A Legacy of Bier, Brats, & Bavaria in SF: Suppenküche

Suppenküche owner Fabi Wiest, Hayes Valley, SF 2023.  Photo by Derek Yarra

Suppenküche is perhaps the most authentic German restaurant in San Francisco these days, but back when the Eastern German spot Walzwerk was still around they had stiff competition, and a stark contrast in German cuisine and style.

Suppenküche is a traditional Bavarian restaurant and Bierhause with steins, lagers, sausage, schnitzel, and a friendly owner from a small town outside Munich. In fact ‘Suppenküche’ literally means ‘soup kitchen’, the ambiance is communal, welcoming, and after a Kölsch or two, quite jovial.

In contrast, Walzwerk was solidly from the Eastern side of the wall, where the lights were lower, the decor was authentically Soviet, and they served Köstritzer Schwarzbier, a black brew drunk in the east.  And when you sipped it after taking a bite of a smoked porkchop, you imagined you tasted a hint of the iron curtain.

RIP Walzwerk, Mission District San Francisco.

But the much-beloved Walzerk, like many others, crumbled in 2020, while Suppenküche dug in its heels, and has soldiered on.  They’ve achieved Business Legacy status in San Francisco (a great program that helps our city preserve our iconic institutions), and in their communal spirit they also had partnered to open the outdoor Biergarten in Hayes in Valley, so their patrons could yell “prost!” in the open air.

Photo by Derek Yarra

Just recently, Suppenküche owner Fabi Wiest teamed up with Fort Point Beer Company to brew a new Bavarian-inspired beer, called Tunzenbier, named for Fabi’s hometown.  And on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (Nov 9th) we had the pleasure of sipping fine Bavarian brews with Fabi, and dined on pork, pretzels, and perfectly poured pilsners.

Fabi Wiest in his 1971 Chrysler 300 in Hayes Valley

Fabi told us about how the Suppenküche building had been a bar or clubhouse in one form or another since the 1870s, he told us about how he and his partner (Thomas Klausmann) had opened the place back in 1993, and his memory of lying on the bar after opening night, surrounded by friends with a great smile on his face, and how that feeling of fun and community was all he had been looking for in the world.

Photo by Derek Yarra

For the last 30 years, Suppenküche has been just that, fun. You or a friend of yours may have a story in their back pocket about a late night or lock-in at a certain German restaurant in Hayes Valley, where the taps were all open and a suave Bavarian in a Bogart hat made you feel welcome, while insisting you drink his fine German bier out of its properly dedicated glassware.

For my money, there is nothing finer than authentic German beer poured fresh from the tap, and Suppenküche does that flawlessly. There’s a good chef in the kitchen too, the food is traditional, uncomplicated and perfect on a winter’s night.

SUPPENKÜCHE

525 Laguna St.
Hayes Valley, San Francisco