The Jolly Gardeners Excellent modern informal refurbished local Gastropub. Simple menu of sharable plates, main meals, and deserts. To start we ordered the hummus, which was good, and the onion bhaji, which was great. For main meal we had the special menu item, the lamb noisette, which came with both broad and runner beans, and, new potatoes. The lamb was good quality and perfectly seasoned and lightly cooked. Great place to eat close to Lambeth Bridge in central London, or share a drink and some small plates with friends. read more

It seems slightly incongruous, a chocolate dark inside hidden away down Black Prince Road in Vauxhall within a barely rebranded frontage bearing the Jolly Gardener brand. We walked past it twice before realising where it was. Described as London's first German gastropub (a fairly safe claim) they offer 40 odd different beers. Some excellent choices, if a little pricy. DAB, a light and crisp easy drinker from Dortmund is a semi regular treat when bought from Oddbins, here it's over £4 a pint. They offer a range of wurst (including the ubiquitous currywurst) alongside a selection of schnitzels, a more Austrian treat, but one known across both countries. On previous visits I've sampled these, and can particularly recommend the Schnitzel Kolsche Art, the traditional pan fried pork escalope coated in breadcrumbs, served in this instance with a black pudding and apple sauce mix. It isn't gourmet, but does as its makers intended and serves up a hearty filler to put a cap on the foamy lager you've just sculled. read more

Zeitgeist - German Near Me - London, XGL

Took the Italian girlfriend for a true German experience - one of the best Germans in London, certainly better than the Bavarian Beerhouse or other "tourist traps". No fuss German Food and some of the best beers we have to offer - try the Tannenzäpfle (scares the hell out of anyone when said fast enough) and Tegernsee Hell (even hard to get in Germany) - Prost! Try the Currywurst or the Schweinsbraten, the dumplings are wunderbar read more

See all

Fantastic pub to watch german football matches, they have a big screen show all the games and you can reserve table to view a match. We love to go, have a couple nice german beers (my favorite: Warsteiner), Currywurst and Jaegerschnitzel with fries and enjoy a football game. Waiters are mostly German and some are British, so are the guests. We come all across London to this pub because it is simply the best for watching football. read more

Zeitgeist - Saturday afternoon with football beer and schnitzel - German Near Me - London, XGL

Typical German style bars.Friendly chef and waiter left me deep impression.I tasted beef,awesome.Sweet Tarte Flambee which including Apples, Cinnamon, Sugar, Raisins, Almonds & Vanilla Ice was awesome dessert.I enjoyed it.The only issue is too much for single since I had main course beef before.You should bring friend here to share it. read more

Zeitgeist - Awesome - German Near Me - London, XGL

See all

What on earth is this bar doing in Kennington? This is a really really good, fairly unique bar..I would expect to find it somewhere more commercial. Still, maybe it's location helps as it would surely be packed solid in a busier location (probably is anyway on Friday and Saturday nightsand when the German football is on). So this is a German place. We already know they do good beer. I meanit's not real ale, but there are so many beers, light and dark. My personal recommendation would be the Rauchbier (or bacon beer as I heard someone call it) but everyone should be able to find something they like. Just try going alphabetically down the menu (the Rauchbier is first :) ) There are two sides to the bar, one has lower more traditional tables, on the other side the tables are quite high..so high a few of my more vertically challenged chums started questioning just how tall the average German is. What else is goodwell the food probably is but I haven't had chance to try it yet. I love German food and will update the review when I get to try it. There are also a few tables outside for a bit of sun and fresh air. I once again have a German bar in London to love! read more

A few weeks ago I had the idea, that I could try some Schnitzels in London. I looked for some restaurants that serve proper Schnitzels and yesterday I began my Schnitzel journey through London at Zeitgeist near Vauxhall. I ordered a real veal Wiener Schnitzel and expected perhaps a bit too much. What I got was a not too big (not as big as I expected based on their menu) Schnitzel with chips. It tasted okay, but not like something you will remember. Perhaps it was my fault to expect something as delicious as I got at Moldau restaurant in Stockholm (http://www.qype.co.uk/place/1976296-Moldau-Stockholm ) ... Anyway, the Schnitzel was okay and the Grüner Veltliner white wine I had was really very good. If you're looking for German food, the menu offers a lot of dishes you you won't find at many other places in London. No question, I'll go there again to try another dish from their menu! And besides the food, Zeitgeist is definitely much more a pub than a restaurant. read more

This is a good place for a quick bite to eat, serving German themed food. The food is fine, nothing special. There are a few other places in London that serve better German food and better range of German beers etc. read more

Sadly they closed the kitchen an hour early that night so we had a beer and a cider and moved on

Top pub. I would call this THE top place to watch Germany in the European football finals. As part of my search to find London's sixteen nations watching the games with people from their home countries I get a tip off about this place being the bees knees for watching with Germans. Dead right it was too. This old English community boozer, known as the Jolly gardeners is now Zeitghesit at the Jolly Gardeners. It has two bars separated by a bar and at the back is a small beer garden. On each of the three visits I made during Euro 2008 I found it hard to get into the pub, thought it would be impossible to get to the bar, but someone made it each time. The selection of beautiful German beers and lagers is immense in this venue. Jever, Becks, Warsteiner, Holstein, Schneider weise and so many more. Their was no cover charge to watch games so that meant more money for beer. Some are on draft, some in bottles, some in both. The staff whilst rushed off their feet, as excellent and always make sure they serve a beer like a German would expect it, but in a hurry. I would thoroughly recommend this place at anytime and have heard good things about the German food served at times when people are not spilling out into the street singing 'Deucthsland, Deucthsland read more

was dragged here by some German friends to watch the football. very good fun Great German beers read more

