, but pricey and only go if you plan a long stay as getting a quick beer is generally out of the question.
Nov 07, 2012
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Reviewed by vancurly from Australia

3.7/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Visited the York Street establishment late on a Friday lunchtime. place was jumping, with long tables celebrating birthdays or mergers or acquisitions... I don't know.
The barmaid was very accomodating, particularly when I produced a couple of vouchers for free drinks. Didn't mind a bit, in fact offered me a pen to fill in my details... chance to win a beer tasting... cool....
The bar literally has a glass ceiling.... all the different glasses & steins needed for the various brands. A couple of blokes came in and ordered 1 litre dunkelweissens each.... the look on their faces said everything when the barman lugged over 3 or more kilograms of glass & fluid.
The range of brewers is fairly small: Franziskaner, Lowenbrau, Spaten, Kulmbacher. Hefeweissen, dunkelweissen, pilsener, lager. And the stuff on tap generally had a bottled counterpart in the fridge. There were several types of fruit-flavoured beers also, "for the ladies" apparently...(mango for example).
Most beers come in three sizes...300, 500, 1000 mls. The full litre costing either $17 or $18, depending on contents.
I think the beer is served a tad cold... aromas are a bit restrained until the latter half of the glass.
I didn't try any food, but the place was packed, so I think this place must have some culinary merit.
Pork belly, schnitzel, sausages, strudel, all you'd want from a Bavarian restaurant..
I'll eat next time, and maybe try a tasting flight.... worth the visit. I might try the Manly Wharf sibling next time also.

*** Edit 25 April 2007 ***
Dropped in on a Saturday night for a couple of beers with a mate. As we sat there, the fire alarms went off...first the warning siren, then the evacuation siren.... the staff just looked at each other and kept working. Eventually, somebody in the kitchen realised that something had to be done, so we all evacuated out onto the street.
Fire brigade came and went, and back in we trudged. For our trouble they shouted us some schnapps.
Whatever.... but it concerns me that the staff do not know how to behave in an emergency. Sure, it turned out to be a false alarm, but that's not the point...
Aug 25, 2006
Photo of hefevice
Reviewed by hefevice from Australia

3.55/5  rDev -2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5
Beautiful surroundings - an old stone building gutted then redecorated in an open style modern minimalist fashion, but with some references to the past with thin corinthian columns throughout. Large central island style bar is surrounded by bench style tables and some booths. A lot of polished wood makes the place very loud when crowded.

6 beers on tap when I was there - a few from Lowenbrau, a Spaten and the Fanziskaner hefe and dunkels. You can also get a set of 250ml samplers which are quite convenient if you want to try all the beers (especially with some friends to help out). A small selection of bottled beer is also available.

Food is solid German/Barvarian food, comes in big servings and is of high quality.
Nov 30, 2005
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Reviewed by lacqueredmouse from Australia

3.93/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Nice big open restaurant/bar, with a good selection of German beers on tap, some of which I haven't seen anywhere else in Sydney.

The waitresses are very friendly and the service was generally pretty good. I had the selection of char-grilled sausages with sauerkraut, which was really good.

Beer comes in sturdy clinkable steins (up to 1 litre), and the atmosphere is generally jovial. Can get pretty noisy, but it wasn't packed even on the Saturday night I went.

Ends up being pretty expensive, so watch yourself. Those giant steins aren't free!
Oct 10, 2005
Bavarian Beer Cafe in Sydney, Australia
Place rating: 3.64 out of 5 with 7 ratings