Gröninger Braukeller, Altstadt, Hamburg

It would be pretty tough to find a place with a stronger German theme that the Groninger Braukeller.

The place looks pretty innocuous from the outside, with an austere doorway in a grey bricked block, accompanied by the obligatory accessory a couple of smokers hanging around outside; however entering inside you are confronted by a huge place of Tardis proportions, complete with carvery, polished brewery mash tuns, room after room filled with bench seated tables and booths fashioned from huge wooden barrels.

A place not ideal for Vegetarians (although we had two in our party) or wine lovers (they only really serve beer) its brilliant for a group.

Our party included French, English, Italian, Latvian, Spanish, Dutch as well as a minority of locals and we opted for the Massive Wooden Slab of Meats; plus the barrel of 10 litres of German Ale.

Therefollowed a great fun night and at 25 Euro a head was good value.

If you want a tongue in cheek German experience then this is your place.

I was invited to a 50th Birthday party to Groninger, After reading all the positive reviews about this place i was definitely not disappointed.

The U train station Messburg is a two minute walk to this place and there is a multi story car park directly across for this place.

The entrance is a bit strange as it leads you down into the cellar part of the building, once I had entered I could not believe just how long this place is, it goes on for ever. with it's own brewery casks on display and large bar and a very warm feeling, i was instantly impressed.

You are then escorted to your setting area, it has a multitude of quaint little seating areas for all size of group parties.

An absolute necessity is to reserve your booking here, as it is very popular not only with foreigner's but also the locals as this place is all what you would expect to be from a typical German restaurant and then some.

The food bar and menu choice is mainly traditional Bavarian man food (meat and more meat) which i loved. To go with your food you can order a barrel of their own beer 10L for 74€, it has it's own taste which i and our party found very easy to drink, as between us we managed to drink through 7 barrels of the stuff.

The barrels are brought to your area and decorked and then left there for you to help yourself. My 11 year old son was made up, as he was the barman for the night and he was also very well tipped at the end of the night....

All in all i would say that this place is good for both a quiet night for 2 /4 people or a party place for much more, due to the size of the place and its setting layout making it private for each group that are there.

This the place to be for tourists!
i think its quite popular among asian tourists, since at least 5 tables there were occupied by them (independently)

i was there with a large group of germans.

This place smells, tastes and looks so german.

Its a private brewery and u can order a barrel of beer 10L for 74€... however for someone not very experienced with beer, i found it tasted kinda weird. It has this flavor which i couldnt put a name on... does anyone have an idea what that beer tastes like? and no, it doesnt taste like Becks beer for example.

now Food: you can either order from the menu and share with your fellow friends, or u can go up to the buffet and get a portion and pay directly there for it.

The food is typical german and i cant even name what was listed on the menu. Even the bread has beer flavor.

The best part of the place are the beer barrel shaped tables
you can sit inside a barrel...
that would be the perfect evening for tourists, but make sure to reserve in advance

nice beer, nice food, shame about the exchange rate against the euro

Yesterday I spent with a big group my second time in the groeninger. 13 years later I think. It has an great self breawed beer and tradional bavarian food. For freaks of meet, it is a great place to stay. Vegetarians will get a little bit in trouble.

For me as an person that does not eat meat very often.
It was a little bit too much.

The beer comes in small beer barrel with self-service.
Great experiance and nice atmosphere.

I read at qype that 800 persons can spend good time in it.
huge place.

This place is amazing in a number of ways;

Firstly it’s the biggest restaurant/pub I’ve ever been to. It spans the entire block, probably something like 20m x 150m from looking at the map. Secondly it’s incredibly German. It’s all massive sausages, huge cuts of ham and pork and independently brewed pilsner.

The beer is not cheap at €3.60 for just 400ml, but it is very good. The same can be said of the food. We got a huge sharing platter, er, slice of tree, for €15.50 per person - it was good.

To top it all off they have some rather attractive waitresses :)

One thing worth noting is that it’s quite an experience to walk in from the Bei Den Mühren entrance, rather than the Willy-Brandt-Straße side, as then you’ll get to walk through the maze of rooms before you hit the bar. If someone tries to seat you in the fancy restaurant when you first enter, say that you want to go through to the brewery…

Note: Don’t come here for lunch, it’s an evening place. At lunchtime you’ll be sitting alone in a huge dark cellar and you won’t enjoy it half as much.

Lunch at Groeninger for me is hit-or-miss. More hits than misses, surely, but still some misses here and there. Other than the Hofbraeuhaus, I think this is the closest it gets to “traditional” German food. I really love the meat and potato combinations that they serve but I don’t like it when they drench the whole bit in sauce, especially if I don’t like the sauce to begin with. Where I’m from, sauce is normally served on the side, so at Groeninger I kind of feel like I’m saving my lunch from drowning.

I recommend Groeninger as a great place to take friends or family visiting from out of country as well as an enjoyable, filling and affordable lunch for those rainy days. The place itself feels like a warm cave found only in places like Disneyworld’s theme parks :)

This is Man food. Schnitzel, Pork Belly, thick cut potatoes and plenty of beer. A cavernous dining/drinking area which surely could accommodate +500 moustachioed, beer swilling Germans. Excellent food, quick service - I am VERY tempted to come back tomorrow night for some weizen guzzling, thigh slapping fun.

2 words: Pork Heaven. I knew we were onto a good thing when 2 whole roast pigs were carried past us on the way in. Salivating, and not just at the staff, we explored further. It’s a labyrinth of beer and meat, and mountainous potatoes. The sort of place you’d dreamed Germany was like, but if you’re in the North, have been shielded from.

I came away from here a lot fatter, and with 5 litres of finest Groninger beer on my shoulders, a very happy man.