An Actual Bavarian Prince Is Opening a German Restaurant in East Austin

A new East Austin German restaurant, Koko’s Bavarian, can boast an actual Bavarian prince as one of its co-founders. Koko’s will open on Friday, December 3 at 4715 East Fifth Street, the space vacated by the Brewer’s Table.

Koko’s will serve German fare, smoked meats, and German beers, including six brewed in-house. The food menu includes dishes like sausages (the menu includes bratwurst, currywurst, duck-guanciale-blackberry, rabbit-rattlesnake, and antelope), fries with dipping sauces, schnitzel, pretzels, and more.

The beer program will have 30 varieties of German and local beers (Koko’s will brew four lagers and two ales, with beer collaborations planned). There will also be a schnapps cocktail menu and a full bar.

The space will be in the style of a biergarten with lots of indoor and outdoor seating, plus an outdoor stage for live music. It is also notably adjacent to Central Machine Works, another biergarten and brewery.

Koko’s comes from Konstantin Prinz von Bayern, whose full name is Konstantin Eugen Alexander Max-Emanuel Maria Ludwig Ferdinand Leopold of Bavaria, though he understandably goes by nickname Koko. (Koko’s fifth-great grandfather, King Ludwig I, held the first Oktoberfest in 1810.) His other partners are Jesse Herman, who had previously been with hospitality group New Waterloo and helped launch Sway, La Condesa, and South Congress Hotel; Charles Attal of event company C3 Presents; Tim Love of Dallas-based restaurant with an Austin location Lonesome Dove; and investor Nick Swerdfeger.

“The aim of Koko’s Bavarian is to stay true to the roots and culture of Bavaria while retaining the Austin spirit,” Prinz von Bayern tells Eater over email. “I think the unpretentious beer garden experience goes so well with Austin and the locals. And since the city has great weather all year round, Austinites will luckily get to enjoy the beer garden for far longer than the three to four months of sunshine that we get in Germany.”

The Brewer’s Table opened in 2018 with the goal to pair beers with high-end food, and won several accolades during its short tenure. When it closed in 2020, most of the opening team — executive chef Zach Hunter and head brewer Drew Durish — had already left.

Koko’s will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will have an opening party on Friday, December 3, with a polka band and a DJ set by Koko.

• Koko’s Bavarian [Official]
• Koko’s Bavarian [Instagram]
• Koko’s Bavarian [TikTok]

Update, October 28. This article has been updated to clarify Herman’s previous role.

Update, November 30. This article has been updated with Koko’s open date.