Oktoberfest 2025: Your Bay Area guide to beer, brats, oompah music

In Germany the world s largest Oktoberfest celebration will pack Munich s beer halls from Sept through Oct But in the Bay Area the celebrations go on for weeks running right up to Halloween Really You can skip the trick-or-treaters this year and spend the evening with the lederhosen crowd at Teske s in San Jose if you d prefer Check out our roundup below of events large and small in greater part cases you would be well-advised to buy tickets in advance If you know of other events and restaurant specials email jmetcalfe bayareanewsgroup com and we ll add them to the online roundup Festivals are in chronological order with restaurant events below those FESTIVALS Oktoberfest Downtown Redwood City Sept - Sept - For nine days Courthouse Square will be transformed into a German wunderland with tons of family-style bench seating and a Munich-inspired celebration tent The event is split between cheaper weekday happy hours and the bigger weekend bashes Entertainment includes bands like the Golden Gate Bavarian Club dance contests yodeling competitions and endless renditions of the chicken dance There are pretzels bratwursts and other Bavarian bites and to wash it down ice-cold beer or root beer Details Various times from Sept - and Sept at Broadway Redwood City Non-drinker tickets are - Tuesday-Thursday and - Friday-Sunday drinking tickets are - Tuesday-Thursday and - Friday-Sunday Tickets include a commemorative stein and drink voucher redwoodcity org residents redwood-city-events oktoberfest Oktoberfest on Front Sept After a accomplished debut last year the celebration is back for a second round as a larger iteration of Schroeder s annual block party on Front St in San Francisco This year it s being billed as California s first-ever entertainment zone which allows brick-and-mortar restaurants to sell alcoholic beverages for outdoor consumption on the street during special events Schroeder s Harrington s and Royal Exchange will each be celebrating with beer specials bratwursts pretzels and cocktails Axe throwing beer pong beer chugging and other games will be on display as well as live entertainment on an outdoor stage Among those performing will be Ladyhosen and Pop Rocks Details - p m Friday Sept Admission is free downtownsf org Benicia Oktoberfest Marketplace Sept The little city on the banks of the Carquinez Strait is pulling out all the stops this fall First get your early holiday shopping on at a area with -plus local vendors offering unique crafts and gifts Then load up on bratwurst and schnitzel from the family-run Lockeford Sausage and Stockton s German Guys restaurant The beer is imported from the oldest brewery on earth Bavaria s Weihenstephan Monastery Brewery and there will be masskrugstemmen aka stein-holding contests For tots the fest has a free Mega Kid Zone and then for everyone there s a great lineup of live bands including the irrepressible Soviet-surf rock of Igor the Red Elvises from - p m Details a m to p m Saturday Sept at the Benicia Marina Green First and East B streets general admission or Oktoberfest package that includes entry two drink tickets and a stein beniciaoktoberfest com Walnut Creek Oktoberfest Sept - Last year s event drew more than attendees at Civic Park East in downtown Walnut Creek The town has yet to share the vendors for this year s celebration but Headlands Brewery has declared that it will be one of them Come for the beer and wine and celebrate with live entertainment music dancing local food and craft vendors as well as the kids carnival which will include inflatable games a giant slide live animals mini golf train rides face painting and balloon artists Details - p m Friday Sept and noon- p m Saturday Sept Entry is free drink tickets and kids carnival tickets available to purchase walnutcreekdowntown com events oktoberfest Oaktoberfest Oct - This annual bash in Oakland s Dimond District has something that might get Tim Gunn s attention a dirndl fashion show It s being judged by the artist who fabricated Brittany Spears famous nude bodysuit of all things The family-friendly entertainment continues at a Kids Play Zone with lawn games youth bands and root-beer floats with Loard s ice cream Meanwhile adults can hang at a Parents Chill Zone and enjoy the -plus beers and wines the festival is offering plus food from vendors like Evergood Sausage Co Smokin Woods BBQ Jollof Kitchen and pineappleWHIPS Five music stages hosting everything from dance battles to polkas round out the fun Details a m - p m Oct and a m - p m Oct Fruitvale Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard Oakland Free admission and drink packages for adults start at for four pours oaktoberfest org Clayton Oktoberfest Oct - For the st year the Clayton Business and Population Association is putting on one of the longest-running Oktoberfests in the Bay Area It features a full-sized carnival for kids of all ages beginning on Friday night Oct with Oktoberfest celebrations starting Saturday The opening ceremony and keg tap are scheduled for noon Soon after The Internationals will be providing live music in the biergarten with Bavarian dancers set to join them There will be no shortage of local vendors or guests more than people attended last year s event Details a m - p m Oct and a m - p m Oct though the carnival starts Friday night Oct claytonoktoberfest com Mountain View Oktoberfest Oct - Come for the beer stay for the tradition says the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce which is hosting the city s th annual Oktoberfest If you re feeling competitive the festival test along Castro Street will offer nonstop contests from a pretzel eating contests for kids to yodeling beer belly costume and stein holding contests culminating each day in a quest to find the best chicken dancer in attendance Music will be provided by the Deutscher MusikVerein and BlowMusik bands Details a m to p m each day at Castro St Mountain View with general transit stops nearby www mvoktoberfest com Downtown Campbell Oktoberfest Oct - Campbell s venerable event the th annual combines the German food beer and music of an Oktoberfest with the arts and crafts of a traditional street festival Vendors -plus will cover several blocks of Campbell Avenue Music fans will find five stages of entertainment including one with nonstop German music from the Zicke Zacke Band The beer and food will be located at the Biersch Garden and along the avenue Sausage fans know this event as Lockeford s annual South Bay stop so hit that booth early For families the Kinderplatz will feature a magician arts and crafts sports exercises and nearby the Campbell Fire Department s touch-a truck New this year is a OktoberFAST pass that gives attendees front-of-line privileges at all festival booths Details a m to p m Saturday Oct and a m to p m Sunday Oct Admission parking are free specific fee-only Kinderplatz programs www downtowncampbell com RESTAURANTS BREWERIES Teske s Germania In San Jose this historic restaurant-beer hall amps up its year-round German fare think schnitzel and sauerbraten with Oktoberfest music on several nights from now through the end of October The Internationals band fan favorites for years will take the stage in the biergarten Oct - - and yes for the first time on Halloween Seating is first come first served Once you ve seen the show you can come back on a quiet night this fall or winter to appreciate chef Scott Baumann s terrific Kassler Ripchen smoked pork chop or Schweinshaxe pork shank Details For Oktoberfest doors open at p m entertainment starts at and runs till p m at N First St San Jose If you can t arrive early try swinging by at or p m after the first wave of patrons On non-Oktoberfest nights the restaurant bar and biergarten are open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner with lunch hours on Thursday and Friday www teskes-germania com Speisekammer This legendary German restaurant is throwing three Oktoberfest bashes On Sept Sept and Oct Speisekammer will have a festive lineup including live music beer games and contests raffles and special menus that include a family-sized platter of German bratwurst bock kleine nurnbergers leberkase Bavarian bratwurst and a smoked pork chop served over sauerkraut It s a literal sausage party There s also a loaded raft of imported beers Radeberger Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier Schofferhofer and Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Details First come first served Noon- p m at Lincoln Ave Alameda speisekammer com SideTrack Bar Grill This spot for American fare is throwing down for Oktoberfest on Oct - with guaranteed seating if booked ahead on the website Note that it s -plus after p m in outdoor areas There s live music from Polkageist West on Friday and the AlpenBand on Saturday both from - p m and food like the Za German Plate with sausages potato salad and red cabbage and beer like Hofbr u M nchen and Paulaner Oktoberfest M rzen Plus Pleasanton s Primrose Bakery will sell its German cookies and cakes throughout the weekend Lederhosen or dirndl dresses are highly encouraged Details From - p m Oct and - p m Oct Free admission and for food-and-drink tickets with online reservations for guaranteed seating West Angela St Pleasanton sidetrackeats com SideTrack Bar Grill will host a Oktoberfest celebration over one mid-Oct weekend in Pleasanton Calif SideTrack Bar Grill Trumer Pils Brewery On Sept the domestic headquarters of Austria s Trumer which strictly adheres to the -year old Reinheitsgebot German Beer Purity Law is holding a party with cold Trumer live music and full steins At p m brewmaster Lars Larson will tap a traditional Bavarian keg then at p m the band Polkageist West takes the stage At p m there will be a stein-holding contest with Trumer gift certificates going to the winner Also traditional Bavarian food smoked chicken plates pork or vegan sausages pretzels from Berkeley s Squabisch and beers like Doppelg nger Oktoberfest Noon- p m free entry with RSVP at the Trumer Taproom at Fourth St Berkeley details on Eventbrite or instagram com trumerusa The Lake Chalet Seafood Bar Grill is holding an Oktoberfest Beer Festival on Sept in Oakland Calif Courtesy Lake Chalet Lake Chalet Seafood Bar Grill Celebrate the arrival of autumn with cool breezes and happy ducks coasting on Oakland s Lake Merritt at the Lake Chalet During the afternoon of Sept the restaurant is having an Oktoberfest Beer Festival that stretches the length of the dock There will be high-energy music from the Alpine Sound Band and best-dressed and stein-holding contests Bavarian-inspired dishes will be on the menu and to drink there s wine and beer chosen of the latter coming from the Beach Chalet in San Francisco Guests receive a limited-edition keepsake stein filled with a liter of first-pour fresh-brewed Oktoberfest beer Details From - p m general admission tickets Lakeside Drive Oakland thelakechalet com Brotzeit Lokal Biergarten Sited on the Estuary aka the Oakland Riviera this eatery is once again diving into Oktoberfest with a blow-out on Sept Patrons are encouraged to wear your lederhosen and dirndls while enjoying the music of Polkageist West Brotzeit s kitchen will serve its Bavaria-meets-California cuisine from house-made sausages including game-meat options to truffle spaetzle with mixed mushrooms Draft beers highlight small German and Austrian family breweries and monastery microbrews Details From p m -late at Embarcadero Oakland brotzeitbiergarten com Fieldwork Brewing The brewery that s expanded to all corners of the Bay Area is taking it back to where it began West Berkeley On Sept Fieldwork will claim the block in front of its flagship for a proper fest celebration with German-inspired cooking street games and a Germanic costume contest After that the brewery is throwing Oktoberfest parties at several of its other locations from San Mateo Sept to San Leandro Sept Napa Sept and San Ramon Oct All events including Berkeley s will have music in the afternoon from Bill Likens and the Oktober Schlager Band except for Napa which features the Schwabenland German band Expect seasonal beers like the annual Fest Last Oktoberfest Lager special food menus and the chance to grab a commemorative stein Hours addresses and other details at fieldworkbrewing com oktoberfest