Oktoberfest Oompahs at Wirsthaus and Rasselbock

Get your fill of traditional brats and lively revelries, on La Brea Boulevard and in Long Beach.

What to Know

  • Sept. 22-Oct. 27
  • La Brea Boulevard and Long Beach
  • No cover charge

Questions have a way of piling up around Oktoberfest, like so much savory sauerkraut on a bun, but these questions are mostly of the delightful variety.

How long can I hold a stein full of German beer, if my arm is straight out in front of me, and my elbow isn't bent, and the liquid is in danger of sloshing over the rim?

Can I still waggle my wings well, Chicken Dance-style?

And should I share a brat, or devour my own, plus, probably, another brat beyond that one?

The one question, however, that can often give Oktoberfesters pause, is this: Is there a cover charge to enjoy the sights/sounds/scents/stein-holding competitions, and do I want to pay it?

Wirsthaus German Restaurant & Beer Garden, on La Brea near Hollywood, and Rasselbock German Kitchen & Beer Garden, in Long Beach, only want your Oktoberfest-related queries to be related to Chicken Dances and brat consumption. So when the seasonal celebration starts dancing at both locations, which it will, on Saturday, Sept. 22, the answer is this: There's no cover charge at either spot.

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What both spots have in common is a caboodle of activities, starting with the ceremonial tapping of the keg on Sept. 22 at 3 in the afternoon (look for guest of honor, with local cred, to helm the tap).

Look for, or rather listen for, live German music on Friday and Saturday evenings, food specials, beer specials, Family Sundays, and giveaways, too.

And, do note, if you hope to be at either restaurant on opening day in the mid-afternoon: If you're in a seat, and eating an entrée you're purchasing, you'll get to drink from keg #1, the ceremonial keg, in a complimentary, pay-nothing, Oktoberfest's-here fashion.

No stress if your favorite lederhosen are looking a little worn and your alphorn is in the shop: Come as you are, with a merry heart, to two of the coolest cover-charge-less Oktoberparties in Southern California.

The final day for the 'festing? It's Saturday, Oct. 27, Chicken Dancers and stein seekers of SoCal.

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