Inside Oktoberfest plates: surprising foods people eat beyond sausages, pretzels and beer today

Tuesday 22 September 2026 17:00 - Patricia González
Inside Oktoberfest plates: surprising foods people eat beyond sausages, pretzels and beer today
The culinary image of Oktoberfest is often reduced to three things: beer, sausages, and pretzels. But you only have to look at the menus in the big tents to see that the Munich festival is experienced in a different way. The focus is on Bavarian cuisine: roast chicken, pork, grilled fish, bread dumplings, cheese, potatoes, and sweets designed to feed thousands of people every day.
This isn’t a tour of “German cuisine” in general. It is, above all, festive Bavarian cuisine, divided between the hearty dishes served in the tents and the food you can buy and eat while strolling through the Theresienwiese.

Roast chicken, one of the great classics of Oktoberfest

Sausage is everywhere, but one of the dishes most closely associated with Oktoberfest is the Hendl, the Bavarian name for roast chicken. It is typically served as a half chicken, cooked on a spit, with golden, crispy skin.

Its presence at the festival isn’t a recent development. The first stalls dedicated to roast chicken appeared at Oktoberfest in the 19th century, and even today there are tents specializing in this dish.

From there, the menu takes on a distinctly Bavarian character. There’s the Schweinshaxe (roasted pork knuckle, until the skin is crispy) and the Schweinsbraten, roast pork served in slices with gravy. These dishes are usually accompanied by cabbage, potatoes, or Knödel, the traditional bread or potato dumplings.

And there’s an even more spectacular version of this roasted meat cuisine. The Ochsenbraterei, one of the large tents at Oktoberfest that specializes in beef, serves Ochs am Spieß: beef roasted on a spit and then cut into portions.

People also eat fish and not just occasionally

Pork isn't the only thing on the menu. One of Oktoberfest's most iconic dishes is Steckerlfisch, fish skewered on a stick and roasted over hot coals.

Mackerel is one of the most common types of fish used, though not the only one. The Fischer-Vroni tent specializes in this very dish.

Fish also makes an appearance outside the big tents. According to the latest official report available (from 2025) the Fischsemmel, a fish sandwich, was among the best-selling items at street stalls.

It’s a good reminder of just how much the international image of Oktoberfest oversimplifies what people actually eat there.

Bread, cheese, potatoes: the other half of the table

Not everything starts with a pork knuckle.

A meal can start with a Brotzeit, a typical Bavarian cold snack usually consisting of bread, cold cuts, radishes, and Obazda, a seasoned cheese spread that’s often served with a pretzel.

Alsatian pretzelsRecipe Alsatian pretzels

These large, soft pretzels are a delight at any time of the day! Proof that you don't need to travel to Germany, Austria, or Alsace to enjoy these wonders sprinkled with coarse salt. Feel free to vary the pleasures by replacing the salt with sesame...


Next come the side dishes, which are almost a category of their own. Semmelknödel are boiled dumplings made from bread; Kartoffelknödel are their potato-based counterpart. Bavarian potato salad, cabbage, and sauerkraut are also common.

Some dishes are completely meat-free. Käsespätzle are small egg noodles mixed with cheese and onions. Another classic is Rahmschwammerl mit Knödel: mushrooms in a creamy sauce served with one of those bread dumplings typical of Bavarian cuisine.

Outside the tents, the focus is on food that’s easy to eat. The official 2025 report listed the Leberkässemmel (a roll filled with a hot slice of Leberkäse (a kind of baked meatloaf))among the most popular street foods, along with bratwurst sausages and fish sandwiches.

The name Leberkäse can be misleading: it is not a cheese, but a compact meat mixture that is baked and then sliced. Depending on the recipe, it may not even contain liver.

Eating without meat is no longer the exception

The vegetarian options at Oktoberfest go far beyond simply removing the sausage from the plate.

The menus include dishes such as Obazda with radish and pretzels, Käsespätzle, potato pancakes, soups, mushrooms with Knödel, and various pasta dishes.

There are also vegan options, including vegetable dishes, spreads, and sauerkraut-based dishes.

The offerings vary from tent to tent and from one year to the next, so it’s a good idea to check each menu. And some dishes that may seem vegan aren’t: traditional Spätzle , for example, contain eggs.

And then comes the sugar

Oktoberfest also has its own selection of sweets.

Gebrannte Mandeln, caramelized almonds, are one of the classics found at the festival stalls. And at Café Theres’, for example, Zimtschnecken—the popular cinnamon rolls—are baked right in the tent’s own bakery.

Cinnamon rolls and its vanilla cream cheese frostingRecipe Cinnamon rolls and its vanilla cream cheese frosting

For a snack or breakfast , there's nothing like a delicious, soft brioche ♥ What we love about brioches is that they can be decorated in different ways: with spread , with sugar , with chocolate chips , in short, so many little pleasures as sweet...


Inside the tents, you’ll find desserts like Apfelstrudel and Kaiserschmarrn; a batter similar to a thick pancake that’s cooked, torn into pieces, and served sprinkled with sugar, often accompanied by fruit compote.

It’s so popular that there’s even a tent dedicated to preparing it in large cast-iron skillets.

The famous Lebkuchen hearts, decorated with icing and messages, round out the scene. Many end up as souvenirs; others are found alongside chocolate-covered fruit, fried pastries, and other sweets meant to be eaten while strolling.

So, what should you order at Oktoberfest?

To understand what people actually eat at the festival, you have to stop thinking of a single representative dish.

A sit-down meal might start with a Brotzeit and continue with a Hendl, a pork knuckle, or a Steckerlfisch.

For eating on the go as you wander around the grounds, there are Leberkässemmel, Fischsemmel, and other sandwiches. And to finish off the meal, there’s Kaiserschmarrn, strudel, or caramelized almonds.

Sausages and pretzels are part of Oktoberfest, of course. But they tell only part of the story. The Wiesn table is, above all, a festive and crowd-pleasing take on Bavarian cuisine: chicken and pork, yes, but also fish, cheese, bread, potatoes, mushrooms, and plenty of sugar.

Patricia GonzálezPatricia González
Passionate about cooking and good food, my life revolves around carefully chosen words and wooden spoons. Responsible, yet forgetful. I am a journalist and writer with years of experience, and I found my ideal corner in France, where I work as a writer for Petitchef. I love bœuf bourguignon, but I miss my mother's salmorejo. Here, I combine my love for writing and delicious flavors to share recipes and kitchen stories that I hope will inspire you. I like my tortilla with onions and slightly undercooked :)

Comments

Rate this article: