Lowenbrau Keller (Bavarian) Restaurant

Address: Corner of Playfair & Argyle Streets The Rocks, SYDNEY 2000 NSW
Phone: (02) 9247 7785
Fax: (02) 9241 1613
Website: http://www.lowenbrau.com.au/

Opening Hours: 7 days 9am til late, live entertainment every night from 7pm
Late night dining: Late night menu available every Friday and Saturday 11pm til 2am.

Entrees: ~$15
Mains: ~$35
Dessert: ~$10

Went here for dinner - a friend booked for a small birthday gathering. I've actually been here before - it was later at night and all I recall eating was a plate with some cold meats, salami and probably cheese - real lavish. NOT.

Ordered 2 main-sized entrees to share: namely the meat patties with potato & cucumber salad, and the spicy salt calamari with passionfruit sauce.

The meat patties were reminiscent of a cross between a herbed meatball and hamburger steak/patty. The difference was that the meat was a lot more tender, almost to the point that it melted in your mouth. The potato and cucumber salad was (much to my disappointment) a potato salad, with slices of cucumber on the side with bits of lettuce and some light dressing.

The calamari was lightly battered, with salt and a sprinkle of chilli flakes. Typically, many places serve this dish with a tartare or sweet chilli sauce, however in this case it was a sweet passionfruit sauce. One would assume that passionfruit is solely reserved for dessert, but this combination was suprisingly delightful.

For the main, ordered one of the house specials: the Schlachtplatte - Löwenbräu's Selection of Bavarian Specialities – Sausages, Chicken Schnitzel, Roast Pork Belly Served with Mashed Potato and Sauerkraut (directly copied from their website, which was directly copied from their menu).

This platter serves 2, and in addition to the assortment of meats mentioned above, we were also able to sample the pork knuckle and a cheese-filled sausage. Other condiments included but not mentioned is the finely sliced onion and the boat of gravy.

The meat on the pork knuckle was extremely tender, however the thickened skin in the outer layer was a bit too salty for my liking. Pork Belly was also another house favourite, except by the end of the night - all meat begins to taste the same.

Strangely enough, the only thing I really managed to enjoy was the potato mash. It was light & fluffy, slightly herbed with a tinge of garlic to taste. I must admit, it's one of the best I've had, in light of everything else I ate tonight - but I won't say the BEST just yet. The problem with many potato mashes' is when you don't pay enough attention to it, one flavour (e.g. garlic or the cream) can be too overpowering, or simply the potato is not blended properly (chunky) and becomes too heavy for the meal.

It was definitely a different experience - from the friendly, themed waitresses & waiters to the live band, dancing, beer-guzzling competitions, shots being served on this long-wooden-stick "tray", bucks' night going on in the background, and just-the-right-lighting to set the mood for getting wasted on 'bier'. Because it is a German-esque eatery, the beer culture is prominent and here is the place to be for those 1/2 litre glasses, jugs and what not. I don't drink so can't tell you about the standard of beer. It is a loud & happening place - so save the deep & meaningful conversations until you're outside.

You'd probably also want to book in advance to save dissappointment because it does get quite busy, and the last thing you want to do is leave your missus out waiting in the rain.

I'd probably come back more for novelty's sake rather than for craving a particular dish. It is definitely a worthwhile experience to soak up the atmosphere.

Note: I wrote this blog once, just to have blogger freeze so this is the second grumpy edition. Please also excuse my poor photography skills - it was taken in a dimly lit room with the 1.3 megapixel camera on my mobile telephone. I am not a food photographer but I'm guessing people generally like to put pictures to words.