Gaststätte Kölsch

There are beer cultures built around choosing from thirty taps. Cologne's is more about deciding when to stop. Gaststätte Kölsch has brought exactly that idea from the traditional beer halls of Cologne to Malmö. I sat down to eat and got a little lesson in Cologne beer etiquette thrown in.

Here you drink Kölsch, Cologne's pale, crisp beer style, from slim 20-centilitre glasses called Stangen. The staff walk around with round trays, Kranz, and put down a fresh glass as soon as the old one is empty. Each glass becomes a tally mark on your beer mat. When you've had enough, you place the mat on top of your glass, and that's more or less the only brake there is. In Cologne the system is a given, and it works just as well here. Nobody has to sit there waving down a waiter.

The kitchen sticks to the same German line. I had a Currywurst with fries and sauerkraut, a combination that does exactly what it should alongside an easy-drinking beer. Rustic food without frills, and that's the right call when the beer is the star. For dessert I had Kalter Hund, layers of biscuit and chocolate spread that most Swedes know as radiokaka. In the US it's called Chocolate Biscuit Cake, in Germany literally "cold dog". I can't say the German name makes it any more appetising, but it tasted just as nostalgic as it does back home.

The staff are a big part of why the concept works. The tone is cheerful and relaxed, and the service was fast and attentive, which is the whole point when the beer is supposed to arrive without you asking for it. The atmosphere is social in just the way you want it in a beer hall, more chatter across the tables than quiet dinner.

Go here when you want an evening with company, sausage and beer that turns up by itself. If you've never drunk Kölsch the Cologne way, this is a good place to learn how it's done. My tip is to keep an eye on the tally marks, have your beer mat ready in time, and save room for the Kalter Hund.