Oktoberfest @ Sheraton, Bangalore

Oktoberfest always conjures up images of clinking beer mugs and sausages being gobbled by the dozens. This coupled with the kind of (not so nice!) crowds Bangalore’s Oktoberfest tends to attract has kept me away from the celebrations year after year. But, the invite from Sheraton held promises of being something different so I decided to give it shot, and as it turns out it was nothing what I’d expected it to be.

The moment we entered ‘Feast’, Sheraton’s all day dining restaurant we were greeted by Chef Béla Rieck who walked us through the entire spread for the evening carefully explaining the Bratwurst’s from Saurkrauts to Käsespätzle’s of the world. He even told us which dish belongs to which region of Germany. Being the end of a hard week at work, we decided to chill our heels first by sipping some beer. And much to my surprise we were offered Kingfisher draught beer; I partially blame myself into imagining Krombacher or Bitsburgers being served considering its Oktoberfest, but alas import taxes and such keep us away from the ‘good stuff’. Though this was the only faux pas of an otherwise wonderful evening.

Beer no longer the star of the evening, we shifted our focus to the drool inducing spread. I started with some ‘brotauswahl’ (selection of breads) and of course one could not ignore the variety of pretzels along with beef and vegetable stew soup. Complimenting this was the different selection of salads, my favorite being the potato salad with tiny bits of pork. Being a dedicated non-vegetarian that I am, I needed more meat and quickly moved over to the main course filling my plate up with a pork meat loaf, Bratwurst Mit Senf (Pork Sausage with Mustard), Käsespätzle (Cheese Noodles and bacon) and Geflügel Ragout Fin In Der Koöiginpastete (Ragout fin of chicken with puff pastry). The Käsespätzle and Bratwurst deserve a special mention for having a perfect blend of flavours and the meat being ‘done’ just right. I just had to get another round of these two again, which in hindsight was the reason why I could reach the cheese balls and sauerkraut from the vegetarian fare. Each Bratwurst was like a mini dynamite, it packed a lot of punch and fills you up quite fast.

The spread of desserts was the regular spread at such buffets, the only two items that caught my attention were the freshly made pan cakes and black forest pastry. While the pancakes were average at best, the Black forest with its super soft base and subtle flavors just was the perfect way to end my evening at the ‘Feast’ in Sheraton.

Chef Béla Rieck and his team have done a fabulous job with Oktoberfest menu and if anyone else would like to experience the same it is best if they make reservations in advance, it costs 1295+taxes for lunch and 1445+taxes for dinner and if you prefer going for the Kingfisher draught package it would cost 1595+taxes. Not a bad way to experience authentic German food in the quiet and peaceful ambience of the ‘Feast’.

Address: The Sheraton Bangalore at Brigade Gateway,  26/1 Dr. Rajkumar Road,  Malleswaram-Rajajinagar,  Bangalore

– Praful Tripathy