It comes as no surprise that German Gymnasium in King's Cross is celebrating Oktoberfest, and neither is it surprising is that it's doing it with some serious panache. The stylish venue, part of the D&D London stable, is teaming up with Rothaus Brewery from the Black Forest to put on a celebration including a selection of traditional German barrelled beers alongside a feast of Nürnberger bratwurst, leberkäs semmel, a giant curry 'dog and a giant buttered bretzel – aka a pretzel. Dirndls and lederhosen optional.
German cuisine holds a special significance for Adam Handling – the superstar chef of The Frog E1 lived in Germany, and is more than familiar with its national style of cooking. He'll be putting his own modern twist on the classics, creating a smoked bratwurst with special crisp onions and German mustard, and a giant pretzel, among other dishes, all to be washed down with steins of beer from Weihenstephan, which is said to be the world's oldest brewery, based in Freisling. Prost.
Thought Oktoberfest was all about the beer? Burgers and wine joint Ben's Canteen is all set to prove you wrong with its special 'Wurst & Wine' offer. You'll get a bratwurst with sauerkraut, pickles, crispy onions, horseradish mustard mayo, ketchup and German smoked gouda cheese, which has been carefully paired with a glass of the very best crisp, flinty 2014 German reisling from the Schmitt Sohne vineyard. And all for £10, too – bargain.
Shake Shack is applying its fanatical approach to sourcing and flavour to hot dogs in order to celebrate Oktoberfest this year, creating the 'Brat Burger', a 100% Aberdeen Angus beef burger with a flat-top griddled Emmentaler cheddar bratwurst, crispy ShackMeister Ale-marinated shallots and ShackSauce. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, there's the 'ShackMeister Brat', too – a flat-top griddled Emmentaler cheddar-stuffed bratwust with crispy ShackMeister shallots and cheese sauce, and then there's the extra-special Shake Shack bier stein of its own-brewed ShackMeister Ale.
Hosting the grandaddy of London's Oktoberfest celebrations, Hawker House is where you'll want to be if you're serious about German cuisine. Think an array of 50 brilliant biers, 12 street-food traders dishing up Deutsch specialities and ten wünderbars, all at Street Feast's first indoor street-food market, so you can indulge in all of the above while staying toasty. There'll even be a world cup final of beer. We've got Germany on penalties.
