Review: Brats in Chelsea (Not the Dolls...The Sausage!)

This isn't your mama's beer garden.

Housed in a narrow nook of warm wood and bar stools, Brats is doing Austrian sausages and beers (well, not beer yet, they don't have a liquor license yet) their way...and I'm loving it.

Their menu is pretty diverse in the sausage department with everything from your basic beef dog to a duck doggie slathered with a layer of pate. My friend John and I weren't that adventurous yet, but we did get get some yummy stuff. 

We started with the giant pretzel....which was exactly that. Fuckin massive, warm, yeasty and delicious. Now I hate mustard and mayo (I do like good homemade mayo though), but this came with blueberry mustard and OLD BAY mayo (house made!) so you could dip. Yum. The mayo was rich and creamy without being nauseating and had just the right amount of Old Bay seasoning. And the mustard wasn't super duper sweet, just a bright tart sweetness and some heat.

For the main, John went traditional with the beef wiener (heh, wiener) with horseradish mustard. I said to hell with that and opted for the German sausage doused in tomato sauce and dusted with their house curry blend.

His dog was nice and snappy, and definitely beefy. Balanced mix of seasonings, but not overpowering.

As for my choice, OH YES. I really made the right move with this one. Tangy tomato sauce combined with the tender sausage, and the hit of curry blend...WOW! I had never thought of mixing curry and tomatoes together, and I was blown away at how much the flavors intensified each other. Gooble gobble please.

And now for the grand finale: dessert. We decided to split the malted vanilla milk shake topped with....bacon confetti. Yes. Yes. Yes.

I usually really dislike malted things because I think they're extremely odd tasting, but this shake had just a touch of the malted flavor with just a hint of vanilla. Not too treacle-y, but just right. The bacon could have been a bit crunchier, but otherwise its salty presence helped to offset the drink's milkiness. Super refreshing.

Amazing food and the great service should help this place blow up...but hurry up and get a liquor license!