Hofbrahaus Hahndorf Old Mill

Hofbrahaus? Hofbrauhaus? What is it? …. 😀 We all know the world famous beer brewery, the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München, but I am not talking about that beer brand. Well, it has something to do with our topic today. So, what is Hofbrahaus? Hofbrahaus is an event held by the Hahndorf Old Mill every last Sunday of the month and attendees are served, according to the restaurant, classic and authentic Bavarian cuisine. It’s $25 per person for the event which includes food  and deserts buffet as well as two other specials, “Pig on the spit” and “Bombe Alaska”, which are truly German. Although I’ve heard and read heaps of bad things about the place both from friends and from urbanspoon, I decided to give it a go. The other reason for choosing this place is that I am eager to find a place which can do goooooooooood pig on the spit. Since the closure of Zorro Restaurant, I missed their Sunday pig sooooooooo badly.

Operated as a steam mill since 1854, in 60 years, the place produced various of brands of flours. Nowadays, the place offers the largest buffet in the hills. With its picturesque vines outdoor and the classic stone building, the old mill is very tranquil to me.

We arrived there @ 11:45am and the buffet will start @12. My main aim here, as I said, was mainly to explore their pig. However, the pig was to be out by 1pm. Oh,…I had to wait~~!! 😀  Anyway, when we got there, there was merely any person. We went out for a walk and after came back 10 minutes later, a long queue was already lined up. The majority of ppl were aged German couples and there was a couple of Asian tourists. Fees were charged at the bar before entering the venue.

The old mill offers over 40 dishes of Australian pub and international cuisines, ranging from curries to cold meats, antipastos, cheeses and typical pub roast and grills. Sometimes, you can even see prawns and mussels. Unfortunately, on the day I went there, no prawns was available. :(. The other sad thing is that it is unusual to find a place with almost no German cuisine in a town with strong German influences. No kransky (Krainer Wurst) nor pickled pork hock were on display. I guess in claiming the Hofbrahaus to be a traditional Bavarian event, the restaurant may need to focus on German food on this particular day to enhance the cultural inheritance. Regarding the tastes, mmmm….. typical Aussie pub fare.

A dessert bar was on the side, offering fruits, cakes and ice creams. However, because I am not a big fan of desserts, I didn’t eat any.

Around 1pm, the pig was due to come and after several times of welcoming and demanding, they finally came with Bavarian boys and girls. What a beauty! The pig was cut at a stand near the main stands and was served as buffet. Be quick! It can go really quickly.

The skin of the pork was cracked beautifully and the meat was nice and tender. The downside of this is that the pork was overly oily but for once in a year, I wouldn’t mind to give it a go. However, seriously, the pig was not as good as the one in the Zorro restaurant but with no other choices, this one is absolutely okay. If anyone know where I can find a good pig on the spit, please let me know as I am craving for it :D.

A bottle of Hofbrauhaus dark beer was ordered and it tasted good. I really really suggest the restaurant to have more German specialties in their buffet for a true and better “traditional Bavarian beer and food event” :).

The “Bombe Alaska” came out about 2ish and I was super fulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, so we decided to leave. The overall experience was good with nice and promote services. The food was standard pub food. People who come to this restaurant should not expect a 5 start quality of food and services, but for a hilarious environment and relaxations.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 3/5
Value: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5

Total: 11.5/20

 

Hahndorf Old Mill

98 Main Street

Hahndorf, SA 5245

 

P: 08 8388 7888