Oktoberfest at Gastof’s

My friends and I went there for dinner. I had the chicken breast. I wasn’t impressed as it did not look appetizing at all. It was covered in some kind of sauce, probably to conceal the rubbery taste and texture. It was so tough, I had a hard time cutting it into pieces. The only plus was their portion sizes. They were immense. But sharing a plate will cost you another $ 8.00.
I would visit again for their events and beer, but their food was crap.

This year was my first time really celebrating Oktoberfest. I had a blast here… and I was with my parents. Loved the music. The beer was great. The atmosphere was awesome. i just wish they would step up the food game. Get something other than brats on the menu. We’ve all tried that. You think they would want to showcase some of the more unique dishes to get people to come back to eat. But I would definitely come back next year. Had a ton of fun. Parking gets a little hairy but that seems to be the case anywhere inside city limits.

Bring a mug from home to save $ 5! Otherwise, you will have to buy one. Some people are into that though.
Ok, here’s the story on my experience here. First time I came, 2011, late. Maybe 10pm. The place was packed, loud, beer sloshing. I didn’t dig it. I planned to not come back, but some how ended up here last weekend.
Brilliant! I arrive around 6:30 and there were plenty of tables and open space. Older people were dancing. It was perfect. Grabbed a pint and an awesome soft pretzel. Eventually tried the mulled wine– I forget what its called.
So, all that to say this was a great event, just come early if you want to sit and people watch.

So I am a huge fan of any type of fair, festival, interactive activity etc. especially when good beer is involved. Oktoberfest at Gastofs hits all of these things hard – rowdy crowd, people of all ages (though average seemed to be mid 20s), authentic german food including the most delectable pretzels to accompany the steins on steins of beer.
The Basics: The festivities are held in a huge tent in the parking lot which is nice because you can choose to either hang outside or under the cover of the tent. It starts at 5pm but we got there around 7pm and the polkaing was in full-​swing literally. You don’t have to pay to enter but you do pay $ 6 per token (1beer= 1 token). It’s is a little annoying that you have to buy the tokens first and then use these to purchase each beer – probably kept me from buying more beer because waiting in lines is just the worst. Overall though the lines for beer/​food weren’t horrible as long as you don’t mind using a power stance to hold your ground. Seating under the tents is limited so we ended up spending most of the night on our feet.
**Helpful Hint – yes there are porter-​potties but smart move is to walk inside the restaurant and use the actual bathrooms– Clean and not many people in line.
Tokens: I used my first token to buy a souvenir mug – I love all types of memorabilia so I was particularly pleased that you get to keep your stein (or you can opt to just use a plastic cup for the night if that’s not your thing). I started the night with the hefeweizen (wheat beer/​not hoppy) which the beer lady dropped in a lemon for extra crispness. After that I stuck with the Oktoberfest brew which was so drinkable = highly recommend it! ** For the gluten-​free –heyyy meg – spiked cider comes in two flavors: we recommend the traditional cider (not the one mixed with red wine): goes down like candy but packs a mean punch. no pun intended.
Overall the Oktoberfest at Gastof was a blast though probably not the most authentic of German Oktoberfests. If you like good beer and something out of the norm – definitely check it out!

Live music, german food, early autumn, and full flavored beer. Whats not to love?
The whole set up is a gigantic tent in what i assume is their parking lot. Its actually very warm under the tent because of all the lights, people and wind cover, so youll still have a great time if its chilly weather. Everything is paid for by tokens and each token is $ 6. I for one was glad for them, i didnt have to constantly get money out (and probably therefore lose some, it is a beer intensive event after all).
There are two bars outside with several tap options at each. They were staffed to move people through the line which was awesome! They know how to keep their revelers happy by keeping their steins full. I dont like dark beers as much as lighter ones, so i stuck to the hefe weizen and the marzen. The hefe weizen was very light on hops and slightly bitter. The marzen was my favorite, also somewhat bitter, but fuller and easy to sip on.
The food was quite tasty as well. They had brats with sauerkraut, pretzels loaded with cheese, ribs that were very tender and pork chops which I didn’t get to try but looked good. I also had a side of german potato salad which was super filling. I heard the apple struedel was good, but there was no way i was going to have room for that!
If you go, you have to give hammerschlagen a try. Its primitive, its kinda dangerous and its a hoot! Do it!

