Forget Munich, the beer is on us

"We've got you a nice table," says Sabine Von Reth, the manager of the Bavarian Beerhouse. "But the people next to you have been drinking since 2pm. I hope that's okay?"

It is okay, because Oktoberfest is all about getting drunk and having fun, and once we're in the swing of this most Germanic of celebrations we almost forget we're not at the legendary beer festival in Munich, but in east London.

After all, what's the point of spending time and money trekking to Germany when you can find the authentic experience on your doorstep? Even better, rather than lasting just two weeks like the original, at the Bavarian Beerhouse the party carries on for the whole of this month.

Set in a basement under City Road, it is one of a handful of German bars in the capital. We arrive at 8pm on the opening Saturday of the festival and things are already in full swing, with punters downing drinks and music blasting from the speakers.

After we are seated on benches with our beers, Sabine talks me through what the bar is all about. "The music is the main reason our parties are so authentic," she tells me, brimming with enthusiasm. "I even got an email from a bar in Brazil last week, asking if they could book some of the musicians we have. They're all from Bavaria and come over just for our festival."

Sabine has lived in New Eltham for nine years but originally hails from Frankfurt. In fact, all the staff here come from Germany.

Our waitress Christina brings over a round of steins (£7.80 each) - those gargantuan glasses that hold almost two pints of ice-cold, crisp Paulaner lager from Bavaria, and we loosen up and get into the spirit of Oktoberfest.

The Bavarian Beerhouse is designed to make you feel like you're in a bierkeller in downtown Munich. There's Alpine panelling in each of the four rooms and fake windows looking out on to scenes of rolling green hills, cows and milkmaids, while the long wooden tables seat up to 10 people. We go for another round of beers and some ballast - a bowl of goulash (£12.50) in a rich sauce, a pile of delicious giant pretzels (£1.95 for two) and some chips (£2.90).

As the evening wears on we join in the rowdy merrymaking and slap our thighs to the live oompah band, which has big groups of beery revellers swaying and singing along. The band is called Tommy, Wolfi & Timo and the trio are dressed, of course, in lederhosen and gamsbart hats.

But it's not just boozy old blokes enjoying the fun here. I spy two pretty girls who are also having a knees-up. Carly Graham, a 27-year-old artist manager from Hackney, sums up the spirit of the place: "If you like beer, scantily clad barwomen and men in lederhosen it's the perfect night out," she giggles.