Klosterbräu Bamberg

Klosterbräu is the oldest of Bamberg's ten surviving breweries. It was founded in 1533 on the Obere Mühlbrücke, the bridge over the Regnitz where the prince-bishops built their mills, and has operated continuously from that address for almost five centuries. The brewery still makes its own beer on-site; the Schwärzla (dark) and the Braunbier (the house amber) are unique to this kitchen.

The dining rooms are the standard Bamberg tavern format raised a notch: beamed ceilings, a tiled stove, ten long wooden tables seating eight to twelve, a copper brew kettle visible through an arch from the bar. But the real attraction is the summer beer garden on the river — 120 seats under chestnut trees, the water audible, the cathedral visible across the rooftops. It is Bamberg's most beautiful outdoor dining room.

The food is brewery-kitchen classics done with care: schweinshaxe (pork knuckle) roasted in the wood oven, Aischgrunder carp in winter, the city's best kartoffelsuppe (potato soup) served with Rauchbier-cured sausage, and a daily rotating Franconian plate for €14. Cash is still preferred in the garden; the indoor rooms take cards.

For a Team Dinner in summer: the riverside beer garden seats twelve across the long chestnut-tree tables, the Klosterbräu beer flows in litre mugs, the pork knuckle arrives in serving platters, and the bill for eight will sit under €280 total. The cathedral rings the hour over dinner. It is the most Bavarian group-dinner experience in Germany.