Love this place. Nice vibes, friendly German staff, lovely selection of beers, really decent food. It is a weird location, but only 5 mins walk from Vauxhall station and well worth the trip :) read more

This bar has a good location and is spacious with a small beer/smoking garden out the back. It's great for watching the German football on TV. I don't know what the food is like. When we went the bar service was terribly slow and the beer was actually not very nice. read more

Zeitgeist is a large, friendly pub, with knowledgeable barstaff. It sells itself on its German theme, but when I was there, I found its selection of drinks (mostly German, but some Czech i.e. Budvar too) rather limited, certainly not up there with the likes of Katzenjammers near London Bridge. I wasn't able to try the food so can't comment on that. London only has a few German-themed pubs and bars, but even so, I'd suggest this more as a stop than a destination. read more

Stopped in here for dinner and German beers one night while visiting London and loved it. The Munich schnitzel was fantastic, as were the chips/fries. Great atmosphere and the music playing that night was consistently good. I honestly didn't want to leave. read more

went there for watching the football world cup: - the spacious Victorian pub was beautified by German owners in October 2007 (they retained the ornate central bar, but the periphery was reupholstered in black banquettes, and the walls were painted matt black) - the bar is popular with German expats, who gather to watch Bundesliga matches on two big screens (4x3 m screen and 60" TV) - the main attraction is the list of German beers, which contains few familiar names (Beck's is about it) and covers most styles, from aromatic weiss varieties through light pilsners to darker brews. Occasional beer festivals further increase the variety - you can buy entry tickets for 10 GBP early in advance, so your entry to the pub is guaranteed (the 10 GBP include a shot VODKA Brause and a Currywurst/Bratwurst roll); however, certain space or tables cannot be guaranteed (you have to be there early enough) - food was ok; beer is great; service is nice; atmosphere was just great! Conclusion: Really great place to watch football games! read more

Zeitgeist - Currywurst - German Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Rare gem hidden in the Vauxhall area. Amazing German food with a wide selection of German beers to choose from. I recommend their daily special which I think is extremely good value. read more

It's such a shame it is such a shlep to get there because the food is proper hearty german fares like you don't find in many places in London (I demolished my kasespetzle), and the selection of german beer on top is spectacular: all your classics plus nice rare additions like Kolsch. read more

With a black/red/gold interior this pub wears it's colours on it's sleeve. A wide variety of German beers as well as food such as sausage and herring. Usually mildly busy this place is packed like sardines during the World Cup and with a great atmosphere and big screens for the big games it is the perfect place to watch German football. read more

Had the mustard and horseradish schnitzel. It was good, but not fantastic. Had a pilsner and a dark beer and both were very good. 3 stars for the great beer and reasonable food. read more

I've been on secondment to London for several months and just stumbled upon Zeitgeist @ The Jolly Gardner a week ago. This is one of the best hidden gems in the entire city. The food is outstanding compared to most of the local fare. It is traditional German food, prepared authentically, and the taste is outstanding. I would particularly recommend the Goulasch mit Semmelknoedeln or the Zeitgeist Schnitzel. There is a wide range of German beers behind the bar, both on tap and in bottle. Best of all, if you are a fan of Heffeweissen, Zeitgeist has several outstanding Heffeweissens on tap and in bottle. The best part is that the prices are affordable, even by London standards, without compromising the quality of the food or drink. read more

Zeitgeist! Love this pub. The atmosphere is a lot of fun especially when they show a German football match. It's like little Germany. Most if not all of the staff speak German. They have great German beer and food. We are always going her. They had delicious Obazda and great Oktoberfest specials. read more

Great food (and exceptional value at lunchtimes during the week) with interesting beers and unpretentious decor inside. I feared it was a uber-trendy place or boring gastro pub but found a friendly, clean, all year round pub instead. Definitely recommended!! read more

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THE FOOD. I took my Mum here who is German and we ordered the currywurst and also mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Currywurst sauce was ketchup with curry powder..no kidding. Absolutely disgusting. When we mentioned this to the barman he said that they couldn't import the sauce from Germany so the chef had to make the sauce himself. Hello isn't that what a chef should do ? I'm sure it doesn't say open bottle of ketchup and sprinkle curry powder over the top of it. BE WARNED. Beer was good but pricey especially for the lousy location. read more

After having been to Germany a fair few times, I personally think the food is pretty decent and certainly quite authentic seeing as we're in London. The Beer's not going to be a as fresh as something you'd get in Munich for example but it's still very good! More of a novelty trip rather than something you'd ever really call a local but it's still something a bit different that's well worth a visit. read more

I hadn't had schnitzel anywhere but right smack-dab in the heart of Germany until I came to this place. The staff was very friendly and helpful, the drinks, food, and desserts were tremendous, and being sat in a filming location from Snatch was a very surreal experience. I can't wait to go back! read more

the lager is amazing 4 pints and your on your way. wahoo!