Solid favourite: Katzenjammers, London Bridge

I just love German food. No, I do. Not more than once a month, obviously - how die Deutsche manage on a solid diet of the stuff is beyond me (solid being the operative word). A shocked acquaintance of mine recently returned from a single week's holiday there some 10lb worse off. Just goes to show.

However, if you're a fan of protein and carbs (and if you're not, this may not be the blog for you …), it's a dream on a stick. Sausages. Dumplings. Enormous cakes, and icing sugar. Dense breads, and braised meats. Even the names impress, like a parade of big-bosomed Wagnerians in battle garb. Kaiserschmarrn. Germknodel. Obazda.

There's a scarcity of German eateries in London - perhaps because we hopeless, helpless, debauched Brits get so very excited by the giant mugs of local beer we overlook any food on offer. I blame the Viking blood. But I beg you to reconsider. If you've ever enjoyed singing about (nobody stick up their hands and say 'Oh! but it's Austrian, aCTUAlly', please) schnitzel with noodles, you're probably the blithe-hearted kind of soul who'd relish eating it too. 

Katzenjammers (and there's prize for telling me what comedy character is thus surnamed - oh! if only I could disable your Google) is a bierkeller under Borough Market, but astoundingly it manages to serve food and beer without descending into braid-haired, lederhosen-touting, thigh-slapping cartoonery. Not many people seem to know it's there, so it's a perfect place to nip in and have a breather and a sit down.

The menu is admirably restrained and focuses on a few basics, as does German food in general. There are hearty stews and pork knuckles, sausage platters and schnitzel, but I'd direct your attention to the 'starter' dishes where lurk some excellent dishes.

The weisswurst (above), a boiled sausage traditional to Bavaria, is served with perfect oven-warm pretzels and sweet mustard - and tastes exactly as I've had it in Munich. The traditional meatloaf is generous in portion and also comes with pretzel and sauerkraut. Both a snip at a fiver.

An excellent selection of authentic sausages can be ordered in a sharing platter, in pairs with chips, or crammed into a massive hotdog.

And yes, there are massive biersteins, too - of draught Paulaner, one of the finest drinks I know. Go forth, Leute, and enjoy.

www.katzenjammers.co.uk

Comments

[Terentia]

There may be a clue as to why there is a "scarcity of German eateries in London" in that picture of weisswurst - bland - anaemic even - and boring. I went to a restaurant in a small southern German town recently and the only thing that sounded vaguely appetising was a wurst salad. It turned out to be a huge pile of shredded luncheonmeat drowned in vinegar and sporting, as "salad" a solitary gherkin.
HOWEVER, where can I buy fresh German bread? This they REALLY know how to do..........

[DDD]

The German deli opposite Neal's Yard does bread but I've only tasted their pretzel rolls so far

But I must leap to the defence of weisswurst - a delicately flavoured morning sausage, slightly reminiscent of mortadella and white pudding - and if it's too bland, have some more senf!

[Lexy]

Umm, OBViously it's Fran Katzenjammer from Black Books. I envy anyone who needed Google for that; they have a really good weekend ahead of them that I'll never have again.

[DDD]

EXCELLENT! I'll email you to arrange prizes …

[GB]

I heartily recommend Zeigeist down Black Prince Road near the Albert Embankment.

http://zeitgeist-london.com/