A funny thing about Oktoberfest, it runs for 16 days with the last day being the first Sunday in October. Which of course means most of Oktoberfest is in September. Which is why one autumnal evening in late September, Wifey and I descended down to Pure Bar & Kitchen‘s basement for a few beers, wurst and Oompah!
I’ve reviewed Pure Bar previously (here) but this was a special occasion with a set menu and entertainment, the menu even included beer too (which they were more than happy to swap for wine for Wifey).
The beers were a little bit special to match the Bavarian bites, the Beyreuther Festbier my particular favourite.
And with that on to grub in the form of two delicious Bratwursts!
I dived into the pork one first. topped with popcorn-like Crackling on top with a smoky pork hot dog loaded with saurkraut underneath. It was Wifey’s fave dish of the evening. The crackling stands well up enough on it’s own I’d be happy to have a bowl as a bar snack, it was that good!
Sausage-wise I preferred the beef. It was tender, delicate and melted in the mouth. The sharpness of the saurkraut really brought out the umami in the beef and Wifey had to suard hers from my wandering foodie hands.
With our main’s under way Billy’s Big Bavarian Brass Band kicked up playing a mix of variations on modern tunes and traditional Oktoberfest music (Ein Prosit anyone?). The stand out song was ‘Polka Face’ which you can find on my Periscope (@brummiegourmand).
Then the desert course:
A curious take on a strudel, more an apple spring roll. However, the taste was spectacular.The roll was a light filo style pastry with a chunky , sharp and sweet filling. I couldn’t detect any cinnamon which makes a nice change and allowed the apple to stand put on its own. The toasted oats under the beer ice cream were amazing and worked well with the malty, almost savoury beer ice cream.
All in all , a great evening with outstanding food. Wifey and I will be back again soon, as their Christmas menu looks very tempting…
When: 24/09/2015
Where: Pure Bar & Kitchen, Waterloo Street, Birmingham