Through the door, then down the stairs. With each step you get more and more of the feeling of being in a place that is at once familiar and yet different. Actually, Irish pubs don’t differ that much from Bavarian taverns. People drink beer, talk, watch sports – and then there are very different evenings that you spend in the respective places. For example, the pub serves Guinness instead of Augustiner, and a lot of English is spoken instead of German or Bavarian.
The first Scholars Lounge was opened in Rome in 2005, followed in 2019 by the location on Hochbrückenstraße in Munich’s old town. The pub’s interior was made in Ireland and then brought to Bavaria. There are a few small alcoves in the restaurant where you can withdraw if you like it a little quieter, but there are also areas where you can easily strike up a conversation with other guests.
Not only beer, but also cocktails are on the menu.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
The Scholars Pub also has vegan dishes such as the “Sunny Veggie Burger” to choose from.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
In addition to a large selection of beer and wine, the Scholars Lounge offers a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. But Guinness is drunk the most. There are also various dishes for big and small appetites: nachos, burgers, wraps, chili, salad and much more. Vegan dishes are also served with the “Sunny Veggie Burger” and the “Vegan Salad”.
In keeping with the name Scholars Lounge, a number of books are lined up on the shelves or wherever else they can be found in the bar. There is, of course, literature from Ireland in particular: classics, world bestsellers, but also lesser-known ones. A lot of Dublin-related decoration hangs on the walls, which are partly clad in wood, as well as portraits of Irish writers – Oscar Wilde, for example, but also James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and William Butler Yeats. A few walls are adorned with quotes from them.
In keeping with the name Scholars Lounge, the place is adorned with quotes from Irish writers.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
But not only literature enthusiasts get their money’s worth in the pub. In addition to soccer, you can also watch American football or rugby here, and FC Bayern soccer games are always shown with sound. If you then happen to be sitting very close to one of the speakers, it can become quite tiring after a while for those who are not so interested in sports and want to have a conversation. But the music, which is often performed live here, is even louder.
Incidentally, this contrast between the slightly academic charm of the pub and the exuberant atmosphere when watching sports together is not at all unusual. That’s what Irish society is all about: you read, you’re educated, but you don’t pride yourself on it.
Scholars Lounge Irish PubHochbrückenstraße 3, 80331 Munich, telephone: 089/24266853, opening hours: Monday to Friday 5 p.m. to 4 a.m., Saturday and Sunday 12.30 p.m. to 4 a.m.