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Bedford Ave (L)
Mon-Thu. 4:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Fri. 4:00 p.m. - 4:00 a.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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Ost!
Hit Radegast on a Tuesday night, so I cannot speak for the reviewers complaining of the crowded weekend nights...on this Tuesday, the place was just crowded enough...
The grill was a real treat...sausage over open flame is the way to go - I got the Weiss Wurst with fries - the wurst was some of the best I've had, and the fries were great too... am guessing the complaints about the fries in other reviews refer to the fries from the restaurant's kitchen...the grill also has four mustards to go along with the wurst - the house mustard is delicious...the separate pay system for the grill in the back is odd, considering the place also has a full kitchen, but I suppose it works...
also had the brezen (pretzel) - was just as good as the ones I've had in Bavaria - served hot out of the oven, a real treat...
a great beer selection as well - the Weihenstephaner Dunkel Weisse is possibly the best dunkel weiss out there...and since Weihenstephaner goes back to the 11th century, they must be doing something right...
all in all, a great experience - will most likely become a regular weekly stop...
Weekends....
DOUCHE CENTRAL.
but with aiight beer.
Started the evening here, ready to eat and drink the night away.
The pros...many beer options and good wine choices. Friendly bar staff willing to discuss and recommend said options. The grill.
The cons...impossible to read the menu. Grill orders must be made and picked up at the grill.
My friend enjoyed two of the beers--each 6.00 and each tasty. I enjoyed two glasses of white wine. Both my selections were based on bartender suggestions and both were perfectly to my taste. I believe they were 7.00 each, not bad for New York.
The real highlight, though, was the food. I ordered a bratwurst in a pretzel roll with fries (8.75). The grill master was terrific! He remembered our orders and even overheard my "ick" when I realized that sauerkraut was a default condiment. Toppings include raw horseradish and four different mustards--including a house blend that is spicy and sweet. DELISH!
He ordered a pulled pork sandwich. While southerners know that it is hard to completely screw up pulled pork, it is also difficult to get it just perfect. They do! BBQ sauce was tasty but not overwhelming--no soggy bun, here. The one bite I snagged fell apart on my tongue. YUM.
We will be back to nosh again. We will study the menu before hand so that we don't need to use multiple candles to read the menu on site!
Hey guys lets go grab that table over there. We're going to need somewhere to set down our huge...
*WHAM*
Oh, oh Jesus, I'm so sorry. I didn't even see him there. No, no, m'am, he stepped... its just that... maybe you should watch him a little bit more closely. No, I mean, I'll try to be more careful, but really you should... he seems fine. No, really, I think he'll be okay.
Has it not crossed anyone's mind that a place with beers as tall as my forearm doesn't make appropriate environs for toddlers? Call me old fashioned...
I mean alright, I get it, you're a young hip parent in Our Nations Capital of Young Hipness, and you want to go to the bars like everyone else. I get that. I'd feel the same way.
But don't think thats going to make me a more sympathetic cohabitant. If it were ME screaming, you'd be pissed, too.
This is what an American beer hall should be. It's loud as the pits of hell, hot, cramped, and smells like a combination of malt sugar with kraut, but that's what makes it great. Go with a group of friends and snatch as many bar stools as you can: waiting for a table of hipsters to FINALLY finish their beer and half-eat sandwiches is enough to make anyone scream.
That's my only problem with this place: the scene can get too "scene"-y sometimes. This is a BEER HALL! Alcohol and mustard get spilled, so don't wear your finest clothes. Sing, drink, and eat; don't gab with the bartender or stop moving in the few open paths there are in the place!
BEER SELECTION: Quality German brew. Not a massive amount of options, but all are stellar (though the Bavarian Beer Hall has much better prices).
FOOD: Sausages of all kinds, with mediocre fries. When you've got the drunchies, however, this stuff tastes like what Anthony Bourdain will cook the devil in hell: delectable and slightly spicy.
SERVICE: The male, usually Nordic bohunky bartenders are no-nonsense, pour-and-get-the-hell-out-of-the-way types. Unless you're a chick, that is. For all of our sakes, ladies, PLEASE wait until after their shift to flirt. The line is long.
A warning: liter-sized mugs are only for the seriously dedicated. Not only do they drain at your pocket book over a night, but you'll get WAY drunker than you think before you know it.