I rate this event a sad 2 stars. i could not give it 1 star because it had good beer. The place was incredibly packed. People here were very rude… if you want to pass by some one you can at least say excuse me instead of running into people causing their beer to spill. The one annoying thing is people camping out in the beer line. i guess collage kids+ beer = no common sense. People had full beers in front of the beer line just chatting. They prevented the lines from moving smoothly.
The music was horrible OMG the chicken dance OMG i almost left immediately right after hearing it come on. The band could of played more traditional German music and not old american music. I guess oktoberfest is not about tradition but about getting hammered.
The place was kinda small for the amount of people onsite. There were 12 to 14 porto potties and the lines some times took 20 min to piss. This is ridiculous.. The food was way over priced. they could of put out some heating devices to keep people warm. the valet parking was a great move by them. Other than all that our group did have a great time. There were lots of good people watching and great conversations going on.
I would go back again next year to see if they have improved the situation.

After driving by a few years in wonderment we decided to stop by last night for some awesome-​fest activities. The outdoor areas only go until 11pm, and we didn’t get there until about 9:45pm. The bathroom line was not too long and it moved pretty quickly. Having never been here before, we didn’t understand what to do. So we just walked through and looked around as much as we could. It was packed! I agree with others in saying that the payment method is not convenient. I know it’s a small area, but I only saw 1 booth for token payment. It might be wise to add another booth on the opposite end so it doesn’t take so long to travel to get your token, then wait for a beer, and then come back to your party. It was so packed with people we couldn’t see the stage, and the music stopped for about 20 minutes after we arrived. When it started back up again I couldn’t even see the stage. The fest is basically somewhere to go to stand with a large crowd of people and people watch and drink. There are no other activities that I saw other than drinking and being loud in my vicinity. I did have a brat with kraut, and while it was good, I could tell that it’s been cooked all day. Everything was kept in banquet warmers so it just sorta melted in my mouth. Sorry Oktoberfest, Polish Festival does their food a bit better (and pretty much to order).
I do like that you get to bring your mug home. We bar hopped afterwards so it’s a really good distance to the surrounding bars. I asked one of the bartenders at one point if they could just fill our mug. They can’t. Another plus, even though the parking lot was full, there is plenty of free street parking in the neighborhood. So although the actual tents were pretty packed, we were able to find a spot 2 blocks away. If I ever go back I have my mug I can save $ 5 on, but I would recommend getting nice and toasty to have a decent time.

I’ve been three times and it is definitely a fun event!
Beer tents outside, dancing and live music downstairs (polka, classic Oktoberfest, and top 40). Great German brats and beer like Paulaner. Everyone from freshly 21 year olds to your grandparents will be there.
Grab a big mug, which will bruise your hand — just like the traditional steins in Germany. There are also the boots to pass around to share.
It does get fairly crowded and loud, but look forward to having a good time. Some people even dress in lederhosen and drindls so you won’t feel out of place if you want to join in.
The tents outside are cleared before bar close and they move the party inside.
They also bring in port-​a-​potties for the events, so there are lines but not as bad as they could be.
Also, bring cash — it’s so much easier than dealing with cards and ATMs.
All-​in-​all, a great place to spend Oktoberfest in Minneapolis.

This year was my second foray into Gastof’s Oktoberfest. Altogether, I approve.
Beer tents, brats, polka sing-​a-​longs, soft pretzels, rousing games of hammerschlagen and fest brews from Paulaner, Spaten and Hacker-​Pschorr. This is an all-​ages Oktoberfest. I don’t mean you should bring your kids (you absolutely shouldn’t) — I mean you should bring your parents.
It’s important to arrive early if you want to sit and get cash beforehand since they only have one ATM and there can be a long line to use it. Oh, and remember to BYO-​beer stein or you’ll have to pay for a new glass upon arrival.
There are a few things that could be improved upon here too. I hate the token system, for one. I get why they have it, but I really wish they didn’t. There were also some serious lines for the restrooms, so it might help to add a couple more next year. Other than that though, this makes for a fun fall evening (or afternoon)!