Bierschenke

An Irish-owned, food-and-drink London hotspot in the style of a Munich beer hall, fitted with Bavarian-made benches, tables and wood panelling and featuring meats and sausages delivered three times a week by a Bavarian butcher. Excellent roasted pork shank and dumpling, rotisserie chicken, Schupfnudeln and schnitzel all figure here, served by genuine (and possibly dishy) Germans and Austrians wearing Lederhosen and Bavarian dirndls. As per the establishment's name, which translates as 'beer tavern', drink is de rigeur (Bavarian craft beer, Paulaner lager, Hefeweizen), with bars on both the ground floor — where you'll find City gents getting merry after work — and in the sprawling basement with its long tables, a few nooks and crannies and, sadly for non-sports-lovers, big TV screens which are loud with football on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and maybe other nights). Don't expect an olde worlde atmosphere; Bierschenke is true to the basic, unfussy feel of typical Munich beer halls, but without the patina...yet. Gerry Hanratty started the business in 2010 in the basement of Daly's Wine Bar in the Strand, then moved to this rather expansive space in May 2014. Kitchen closes at 10pm but the bar lingers on. The oompah-embracing Bavarian Strollers perform live on Saturday nights, interspersed with 1980s and 90s chart hits. In September 2018 Bierschenke went gay for an evening with its Queer-Schenke — an Oktoberfest variation with shirtlessness, competitions and a drag host. Closed Sunday.  Tube stations: Moorgate and Liverpool Street.