Spaetzle are egg noodles that are often served as a side to some entrées or can be purchased as a children's menu item at the Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
When it comes to me and mealtime, nothing beats a crowded table. The kind where chaos blends with the beauty of passing plates, clinking glasses and conversations colliding with hearty laughter.
At Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus, tucked into Regensburg’s artsy city core, several visitors and I recently felt that euphoria during an afternoon out together. From my spot at the head of the table, I had a front-row view of what the spirited biergarten did best.
Between overlapping banter, the room quietly reminded everyone where they were. The location, which was home to a monastery between the 13th and early 19th centuries, first became a tavern in 1896, according to the restaurant’s website.
Murals old and new line the walls, framing a space where past and present comfortably coexist. Hacker-Pschorr felt special, even on a first visit.
Multiple bratwursts are laid on a bed of sauerkraut, a classic German meal that can be enjoyed at the Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus is centrally located in the heart of Regensburg, Germany. Though unassuming once you enter the small passageway, you are led straight into the restaurant’s homey beer garden. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Ulrike Anna Yaeck, a server at the Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany, poses by the restaurant's bar, which serves house and local brews. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
A house-made gravy is poured overtop a schnitzel entrée accompanied by spaetzle at Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Renovated in 2001 to the beer garden and restaurant seen today, the place still carries its history in intricate crown molding and a homey warmth that resists being polished away.
While much of the menu is traditional wirtshaus fare, expectation still lingered. The moment carried extra weight especially for my mom, back in Germany for the first time since the 1990s.
The trip had become a mission to re-create a Munich memory: schnitzel, spätzle and a hefeweizen good enough to think back to fondly.
For others at the table, German food wasn’t a constant. Best friends visiting from their duty station in South Korea rarely encounter these flavors, and the same goes for my parents in the U.S.
As pints of local brews were raised, the table quickly found common ground. The hefeweizen won almost immediate approval for its smoothness, while another friend lingered just as happily over a Münchner Gold Bier, another Bavarian staple.
Moments later, hefty plates were served. And my mother’s dream was complete when our kind waitress, Ulrike, handed my mother her order, all the while succeeding at making my almost 3-year-old niece giggle extensively through her contagious energy.
For my father and me, pork steaks blanketed in mushroom sauce and anchored by spaetzle brought shared praise and smiles.
Pork steaks are smothered in a creamy mushroom sauce and accompanied by spaetzle at Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
The beer garden area of Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany, is open in the warmer months of the year and offers a large space to commune. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany, has multiple dining areas ranging from small and intimate to large and communal, each offering their own unique atmospheres. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany, displays small paintings, decor and glassware around their restaurant, some even being for sale. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Equal parts server and entertainer, Ulrike kept the table lively, filling the hour-and-a-half with cheer as she practiced her English and ensured that the noise never dipped below joyful.
Brats, sauerkraut, schnitzel, potatoes and bread slowly disappeared from the table, passed and shared until plates were nearly bare. No one was eager to waste a good meal, and at a table like this, sharing felt less like a rule and more like instinct.
The main dining area at Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany, features impressive crown molding around the ceilings and many old and new pieces of artwork. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany, features a display case of traditional beer steins in its bar area. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
An additional dining area for smaller parties is located near the bar area of Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus in Regensburg, Germany. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Even my niece, who is famously headstrong about what she eats, polished off her spätzle without debate.
At Hacker-Pschorr, our group was welcomed as easily as the next round of beers, and that mattered just as much as what was served. I left full in every sense of the word.
Hacker-Pschorr Wirtshaus
Address: Neupfarrplatz 15, Regensburg, Germany
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Cost: Appetizers, under 10 euros; entrées, 12 to 25 euros; drinks, 1 to 6 euros
Information: hacker-pschorr-regensburg.de; +49 9415840455
