EBG Rating: 8/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Gaffel Kölsch which can also be ordered by the 0.2l Stange glass as in Cologne right up to a 10l keg to tap at your table. Grevensteiner Landbier also on tap. Alternatives to beer are broad rather than deed, but cover most bases adequately.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Enter a wide, high-ceilinged space, its walls covered in black and white framed photos of politicians from decades past. At each end note hatch pattern window frames and on the ceiling, ornate floral patterns lit with clusters of globe lamps.

It was purpose built between 1923-1926.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
An impressive feeling of central institution and identity, with the Rheinland elements adding intrigue rather than detracting from it.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Food, snacks, takeaway, outdoor seating.

Value For Money:
❤️❤️
Central Bremen with prices to match. Though not extortionate, unyielding would be a fair summation.

Description:
The only central venue in Bremen that can genuinely compete with the Kölsch beer halls of Cologne or Altbier halls of Düsseldorf, both for its history and sense of institution, but also its scale, format and rhythms.

Perhaps the comparison is alloyed by the fact this pub references the Rheinland in name and in beer offerings, with Kölsch pouring from the taps.

Based at the centre of Böttcherstraße at the heart of Bremen’s Altstadt (or at least revived remnants of), Staev, as it is abbreviated to, proudly occupies prime position.

Enter a wide, high-ceilinged space, its walls covered in black and white framed photos of politicians from decades past. At each end note hatch pattern window frames and on the ceiling, ornate floral patterns lit with clusters of globe lamps.

It was purpose built between 1923-1926.

Service is typical beer hall fare – it’s tricky to get someone’s attention if you aren’t in a group, and the back-and-forth and sheer refusal to make eye contact can leave you waiting 10-15 minutes at least. However it can be near instant if you catch someone at the right time.

A pub restaurant churning out classic North German dishes like Knipp and Labskaus – the latter definitely not for the faint hearted! However they have devised the space well, with a bar area for drinks and standing, café and pub type seating further in, making it a versatile place to hang out.

Irritatingly, they close on Sunday and Monday. This part of Germany is notoriously tricky to find pubs open on these days, especially around lunchtime and it feels, potential religious objections aside, that they’re missing out. Nearby Schuttinger, a nowhere near as interesting venue are happy sweeping up the customers for themselves.

A real city institution, the sort that most people associate with visits to German city centres and one that stands up in decent comparison to anywhere similar in the country.

(Added September 2025)