Bavarian Bier Cafe, O'Connell St, Sydney

Bavarian Bier Cafe, O'Connell St, Sydney
Friday 8 December, 2006

Another day another lunch - it's Christmas! Today, we returned to the recently opened Bavarian Bier Cafe in O'Connell St. We had visited about a month ago for a team function after work (in one of the upstairs booths) and the catering and service was so good that we were keen to return for lunch.

Located inside the heritage listed art deco bank building the interior is slick, and inviting. They describe themselves as, "destined to become the new destination du jour for bier and design aficionados alike." Well, I can't comment on the beer as I didn't try any however the design of the space is impressive.

We arrived for a 1pm reservation and were warmly greeted and shown to our table to the left of the large bronze bar. There is also a restaurant downstairs but we dined on the entry level where there are slick wooden booths and raised tables & bar stools. Each table was full and there was a large buzz emanating throughout the bar area due to the very high ceilings.

Our waitress arrived at the table and introduced herself. We couldn't help but notice her tight blue shirt was unbuttoned to reveal her cleavage but then also noticed that the male staff had their blue shirt sleeves rolled up to show off their muscles - it's blatant but at least it's consistent.

I ordered the Swiss Schnitzel - chicken schnitzel topped with smoked ham & cheese served with fries or mash potato and my lunch buddy ordered the JÃger Schnitzel - milk-fed veal schnitzel topped with forest mushrooms served with fries or mash potato. Our meals arrived & the plates were so large that they almost did not fit across the width of the table.

The schnitzel was fabulous & the portions are large so you get value for money. We decided to splurge and share a dessert - Apple Strudel with Vanilla Anglaise. The perfect way to finish a meal - the thin pastry was light and it was stuffed full of apple chunks.

The booths are a little tight to get in & out of and my feet did not hit the floor once I had climbed up onto the soft leather seats. Getting out of the booth was even more of a challenge!

Bavarian Bier Cafe - 16 O'Connell St, Sydney - (02) 9221 0100

http://www.bavarianbiercafe.com.au/oconnell.cfm?objID=103