Osterbräu

This place has been open at least since 2001, so I was eager to visit when my journeys finally brought me to Pavlodar. The place sits on a major intersection on the edge of town, just across the street from the city's primary hotel (which ain't no 5 star, but that's another story). The exterior is cement, with windows somehow tinted neon blue. The entrance is wooden, with the top of a keg sticking out to the left of the door. The name "Osterbräu" is nowhere to be found - just "Syrikhana" (Kazakh for "beer bar") and "Bar" in Russian. The interior consists of a small cloak room to the right, bathrooms (decent by Kazakhstani standards) straight ahead, and one smallish serving room to the left. The room has six tables for a total of 36 seats, plus a small but nice, solid light wood bar in the far right corner with three vinyl and metal barstools that are way too low for the bar. The floor is white and gray stone, while the walls are a darker gray stone - one wall is all windows. The ceiling is wood and formica. The furniture is heavy pale wood with chairs and benches. Tablecloths with attractive patterns and full placesettings were on all the tables. One smallish TV is mounted on the wall. Two double columns break up an already small room. The music on the sound system was unobtrusive. One other table was occupied on a Friday at 1:00 p.m. The waitress was prompt and helpful.

Two of their own beers were on the menu: pale and gold. They didn't have the gold when I was there. In addition, they offered eight bottles, none of which were particularly interesting. The beers were served in pretty nice logo mugs, without coasters, at the right temperature. The food menu was a bit off beat - cold scallops appetizer - but what little I had was reasonably priced and definitely fresh. The beer selection needs to be better, but I could see spending evenings here with friends.