Hofbrauhaus

You know ‘the pub with no beer’? Well today I found the ‘restaurant with no food’, and consequently found myself wandering aimlessly around the city trying to reassess my lunch options. I ended up in Market Lane, right out the front of the Hofbrauhaus. If you have ever traveled to the great beer halls for Germany, you know that lonesome eating is met with fervour and friendliness.

The original Hofbrauhaus burned down in June 2011 thanks to some pesky Swedish hay in the ceiling, but the ‘haus opened next door just a few a short months later and is a clean bright space, tastefully decorated with German trinkets (if wooden casks and staghorn are your idea of tasteful).

The website boasts plenty of polkas and drinking songs on the weekends, but there was none of that at Monday lunch, just a few couples and me. I couldn’t believe my eyes when a spritely young blonde chap skipped down the stairs in lederhosen. Excellent.

Hofbrauhaus offer a full a la carte menu for lunch and dinner with all your pork knuckle and sauerkraut favourites, but they also offer $15.00 lunch specials complete with a beer (German of course), wine or soft drink. These days, that’s a bargain. I ordered a sauvignon blanc and perused what’s on offer.

$15.00 will get you, amongst other things, wurst speisse (grilled mixed sausage to us non-Bavarian types), a pork and beef burger, soup of the day, and a vegetarian ‘bandnudeln’ which is essentially fettuccine made Deutsch by the addition of Swiss cheese. Confused? Me too, so I decided on traditional schnitzel and mash.

Crispy golden fine crumbs wrapped around a juicy fresh chicken breast – that wasn’t heart shaped! A sure sign of the real deal. The mash was as good as any I have had – creamy, buttery and just the right amount to not have you asleep at your desk by 3pm. It came with a tasty herbed dressing and a mediocre side salad. If you are having schnitzel and mash, a salad is surely the last thing on your mind but a nice touch none the less.

Hofbrauhaus is now open seven days a week and the $15.00 lunch special is available Monday to Friday. Also Monday to Friday is happy hour – between 4pm and 6pm stop in for half price tap beers. Perfect with a fresh pretzel.

HOFBRAUHAUS
18 Market Lane, Melbourne
9663 3361
Monday to Sunday – 12pm until late
hofbrauhaus.com.au