Beer Hall Vienna & Bierkeller

A beer hall Vienna style isn’t the same as a Biergarten. While the garden is about sitting outside with a cold one, the hall—or Bierkeller—is the indoors: vaulted cellars, wooden benches, maybe a bit of sawdust on the floor, and the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to stay for a second round. It’s where Vienna’s beer culture has lived for centuries.

What makes a beer hall different

Think of it as the opposite of a flashy cocktail bar. A proper traditional beer hall in Vienna focuses on one thing: good beer in a space built for drinking it. Low ceilings, stone or brick, long shared tables. The beer’s usually house-brewed—Helles, Dunkles, Märzen—and the food is hearty. No pretension, no gimmicks. It’s the kind of place where locals and visitors who’ve done their homework end up. For the full picture of beer in Vienna Austria, see our Vienna Brewery Guide and where to drink beer in Vienna.

Beer hall vs beer garden

Same brewery, different vibe. A beer garden is for sunny afternoons and long evenings outside. A beer hall or Bierkeller is for when it’s raining, cold, or you just prefer the coziness of a cellar. Many traditional breweries offer both: an indoor hall and a courtyard or terrace. Pick based on the weather and your mood.

Fischerbräu: beer hall with house beer

Fischerbräu in Döbling (Billrothstraße 17) is a gasthaus brewery with exactly that setup: an indoor pub and a beer garden when the weather’s good. The hall has the feel of a proper Brauhaus—wood, brass, house-brewed Helles, Dunkles, seasonal Weihnachtsbock—and Austrian food to go with it. It’s not a cavernous Munich-style hall; it’s more intimate, which suits the neighbourhood. Open from 4pm weekdays, noon at weekends. Tram 37/38 or bus 35A gets you there.

Other beer halls in Vienna

Ottakringer has a large brewery experience; Siebensternbräu and 1516 Brewing Company are in the mix too. For the classic “one building, one brewery” experience—the kind that feels like it’s been there forever—we still point people to Fischerbräu. For a broader list, check best brewery in Vienna and oldest beer hall Vienna.