Top 10 Places to Celebrate Oktoberfest in Sydney

Get that lederhosen ready!

Oktoberfest and Australia go together like a stubby and a stubby holder; snags and a barbecue and tomato sauce and meat pies. Why? Because it’s an entire festival devoted to eating and drinking as much beer and traditional German food as possible. If you haven’t heard of this iconic festival, well, we don’t know where you’ve been living but it’s high time you get amongst it.

So, when does Oktoberfest start? Oktoberfest kicks off in Munich every year and runs for two weeks from September 22 to October 7. And it’s a bucket list event for people who love getting lit, dressing up and having a seriously (drunken) fun time. Big fans over here, can you tell? In fact, we love it so much that the minds behind The Bavarian Bier Cafe have decided to celebrate for six weeks, from September 22 to October 27. Ja, bitte, danke.

What is Oktoberfest?

So, before we get into where you can sink as many steins as humanly possible, we thought we’d give you some back story. That way you can seem way more cultured than your mates by knowing the origin of this incredibly famous German festival. The first Oktoberfest began on October 12, 1810 when the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Saxony-Hildburghausen Princess Therese. Note: this was before Germany was a unified country.

This wedding celebration lasted for five days and included a horse race on the slopes of Theresienhöhe. Year after year the celebrations continued for the couple’s anniversary and, before long, the Oktoberfest we all know and love was in full swing complete with amusements, goose chases and wheelbarrow races, with beer being introduced a few years later. Talk about being extra, right?

Nowadays Oktoberfest is sans horse race and is more focused on those iconic beer halls. The festival is spread over 85 acres of land (around 60 full-size footy pitches) filled with 34 giant beer halls selling regional Bavarian food – lots of wurst – and stages playing traditional Bavarian and schlager music. An estimated 7,000,000 litres of beer; 140,000 sausages; 44,000 kgs of fish and 75,000 pork shins are consumed in this two-week period.

Typical Oktoberfest dishes

Weisswurst: Classic Bavarian white pork sausage that goes down a treat with plenty of mustardBretze: Typical German bread that’s also common in Austria and TyrolSchweinshaxe: Pork knuckle served roasted or boiledSpätzle: Creamy pasta noodles served with melted cheese (kind of like mac & cheese)

What you should eat and drink at Oktoberfest Sydney

In short: German beer and German food. Order up your steins, team, because the crew behind The Bavarian Bier Cafe, Munich Brauhaus and Bavarian Beerhaüs have created a special Sydney Oktoberfest 2018 menu to soak all that German beer up. At this iconic German festival in Sydney, you can choose from three options depending on how much food you want and how many drinking buddies you’re with at your chosen German pub in Sydney.

If you’re with a group, option three is definitely for you. Start with a traditional haus-baked pretzel with butter and the sharing platter brimming with dips, pickles, local aged cheddar, Picante blue cheese, cured meats and grilled pita bread. Then, for the main, it’s all about Bavaria. You’ll get crackling pork belly, smoked sausages, chicken cacciatore, roast pork knuckle, crunchy schnitzel, creamy mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, apple compote and bier jus. Oh, and for dessert they’re offering a classic apple strudel. Yum is an understatement.

Where can you rock your dirndl at Sydney Oktoberfest?

Now, considering Sydney and Munich have a bit of distance between them, obviously we can’t all swing over to the original festival every year. But, as we said above, there’s not a more perfect duo than Oktoberfest and Australia so you can rock your lederhosen or dirndl right here at home. Plus, the crowds will be way more chill at the German pubs in Sydney.

The official event is happening in The Domain and will be a fab time for sure. But for those of us who don’t love the idea of celebrating with huge crowds, this German festival in Sydney held by the team behind The Bavarian Bier Cafe, Munich Brauhaus and Bavarian Beerhaüs is where it’s at. The events within this German festival will include official street parties, five imported Oktoberfest beers, special feasting menus, German bands and you can even win a trip to Munich! All within your local German pub in Sydney. Perfect.

So, if the idea of heading to The Bavarian for Oktoberfest in Sydney appeals, get booking asap and start practicing your beer drinking skills. Prost!

Oktoberfest locations in Sydney:

1. Munich Brauhaus

Playfair St & Argyle Street, The Rocks, Sydney 2000Try Munich Brauhaus

2. Bavarian Bier Cafe Miranda

4002/600 Kingsway, Miranda, Sydney 2228Try Bavarian Bier Cafe Miranda

3. The Bavarian at Westfield Penrith

585 High Street, Penrith, Sydney 2750Try The Bavarian Penrith

4. Bavarian Beerhaüs York Street

24 York Street, Sydney CBD 2000Try The Bavarian York Street

5. Bavarian Bier Cafe Entertainment Quarter

212 Bent Street, Moore Park, Sydney 2021Try Bavarian Bier Cafe Entertainment Quarter

6. Bavarian Bier Cafe Manly

Shop 2-5 Manly Wharf, E Esplanade, Manly, Sydney 2095Try Bavarian Bier Cafe Manly

7. Bavarian Bier Cafe Chatswood

4-6 / 1-5 Railway Street, Chatswood, Sydney 2067Try Bavarian Bier Cafe Chatswood

8. The Bavarian World Square

680 George Street, Sydney CBD 2000Try Bavarian Bier Cafe Parramatta

10. Bavarian Bier Cafe Bondi Beach

108 Campbell Parade, Bondi, Sydney 2026Try Bavarian Bier Cafe Bondi

Munich Brauhaus

Playfair St & Argyle Street, The Rocks, Sydney 2000