Armbrustschützenzelt

The Inselkammer family has been running the Armbrustschützenzelt (Crossbowmen tent) since 1990. As only the large Munich breweries are allowed to provide Oktoberfest beer, Paulaner is served here instead of the family-owned Ayinger. Corresponding to the tent’s origin, it’s home to a shooting range, in which the Annual Bavarian Oktoberfest Crossbow Shooting takes place, as well as a celebrity shooting.

The tent’s façade cites the architecture of the Bavarian Oberland, south of Munich, as well as the tradition of the ancient Oktoberfest beer castle architecture. A hog is sitting on top of the front gallery, which is decorated by the employees before the beginning of Oktoberfest.

The food at the Armbrustschützenzelt is among the better ones at the Oktoberfest. The fact that prices may often be a bit higher than in other tents is justified by large portions and side salads.

The previously rather inconspicuous Halali Bar, located to the left of the entrance, was replaced in 2025 by a bar serving everything except beer, which will be three times the size and can also be accessed from the garden.

Music and Atmosphere

The Armbrustschützenzelt is one of those beer tents that tends to fill up later in the evening. The crowd is hard to pin down, but it’s not among the youngest at the Oktoberfest. The atmosphere is a bit more subdued, though it can’t claim to please traditionalists—after all, pop music dominates here as well. At least, though, you can still hear some brass band music at the start of the evening, which places the tent in the more authentic category. Fortunately, there are no stage gimmicks or songs that are completely out of place in a beer tent. In general, the Armbrustschützenzelt—which seems to be struggling to develop its own identity—might be well-suited to adopting a more Bavarian flair than other tents.

Since 2018, MyOmei has been playing from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. during the main band’s evening break. Things take a more traditional turn every Wednesday at noon, when Goaßlschnoizn and Schuhplattler are performed.

History

The crossbow association Winzerer Fähndl has been present at Oktoberfest since 1895. Today’s Armbrustschützenzelt originates from their first tent, as the association moved from the large Winzerer Fähndl to its smaller successor in 1926. It received today’s look and size not before the legendary Richard Süßmeier took it over in 1956 and finally succeeded in moving it to its present spot in the Wirtsbudenstraße in 1965.

Reservations 2026

The Armbrustschützenzelt is exceptionally newbie-friendly. In the past years, they always publicly offered some weekend and evening reservations. For 2026, the reservation form opened on March 4. Unlike previous years, only weekday lunchtime slots were available at the beginning. In 2025, on April 1st, all evenings were released; however, only for the Adler balcony.

Unfortunately, weekend lunch reservations start already at 9 am, which renders them highly unfavourable.