Bavarian Bier Cafe, Parramatta

The first thing I think about when I think of Bavarian Bier Cafe in Parramatta is inappropriate cleavage. It all started when Mary, Paul and I went for dinner just before I left for the States. Whilst the food was great and the service, for the most part, exemplary, there was one particular waitress who had her shirt buttoned practically down to her waist, possibly in an attempt to garner tips. Now, if the uniform for the staff was traditional like at The Lowenbrau, then a little cleavage would be understandable; but this was a business shirt, and her bra was visible. In Paul's words, "if I wanted breasts in my face, I would have ordered the chicken schnitzel".

But don't let that faze you (if in fact that would faze you). The restaurant and beir hall are located within the old St Andrew's church on Phillip St, and a lot of the original structure remains. Even the furniture reflects the previous nature of the building, and the stained-glass windows lend colour to an otherwise spartan decor. The food is your typical German, but is executed pretty well, and there's a large range of schnapps and German beers available.

Mary and I decided to start with schnapps while we were waiting for Paul. After we ordered, I went to powder my nose in the ladies' room, and apparently the waitress came bearing a large tray and ringing a bell, only to find Mary by herself, looking very embarrassed at the attention.

Saurer Apfel & Butterscotch Schnapps - $7.50 each

The butterscotch schnapps was sweet and fiery, but I actually preferred the sour apple variety - it was fruity and light, and the apple flavour was a great contrast to the alcohol.

Baked Pretzel - $3.50

The pretzel was very unappetising - it was a dry and shrivelled thing, incredibly salty in some places and flavourless in others.

Garlic Bread - $7.90

The garlic bread was also disappointing - the bread was soft and almost cold, and I could barely taste any garlic.

Flammenbrot - $17.50

This dish brought the bar back up. The pastry base was thin and crispy, and was a beautiful foil for the soft, creamy ricotta and caramelised onion. Flammenbrot comes in 3 variations here, and we selected the crispy speck, which was a good choice in my opinion: it had a good bite to it, and lent some salt to the almost-bland ricotta.

Wiener Schnitzel - $29.50

The Wiener schnitzel was also quite good; the crumbed outer was crisp and delicious, and the veal was moist and tender. It came with sautéed potatoes and a tasty herb mayo.

Crackling Roast Pork Belly - $29.50

My pork belly was magnificent. The crackling shattered like thick glass upon impact, salty and sinfully good. The pork underneath was fall-apart soft and rich in flavour thanks to the Lowenbrau bier jus, and it was accompanied by red cabbage and a Granny Smith apple compote.

Swiss Schnitzel - $29.50

The Swiss schnitzel was excellent as well, juicy chicken covered in a layer of golden, crisp breadcrumbs, which in turn was covered by double smoked ham and Swiss cheese. This was served with a kipfler potato salad and a mixed green salad.

We were tempted by the Apple Strudle, but we saw someone at the bar that we used to go to school with and that we'd rather avoid, so we paid the bill and ran out. A visit to Bavarian Bier Cafe is definitely worth it though - even if you're not a fan of half-dressed waitresses, the food, beer, and beer-hall atmosphere make up for it.

Bavarian Bier Cafe

2-8 Phillip St
Parramatta, NSW
2150

Phone: 02 8836 1400

http://www.bavarianbiercafe.com

Comments

[chocolatesuze]

the garlic bread looks so sad! but ah the pork belly looks freaking delicious!

[Juliana]

Wow Jasmyne, everything looks delicious. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Hope you are having a wonderful week :-)

[Gaby]

Funny that the slutty-dressed waitress works in a former church. A German place that doesn't offer good pretzels sounds a bit disappointing (I can understand garlic bread, as it's not supposed to be a specialty). Luckily the rest of the food was great (especially the pork!).

[Miss Piggy]

My hubby REALLY wants to go here so thanks for the review - I now know what to avoid (including the boobs, lol).

[Sara (Belly Rumbles)]

I love the location that this place is in. I agree with Gaby, sort of funny that slutty waitress is working there. Food looks great.

[Akika]

I LOLed at Paul's comment about the boobs. I totally agree though, there's a time and place for cleavage and a restaurant is not really the place for it.

OMG the pork belly! I'm drooling....I want some of that crackling!

[Chopinand @ ChopinandMysaucepan]

Dear Jasmyne,

These Bavarian beef cafes seem to be popping up all over Sydney! I think I agree with your findings about the pretzel, my exact sentiments and I would also add that it's bloody chewy too!

[Von]

I've never eaten inside a church before- it looks pretty cool ;) The food looks great, especially the pork belly!! Shame your meal was cut short by the appearance of the person at the bar!

[Sophie]

I really like German food when it's done well, this places looks really interesting especially as it's in a church, will check it out. Thanks!

[Hotly Spiced]

If there are red-blooded males reading your post they'll all be flocking to that cafe. How brazen is she!

[bermvipreal]

Thank you for sharing this.
It is very interesting.

[Angie@Angiesrecipes]

So many delicious dishes! Flammenbrot and Schnitzel look especially tempting.

[Lucy @ Lucyeats]

I'm glad that the calibre of the dishes went up as your night went on. I started getting a little depressed after reading your comments on the first few dishes lol.

[Carolyn Jung]

Oh man, the skin on the pork belly is the stuff of dreams. Sigh.