Ya! Ist güt. I can't hear my friend next to me but I think he said something güt. But he may have said he was going to stab me in the kneecap and I wouldn't have known the difference. This place ist loud. But when you're holding a one litre stein of fine Pilsner beer you won't care.
Their dinner menu includes classic German fare and they have a würst bar at the back of the hall where you can buy sausages with sauerkraut. We had a weisswurst that was quite tasty. Well, we think it was tasty but after 1 litre of fine Pilsner beer we couldn't really be sure.
We went here for a friend's birthday party on a Saturday night. We arrived around 8 hoping to get some dinner and a table for the party. It took about 15 minutes for a table to free up, which wasn't too bad. The beer selection was impressive and cheaper than I would have expected. I tried about five Belgian and German beers and enjoyed all of them. My friend asked the waitress a few questions and it was clear she didn't have the beer knowledge you'd expect from someone who worked at a beer hall like Radegast. The food was decent - we went with the grill in the back rather than ordering from the restaurant menu. The one vegetarian option - a portabello sandwich - was disappointing and bland and the fries needed more salt and pepper, which wasn't readily available. My friends who ordered various brats and sausages were much happier with their meals.
The atmosphere was great and it was nice to have an indoor option in the cold fall weather. Just eat before you go if you're a vegetarian.
I admit that I really wanted to dislike this place when it first opened in 2007 and every weekend was overflowing with well-scrubbed Wall Street types carousing with clear consciences like so many off-duty SS officers. Shades of Leni Riefenstahl! There's still a little something Reich-y about Radegast, but I'm over it. Honestly, mostly what brought me around was the food, which is delicious, well-priced and prepared and served with incredible swiftness and precision, especially given that it's being made in a huge, hellish maelstrom of open flames and dense smoke. Yes, there's about eleven zillion beer options to choose from, if that's your thing. If not, just authoritatively order something that ends in "-burg" or "-hof" and focus on your sausage. Really, this is some of the best bar food imaginable.
An authentic Biergarten....Radegast opened its hall in November of 2007...all 2,000 square foot designed to feel like a turn-of-the -century German/Hungarian beer hall, with a retractable roof canopy, under which a staff grills all the sizzling sausages, Venison, brats, weiswurst, smoke kielbasy. It also has 32 ft high celilings...,communal tables made from 150 year old barn wood which has a picnic table setting that creates a homey atmosphere..
The partners, both Slovakian, Ivan Kohut & Andy Ivanov, also run the sucessful Bohemian Hall in Astoria....literally dismantled 2 warehouses to come up with these 2 distinct drinking spaces. A large bar as their centerpiece right in the middle as you enter, and the indoor space with the communal tables on the right... They have a wide selection of German and Belgian beer....served in huge gigantic mug as big as my head...
Their menu was interesting from Appetizers / Bavarian Pretzel, Smoke Trout Salad, Chicken & Rabbit Liver pate...Entree / Braised Rabbit, Baked Palcinki (Blintzes) Hungarian Goulash w/Steamed Dumpling, Veak Schnitzel w/ German Potato Salad... Desserts..Vanilla Ice Cream Drowned ikn Root Beer...Apple Walnut Strudel w/ Fig IceCream...to name a few...
We came here last night to watch Greg ...Nashad's friend and co-worker who was performing with a live band called Luba Dvorak & the Banned......really enjoyed the music, ..loud and alive!!!..with a huge mug of beer in hand...what more can you ask...we left almost midnight.....they have different bands playing live every night...A wonderful place to hang out ...with friends..and families alike. Will be back for sure......
When I go to a place twice and leave appropriately drunk both times, I like it. The beer selection here is great and it smacks of a true biergarten. From the food to the random dancing up front, there is always something good to see or eat. There is plenty of seating in and around the bar and then ample food seating at community tables throughout the back section.
European beers are plenty here and you have so many choices that you have to go in with a game plan. The service has been great here when I have been, even when busy. It's not the easiest place to get to if you don't live in the 'burg, but if you are in Brooklyn you can get a car service and it is no problem. Another perk, there are always car services right outside late night so you can get home expensively.
This is a fun place and a great place to go with a bunch of friends. I would think it almost impossible to not leave here drunk so be prepared. If you soak up some of that alcohol with some of the good food options you will be in good shape, well, better shape than on an empty stomach.
