Die Bierstube Restaurant & Pub
This German restaurant in Brea is part of The Phoenix Club, an Anaheim cultural and social organization
Though Anaheim’s most famous German restaurant Jägerhaus closed in a fairly ugly way back in 2021, there was clearly demand for a full-service establishment with a similar menu of classics – particularly one with an ample selection of German beers in a less decrepit building. Several years after 1960-vintage German cultural and social organization The Phoenix Club moved its headquarters from Anaheim to Brea, it opened Die Bierstube to cater to that locally underserved culinary need, offering visitors the wood-paneled, stein- and crest-laden vibe of an authentic German beer hall plus nice menus of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinking options.
An oversized single-page lunch and dinner menu features eight starters ($8 to $21) ranging from charcuterie plates to potato pancakes, currywurst, and bratwurst sandwiches, five additional sandwich and french fry plates ($14.25 to $18.50), four salads ($8 to $20), and collections of “German specialties” (schnitzel, pork chop, sausages, beef rolls) and largely American “classic plates” (goulash, burger, chicken fingers, and steak) ranging from $8 to $28.75. Largely American breakfast items (pancakes, omelets, crepes, breakfast burritos, and a ham/cheese/egg/bacon/rye “Strammer Max” range from $11 to $18, largely on the higher side; side orders ($5.50 to $8) allow you to sample multiple German-style potato options (potato salad, fries, mashed, or sliced/pan-fried) to sauerkraut, onion rings, and red cabbage. Desserts include black forest and German chocolate cakes, rum-soaked berries with ice cream, and apple strudel, for $8 to $12, though the portion sizes of the carb-heavy entrees and fry-laden sandwiches will prove challenging to those hoping to sample these sweets.
German beer fans will find plenty to enjoy by the half liter ($9), .4 liter ($8.50), or flight of four 5-ounce glasses ($12). Die Bierstube’s drafts include a Bitburger Pilsner, Erdinger Hefeweizen, black Kostritzer, Munich lager, Veltins pilsner, brewery-shifting Oktoberfest, and Stiegl Radler beer with grapefruit juice; additional options, including domestic US beers, seltzers, and German imports, are available by the bottle or can for $6.50 to $8. We found the flight an ideal way to sample the drafts with a meal; wines (generally American) and shots of German liqueurs (Feigling, Jagermeister, Schnapps, Barenjager, Kirschwasser, and others) are also available.
From a culinary standpoint, Die Bierstube efficiently delivers what we’d classify as competent but not remarkable food: big plates that are unlikely to surprise or delight on flavors. For appetizers, we tried an $8 baked Bavarian pretzel, which looked and tasted just as expected – roughly the size and quality of a supermarket SuperPretzel – with cheese dip and a bottle of mustard on the side. An amply loaded $21 German Brotzeit (cold cuts) plate combined Boar’s Head-like slices of ham, salami, liverwurst, beerwurst, and schinkenwurst with several pieces of wine and brie cheese, cornichons and pickles, radishes, and rye bread slices.
Entrees were generally punchier. With the sausage plate ($20), we were able to pick two of seven different sausages (regular or smoked bratwurst, knackwurst, regular or hot Polish, vegetarian sausage, or two wiener links) plus a side dish (here, sauteed spatzle) for a plate that looked plain but packed a large, strongly flavored, smoked brat and nicely spiced Polish sausage. A Ruben sandwich ($17.25) arrived with gorgeously marbled rye bread, plenty of corned beef, and substantial portions of sauerkraut mixed with Swiss cheese and Russian dressing, plus quality fries. The only disappointment was the schweineschnitzel, a pork cutlet that was gigantic – plate-covering, obscuring green beans and fried potatoes below – but pounded to only millimeters thick, with twice as much breading as meat. Slightly soft and blandly flavored, this was one of the least memorable schnitzels we’ve had at a German restaurant, but filling.
If you’re craving German food and drinks, Die Bierstube is an easy recommendation: While the food isn’t amazing, it’s solid, the service is fairly quick, and the portions are commensurate with the prices. We’d gravitate towards the sausages, meats, and beers, which though readily available at home benefit from sampler-sized availability here.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2024
Addresses
375 W. Central Ave.
Brea, CA 92821
714.563.4166
Instagram: @phoenixcluboc