Oktoberfest Returns to King’s Cross in Bavarian Style

There are few celebrations in the world that manage to combine theatre, tradition and unashamed indulgence quite like Oktoberfest. For six weeks each autumn, Bavaria becomes the global epicentre of beer, music and conviviality. But you don’t need to book a flight to Munich to taste the spirit of it. This September, King’s Cross once again plays host to London’s most stylish homage to the festival as German Gymnasium prepares to roll out the barrels and raise a glass to its annual Oktoberfest.

Running from 19 September through to 30 October, the restaurant is offering Londoners the chance to trade the daily rush of the city for the warmth of Bavarian hospitality. It’s a transformation that has become a fixture on the capital’s culinary calendar — one that balances authenticity with a distinctly cosmopolitan polish.

A Taste of Bavaria

Central to the experience is the Oktoberfest Spezialitäten menu, conceived by Head Chef Alex Thiel. It reads like a love letter to Germany’s heartiest comfort food. Think Schweinebraten, a slow-roasted pork collar paired with red cabbage and a dark beer sauce that tastes of autumn evenings, or the Rinderroulade, where tender braised beef envelops vegetables and spices, served alongside a bread dumpling. These are dishes designed for appetite, generosity and sharing — the very foundations of Bavarian dining.

To wash it down, German Gymnasium has partnered with James Clay and Sons to ensure the bier flows as freely as it would in Munich’s beer halls. On tap this year: Warsteiner, one of Germany’s most established pilsners, and König Ludwig, a beer with royal heritage, both served by the stein. Each sip transports you beyond the steel and glass of King’s Cross and into a tent where brass bands blare and toasts echo late into the night.

Music, Merriment and “Ein Prosit”

Of course, Oktoberfest is as much about atmosphere as it is about food and drink. German Gymnasium embraces this wholeheartedly, opening the festival on Friday 19 September with a performance from its own Oompah band. From 5:30pm to 8:30pm, the soundtrack will be unapologetically Bavarian: lively brass, stomping rhythms and the occasional cheeky yodel woven in.

Every Friday throughout the festival, the band will return, leading diners in the iconic Oktoberfest toast, “Ein Prosit” — a simple call to salute one another, clink steins and surrender to the moment. It’s impossible not to get swept up. For Londoners more accustomed to buttoned-up after-work drinks, it’s an intoxicating release.

Tradition demands participation, and German Gymnasium is rewarding those who commit. Guests who arrive in lederhosen or dirndl — the attire of Oktoberfest faithful — will be handed a complimentary stein of bier. It’s a small detail that shifts the evening from dinner to full immersion, turning the restaurant floor into a playful tableau of London’s Bavarian alter ego.

There’s a reason Oktoberfest has endured for over 200 years: it embodies a spirit of togetherness that feels increasingly rare. In a city where time is measured in coffee orders and diary slots, the act of sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, raising a litre of beer and sharing in a chorus of laughter feels almost radical. German Gymnasium manages to bottle that energy, refine it, and present it with the sophistication you’d expect from one of London’s landmark dining spaces.

Whether you’re chasing nostalgia for trips to Munich, curious to sample Bavarian cuisine, or simply looking for a more spirited alternative to London’s standard restaurant circuit, Oktoberfest at German Gymnasium is an invitation to press pause and celebrate.

As the evenings draw darker and the year edges toward its close, there’s something deeply comforting in returning to ritual — steins filled to the brim, plates piled high with roast pork, the brass band urging another toast. Bavarian cheer meets London chic, and for six weeks, King’s Cross becomes the capital’s most festive playground.

So dust off the lederhosen, practise your “Prost”, and book ahead. Oktoberfest isn’t just returning — it’s arriving in style.