So, I'm a kraut and I don't like beer; really I can't stand the taste, but that didn't stop me from ordering a half-litre of Weissbier and drinking the whole thing. I also ate my fill of delicious wurst, sauerkraut, red cabbage, and french fries. I went with a group of friends,and we had fun for hours just hanging out, drinking good beer, and eating perfectly cooked sausage.
Came here on a Friday night - only after knowing what the Bohemian Beer Garden was like, and knowing first hand of what Oktoberfest in Munich is like. I rarely come to Williamsburg, out of laziness, but one of my good friends lives here so that's the only time I take the L.
The walk is a good 10 minutes from the subway stop. We came in with about 10 people and saw the hoards of crowd congregating outside (thankfully, just for cigarettes).
It's actually first come first serve, so no hostess or anything is there to guide nor greet you. The outside looks like a beer garden tent that you could see in Germany, although it kind of looks like Snow White's house? Lol. Inside is dimly lit, and to the right perfectly describes a beer garden - long picnic tables of people drinking full pints. OKTOBERFEST! Although I was scared our group of 10 wouldn't be able to sit down, somehow, we saved about 3-4 seats that were squeezed in, and eventually one party left so we were all able to get seated relatively quickly.
Now, they have quite the hefty selection of European beers, which is freaking sweet. They are all good too. I mean, don't come here if you're not going to drink out of the pint glass, and drink out of that dinky mug. Are you German or what? German's do it by the pint, so when you come here, make sure to put your German hat on.
One pint is actually ~2.5 beers, so I surprised myself when I dared myself to a chugging contest and chugged about a beer in less than 10 seconds. Oktoberfest memories. I did, however, feel very sick afterwards for the next 15 minutes so use caution. :)
The food is great too. You can order a special beer and get a free order of bratwurst. The sausage was tasty, but the other option tasted just like a huge American hotdog. So take your pick.
Now all I have to do is visit the new beer garden in LIC, and I'm complete! BK beer garden has a great chill vibe to it. Too bad nobody stands up and dances on the tables......now that would be 5-star worthy.
I came to Radegast for 1. a friend's birthday, but mostly to 2. compare it to Astoria's two biergartens. If you know these, you know my expectations where high.
First, the space. Really comfy, traditional, and well-done. You feel like you've stepped into Western Europe when you walk in. The outdoor space is nothing more than a partially-covered concrete floor with full walls and retractable coverings that can be used when it rains (as it did when I was there).
The beer selection is killer. Some brews I've never heard of but thoroughly enjoyed. $13 gets you a liters - which is something like 32 ounces. So if you do the math, it's a lot for your money.
The food is quite delicious. A selection of several traditional sausages ranging from $7 to $10. They have venison, turkey burgers, and angus burgers (SOOOO good). The food line is long and wait service isn't available.
Due to lack of true outdoor space, it's difficult to compare this to Astoria's biergartens.
I had fun though and would absolutely go back.
I love this German beer garden. They serve tasty sausages in the back. Beers are reasonable, but the food seems to be a bit pricey. I like going there on Sun. afternoon to avoid the crowed. Nice place!!
I was on the fence... 5 stars or 4? Radegast boasts a really great selection of German & Belgian beer... the food is also very good and not pricey. A juicy kielbasa hit the spot late at night and all the mustard choices... oh baby. Sourkraut & fries as well? I was very pleased. The guy even threw in a venison sausage as well, no charge.
To make things better, this place is huge. Really, just enormous. Such an ideal place to have a bunch of friends out for some day drinking or even a birthday celebration. I can imagine it gets busy during peak hours but it was a nice end to the night for our crew. The beer was all delicious and the descriptions are very helpful. Need to come back here, a lot, to try it all.
All the complaints about not being able to find a table should be taken with this piece of information in mind: They have literally oodles of tables. Including an entire room of picnic table seating. I guess my point is that you can't fault them for being busy.
I am someone who really loves/demands a seat when i go drinking. Who would pay for a nice beer if you have to enjoy it huddled in a circle with your friends. For me, a bar is about relaxing, and I do understand that if you can't sit, it's hard to relax (especially while nursing a liter of beer).
