Munich Cricket Club

Sometimes, timing is everything. ‘You should have been here last night – I had 350 people all swaying and singing to the oompah band,’ our waitress explained. She’d clearly noticed our disappointed little faces peering from the corner of this cavernous underground bierkeller. Along with the smattering of other Friday evening patrons, we were wondering what all the fuss was about.

Still, we soldiered on regardless. Quality German lager came in two-pint steins at around £10 a pop – you can get smaller, but why would you? The food was suitably rustic: schnitzel, sauerkraut, sausages and spätzle abound (as do less alliterative bites like potato salad and goulash). Plumping for sausages, we were recommended a platter (with fries, sauerkraut, potato salad and pretzels) for around £20. We couldn’t finish ours, but made a sufficient enough dent to suggest we liked what we had. Of London’s increasing number of Bavarian beer halls, this is probably the biggest. But the best? You’ll have to come in on Thursdays and get some tuba parped into your ears to find out.