Nashville Oktoberfest - Nashville, Tennessee

Becky Smith

I was really looking forward to coming to this since we missed it the last couple of years. I was highly disappointed. We paid $40 for parking, $10 for general admission, and $45 for 40 oz of beer to keep the stein. It took me about 10 minutes to walk all the vendors. But I can say we enjoyed the food. If you're local, stay home.

James Dillard

I attended the 2024 and 2022 fest. 2022 was OK. But let me tell you, 2024 was a huge letdown. Most of the food vendors were selling foods that have nothing to do with Germany. Beer is overpriced.most of the other vendors, if not all, were selling products completely unrelated to German things. We were pretty disappointed. I feel like whoever runs this event has gotten very lazy, or completely forgot how to make an Oktoberfest about German things.

Jen

I was incredibly disappointed this year. It cost $10 to get in and only children under 3 were free. I don’t understand why they charge for children when there is literally nothing for them to do! Last year (2023) they had a little carnival but this year there was absolutely NOTHING for kids to do, yet I had to pay for my 11yo to get in… cmon now! On top of this, none of the vendors catered to children either.

In addition, the band “Y2K” sounded AWFUL, no joke. The lead singer gets off key frequently and the band can’t even remain in synch. Several bystanders made faces at the band, a few people even covered their ears when she’d sing songs out of her range (Mariah Carey).

One turkey leg was $25 on top of the $10 entry fee….

10/10 do NOT recommend unless you’re going solely to drink beer. It was a complete waste of money and time.

Logan Gray

Unfortunately, the people at Monell’s have destroyed what used to be the best event in Nashville.

About 7 years ago Oktoberfest was inside the streets of Germantown, not out in the open at the park and on Jefferson. There were hundreds of vendors lining the side walks and the streets were closed. It felt super cozy and communal and had endless options for food, merch, and drinks. Fast forward to now and it’s completely unrecognizable. I understand that the growth would force you out of the streets, but unfortunately they’ve been coasting off of their old reputation for years now.

Oktoberfest now is pathetic, and charging an entrance fee while offering less than ever is insulting. The festival is the smallest it’s ever been, with hardly any vendors (and none of them being German themed) the food is absolutely disgusting overall, with a couple of local food trucks but with most of the options being wildly overpriced generic fair food vendors who don’t list their prices so they can scam unsuspecting customers. $30 for a turkey leg, $28 for a blooming onion, etc). There is nothing there for kids or families since the vendors are selling blinds, CBD, or knives and they’ve slowly gotten rid of the carnival rides they’ve had previously.

And if you don’t care about any of that, and just care about beer, they’ve screwed that up too. They used to offer 4 or more types of imported German beer. Lines were long and it was pricey, but good and authentic. Now, they have 2 sometimes (they will sell out) and a couple of local beers for a high price.

I keep waiting for someone to actually put effort into Oktoberfest again, someone with pride in their work, but as long as Monell’s is in control of things they’ll just continue to milk what money they can from it until it shrinks out of existence. The only bright side is that since they’ve dropped the ball so spectacularly, other Germantown businesses are picking up their slack and hosting their own, much better events.

Joyce Jones

It has been 4 years since we attended Nashville Oktoberfest & it was disappointing to see how small it was this year. The craft beer had almost doubled in price! And if you wanted the Erdinger German beer you had to go to a different tent. If you didn't know this ahead of time you could stand in a very long line to be disappointed. A good thing this year was they did away with the tokens & just went to cashless pay. It was still a fun time with the axe throwing, nail hammering, & vendors that were there.

phil minnie

Very disappointing! It was bad enough that they charged to get in, but the numbers of merchandise and food vendors were down, and the only activity that occurred while I was there was a dog parade. Also, $27 for a brat and a lemonade, really? The worst (and probably last) one I have ever attended in Nashville.

Niki P

Well organized Octoberfest in Nashville. Entry is free. Beer was $12 this year. For 2 beers and a stein, you pay $40.

Many local vendor booths and food trucks were available. I wish there were more “German-themed” booths along with the clothing, jewelry etc. booths.

The band performing live this year wasn’t great. The music they were playing before the band arrived was better, unfortunately.

They kept the premises very clean. Many staff members were roaming around making sure everything was clean and under control.

There’s a parking lot a couple of blocks away, where you can park your car.

Plenty of portable restrooms were available on-site.

Overall, I thought it was great, with some room for improvement next year.

Tomas Chaloupka

Great festival, love the beer and food there, great music and entertainment, only could use more stations for tokens and beer stations, so people don't have to wait 30-45 minutes for a tokens and 30-45 minutes for a beer.