Augustiner-Keller is one of the true grandfathers of Munich’s beer garden scene. It lies hidden among some 100 chestnut trees, not far from the city’s Hauptbahnhof (main train station).
The establishment now known as Augustiner-Keller first appeared on a map of Munich back in the early 1800s, where it was labelled as a beer storage facility. This makes it one of the city’s oldest beer gardens. In 1880, the owner of the Augustiner brewery took over the running of the garden, giving it the name it still goes by to this day.
In fact, Augustiner brewery, whose “elixir” is served at Augustiner-Keller, is Munich’s oldest brewery: The Augustine monks first began brewing beer back in 1328 and even supplied it to the dukes of the Wittelsbach family in the 16th century.
Today, the beer garden has over 5,000 seats and treats guests to traditional Bavarian dishes along with international specialities. Beer garden traditions are still thriving here: Even today, the beer at Augustiner-Keller is still tapped from wooden barrels. A bell rings to signal when it is time to tap into a new barrel.
The beer garden is also a relaxing place to visit with your family. While parents enjoy their Brotzeit (a traditional Bavarian meal of bread, meat and cheese) in the shade of the chestnut trees, children can roam freely in the playground, which has a sand pit, climbing frame and slide.
Augustiner-Keller also has a historic building that houses a restaurant with various dining rooms. The old storage cellar with its traditional vaulted ceiling is particularly worth seeing. This is where the beer used to be stored to keep it cool over the summer.
