Yes, no question: it still feels the same as before. You go to the small bar pavilion, get a beer and sit in the beer garden, here at the Viktualienmarkt. Only a pitiful remnant is left of the cattle pasture-like, heavy wooden fences from the pandemic period upstairs at the North Sea fish hall, and the audience is exactly the same as before.
A little less tourists from England, the USA and the Asian region maybe, but still there. Late red-nosed stilts looking for adventure. Mature homeowners with Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses from Munich’s commuter belt who have been checking on things in the city or had to harass their tenants. And even if that sounds strange, you say to yourself: “It’s nice that they’re all back and playing this special production that only exists in the Viktualienmarkt beer garden.”
Now it is nothing special that a Munich beer garden fills up quickly on sunny days. That was also the case during the pandemic, despite all the adversities. And yet something crucial has changed. Really true? No more masks, no rules of distance, no more transparent partitions and no more registration? One almost forgot that it was the same in spring three years ago.
Eating and drinking where others would otherwise put their rust bucket down
What did not exist in spring 2019: Hospitality on the parking strip. Eating and drinking where others would otherwise put their rust bucket down. Covid-19 has actually brought something positive here, and not just for the manufacturers of protective masks or CSU MPs in the form of associated commissions. We’re talking about the sidewalk cafés all over the city.
In a sudden attack of decisiveness, the Munich city council decided to clear parking spaces in front of bars and parts of sidewalks for tables and chairs – like here on Pariser Strasse in Haidhausen.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
The idea was ultimately born out of necessity, as soon as the bars were even allowed to open again after the first lockdown. Distances between the tables and greatly reduced opening hours made the restaurants unprofitable. For this reason, people thought about the instrument of outdoor areas, which in terms of infection prevention are far less of a risk, and have always been called “Schani gardens” in Vienna. In a sudden attack of decisiveness, the Munich city council decided to clear parking spaces in front of bars and parts of the sidewalks in front of and behind restaurants for tables and chairs.
The Euro pallet as an extremely versatile material
Lo and behold – the thing worked. Otherwise, innkeepers can only live out their creativity on menus in the form of wrong apostrophes for Bavarian dishes or new names for dishes, such as: “Carpaccio from the Regensburger in a marinade of vinegar and oil” instead of “sausage salad”. But now they were even allowed to work as architects, discovered the Euro pallet as an extremely versatile material and spontaneity as a drive for amateur architecture.
The thing, as you know, has grown and is picking up steam again right now, if the wording in relation to parking lots will be allowed. It was surprising that there were comparatively few protests against the occupation of tight parking spaces, especially in areas where there are many pubs and restaurants. And that in Munich, the capital of all grumblers, hardly anyone was upset about the “beating up” on the streets. Because sidewalk cafés are not always just pretty to look at. Especially if they only consist of bare Euro pallets and raffia mats.
Open-air pizza on Sedanstraße, the Schanigarten belongs to the Pizzeria Passaparola.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
“Munich people just like to sit outdoors,” says Mayor Katrin habenschaden (Greens), explaining the general acceptance of the pavement café among the population, and the extension of the hospitality zone into the street space simply has a special charm. This is not only the case in classic nightlife districts. “I noticed in Milbertshofen how much that can change the character of a street.” She now wishes that “more opportunities to sit outside without the obligation to consume” could be created, and a start has already been made.
Admittedly, where there are plenty of restaurants, there is of course the busiest time now that summer is slowly approaching. And there are also microgeographical differences. In the Gärtnerplatz district, for example, gay bars like to create slightly wicked booths in the public street space. In the multicultural district of Schwanthalerhöhe, on the other hand, there are entire streets that are reminiscent of Asian metropolises and their old town areas, or of a bazaar in Istanbul, because there is a row of stalls and sidewalk cafés. The streetscape has become more colourful, more cheerful and also more cosmopolitan. One could say: a small Tollwood festival for every day and without its sometimes strenuous excesses of eco climbs.
The pavement cafés were a stroke of luck for the innkeepers
Christian Schottenhamel from the Munich Hotel and Restaurant Association is also full of praise for the city and the sidewalk cafés: “I think it’s great that this is now being continued and doesn’t end with the pandemic.” They enlivened the cityscape and would have saved many innkeepers over time.
In fact, the opportunity to expand guest places outside was used generously. “At the end of the year there were around 670 sidewalk cafés,” says Petra Weber from the municipal district administration department, “and around 500 side extensions”, i.e. outdoor areas to the left and right of the restaurants, where there was still space for them. It helped that there were temporarily no fees for this and that an accelerated approval process was used. Now normality is returning, which often leads to protests. Recently, a number of innkeepers got very upset that the Munich City Council is sticking to the ban on patio heaters. That was also temporarily suspended during the pandemic. In that respect, the excitement was a bit artificial, because from the start there was no doubt that the ban would come back.
Fees are now also being charged again for the sidewalk cafés and other Freischank extensions, and the normal approval processes also apply again. Some restaurants have therefore withdrawn the applications they have already submitted for sidewalk gardens and expansion areas. Petra Weber: “For the year 2022, we are therefore assuming that there will be around 560 sidewalk cafés and around 250 side extensions.” And there could always be more. Looks like the success story of Munich’s sidewalk cafés will continue.