A Proper Irish Night In Munich
The Unwritten Rules of Buying a Round in Munich A Pub Guide for Newcomers
Where can you go after Oktoberfest in Munich? The large Wiesn tents normally stop serving beer and playing music at 22:30, but Munich does not go home at 22:31. You can stay around the fairground for rides, head into the city centre, or move north to Schwabing for a pub night.
The useful bit is knowing the clock. Once the tent bands stop, thousands of people suddenly have the same question at the same time. A small plan beats wandering around Hauptbahnhof in lederhosen asking the universe for guidance.
The large beer tents close at 23:30, but beer service and music normally end at 22:30. Small and medium-sized tents serve drinks and play music until 23:00.
Käfer Wiesn-Schänke and Kufflers Weinzelt are the late exceptions. They may stay open until 01:00 and serve final drinks at 00:30.
The festival grounds stay open later than the normal beer service on Fridays and Saturdays, when the main Wiesn runs until midnight. On other days, closing times vary between 23:30 and midnight.
Yes, for a while. Rides and fairground attractions can continue after the main tents stop serving.
On opening day, Fridays and Saturdays, rides can run until midnight. On many other days they close at 23:30.
This is the moment for the Ferris wheel if your group still has balance, or for leaving the Wiesn if the words “one last ride” sound like a threat.
There is no single official after-Wiesn district. People spread across central Munich, clubs, bars, pubs and late venues depending on what kind of night they want.
If you want a huge club, go looking for a club. If you want somewhere you can still talk, drink and join a pub crowd, Schwabing gives you a different second half.
The Shamrock sits on Trautenwolfstraße 6 near Giselastraße. We have been part of Schwabing since 1989, and the room works well for exactly this sort of late change of scene: less giant tent, more bar, pints and people.
It depends on the day. Our current opening hours are:
So Friday and Saturday are the obvious late-night Wiesn-to-pub nights. Tuesday to Thursday work too if you leave the festival before closing.
Sunday is not the night to arrive at our door and test whether optimism can unlock it. We are closed.
Friday and Saturday are our late-night karaoke nights. Guests choose songs and sing with the pub crowd behind them.
This is where an Oktoberfest day can take a fairly sharp turn. One minute you have heard brass bands and “Ein Prosit” all afternoon. The next minute somebody in your group has decided that Bon Jovi requires their personal intervention.
It is not a polished show. Participation is the point. The room matters more than the performance, which is a useful rule after a full day at the Wiesn.
Each night has its own rhythm. Tuesday is Student Karaoke, Wednesday is Open Mic Comedy and Thursday is our bilingual Pub Quiz in English and German.
If you are visiting Munich during Oktoberfest and want something more local after the festival, those nights can give you a reason to leave Theresienwiese before the final rush.
Thursday in particular works for mixed-language groups. Every quiz question is asked in both English and German, so nobody at the table has to spend the night acting as unpaid translator.
The easiest route changes with crowding and late-night service, so check MVGO or MVV before you leave. Oktoberfest is served by several stations, including Theresienwiese on the U4 and U5, Goetheplatz and Poccistraße on the U3 and U6, plus Hackerbrücke on the S-Bahn.
Giselastraße is the closest U-Bahn stop for The Shamrock. From there, Trautenwolfstraße is a short walk.
The City of Munich recommends public transport for the Wiesn and runs extra capacity during the festival. Friday and Saturday U-Bahn services run later than on normal nights, which helps if your evening carries on after the tents.
If you already know you want to go somewhere afterwards, yes, leaving a little earlier can be smart. The moment the main tents finish, the exits and nearby stations get much busier.
Leaving at 22:00 instead of joining the full 22:30 wave can make the second half of the night less annoying. You are giving up half an hour in one place to avoid spending half an hour standing in a crowd wondering why nobody is moving.
That trade makes even more sense if your next venue closes at 01:00.
Of course. During Wiesn season, Munich is full of people moving around the city in traditional clothing.
You do not need to change before coming to The Shamrock. You also do not need traditional clothing in the first place. Oktoberfest itself has no dress code.
Wear whatever got you through the day, preferably with the confidence of someone who has accepted that a feathered hat is now part of the evening.
If six, eight or ten of you want to continue together, book ahead where possible. Late Friday and Saturday nights can get busy.
At The Shamrock, you can reserve a table rather than hoping a whole row of seats becomes free at the exact moment you arrive.
Small groups and solo guests have more flexibility. We have always been a mixed room of locals, students, expats and visitors, so arriving without a full squad is normal.
Then do not force one. A pub can be useful precisely because it does not have to become a massive second event.
You can have a drink, sit at the bar and let the night calm down. Friday and Saturday karaoke will still bring noise later, but early evening and the spaces around the bar can feel very different from a 10,000-person festival tent.
Not every after-Wiesn plan needs lasers and a queue. Sometimes the successful plan is simply finding a stool.
22:30 in the normal large Oktoberfest tents.
Yes. Käfer Wiesn-Schänke and Kufflers Weinzelt can serve until 00:30 and close at 01:00.
Yes. The grounds and rides can continue later, depending on the day.
No. The Shamrock is closed Sunday and Monday.
Until 02:00.
Late-night karaoke with a full pub crowd.
Do not wait until the last beer to decide where the night goes next. Make the decision ten or twenty minutes earlier and Munich becomes much easier.
If your answer is Schwabing, we are at Trautenwolfstraße 6. Reserve a table, then let Oktoberfest handle the first half and the pub handle the rest.
