The Bierfassl

Just up the road from The Boar’s Head (opposite page), closer to Nottingham Road, is The Bierfassl, unique for its Austrian theme and famous for its crispy eisbein. If your German is a little rusty, “bierfassl” means “beer barrel”.

The Bierfassl has been around since 1999. They stock more than 35 beers from all over the world, like Erdinger Dunkel (try saying that quickly three times) from Germany (R48), Sol from Mexico (R33) and Hoegaarden from Belgium (R32).

The pub is beside the main railway line between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and is inside what was known as a ganger’s cottage, built by the Natal Government Railways in 1886. “Ganger” was railway jargon for a man who headed up a gang of labourers. It would have been the ganger’s job to make sure the men building the track carried out their tasks properly and on time. This particular building is labelled GC36, meaning that there were at least 35 other identical ganger cottages along this line.

These days, the interior looks like an old-fashioned ski lodge, with wooden finishes, images of the snow-covered Alps, and Jägermeister merchandise behind the bar.

“The Fassl”, as it’s called by locals, serves Austrian pub fare and if you’re not a fan of eisbein, it’s only because you haven’t eaten it here. It comes in ladies’, regular, Viking and monster portion sizes (R135 – R255).

Alternatively, you could go for the kassler in sauerkraut (R125), bratwurst (R120) or the Tiroler gröstl (R99) – sautéed potato, sausage and bacon cooked in beer. Be warned: The portions are big!

Summer days are easily whiled away in the beer garden, and in winter when the snow falls, folk from all over the Midlands gather here for glühwein and hot chocolate.

Where? R103, just outside Nottingham Road.

Contact: 033 266 6320; bierfassl.co.za