My thing here is always timing--the whole early bird deal. Just come early, stake out a table, and have your friends meet you. There's nothing better than settling in for a few hours of weekend afternoon drinking at Radegast. As for the food, never never never order from the menu that they put on the table. There is a sausage grill in the back, with much quicker and cheaper sausages. Giant Brautwurst and a mound of fries for 8 bucks. That works for me.
But the beers are delicious, the prices are fair, and gut times for all.
Yes, I just rated this a 3 star establishment. But if you have a group of 6+ this place is where you need to be headed if you want to go out and get your drink on in Williamsburg. A 20 dollar minimum on credit cards and overpriced eats drag this place down a star... The beer selection consists of just the German variety.... I've had some skunky tasting brews here, but try the Weihenstephaner if you're looking for a pitcher of something to be appreciated by the dudes and the ladies (Ratebeer lists it in its 97th percentile, not too shabby). So next time you have a group of college friends in town, saddle up to the big rows of picnic tables and get some pitchers at the Biergarten.
Went here this past weekend to celebrate a co-worker's birthday. It is a little out there, especially for not being from this area.
Atmosphere was nice. Almost felt medieval like. Beer selection is awesome (most if not all beers were Belgian or German), and the prices weren't too bad. It was $7 for 1/2 Litre, $13 for 1 Litre, and $18 for a pitcher. Some co-workers got appetizers, which the couple I tried were good.
Service was so-so. In the beginning it was great. It was prompt, friendly, and so on. As the night progressed, it seemed much more infrequent, and certainly far less cheerful. Maybe it was because our group got larger or maybe something happened to upset the waitress ... i don't know. I don't recall us ever getting too loud, not did anyone come to tell us such.
I left before most of the group, so my rating is based solely to this point. Had I stayed until the end, it may have been different.
Beverage: 4.5 Stars
Food: 3 Stars (only based on what I had, other items were better based on co-worker comments)
Service: 3 Stars (4 in the beginning, 2 in the end)
Overall: 3.5 Stars
Setting: Dark and stormy Saturday night.
Me: Not a fan of beer.
Friends: LOVE BEER. Drag me to this place in williamsburg in the rain.
Me: Anticipating a horrible time and sitting in the corner looking like a creeper and getting hit on by goofs.
Setting: GIGANTIC space with fun German music with giant beer mugs worth 7 bucks and tasty grub in the back! FRIES! BRATS! SO GREAT FOR LARGE GROUPS!
Me: Actually drinking large mugs of beer that I paid for and dancing on tables stuffing myself with delicious food with friends, more than surprised.
Friends: TOLD YOU SO.
Love this place.
If you love stein-sloshing of the Teutonic variety, macht schnell zum Radegast Biergarten, because there are dozens of German beers there to greet you and a warm Bavarian atmosphere within which to enjoy it. The place is dark and brooding with super high hangar ceilings (it's almost like being in a barn), massive picnic tables and a concrete floor (hay would have been a nice touch actually). I don't think I've seen anything like it before, and I've been to the Mütterland itself several dozen times.
There's a kitchen in the back but don't expect to be able to order any food after midnight - I came for the famed soft pretzels but left empty handed. Instead, I sipped a glass of Pinot Grigio and engaged in a bit of real talk. I'll be back and this time I want a mothereffing soft pretzel!!
Back when I lived in Williamsburg, I used to go to this place all the time. I had a tough time getting my friends from Hoboken and Manhattan to meet me there (even though its conveniently located near the Bedford L). Right before I moved, I finally got my friends to join me and now they're going without me. I don't blame them.
I've never eaten at this place as a "restaurant" so if that's what you're looking for, you can disregard this review. However, I've been here many times as a bar, and I must say that I really enjoy it. This place has an atmosphere that I haven't seen anywhere else in NYC. It's a fun place to go with a group of friends and enjoy a few different beers. The grill in the back serves great wurst and brats and the fries are delicious.
A beer garden may not be the first destination that comes to mind on a dark and stormy night but the dude abides. I hopped out of the cab and walked into the large main indoor room, low lit and full to the gills with slightly scruffy and predominantly male patrons holding beer mugs the size of their heads. I immediately knew that this was my kind of place.
The entrance room has big booths against the walls and a large bar that serves as the centerpiece. To the right there are a few doorways that lead to a side room that I guessed was the "beer garden" aspect. The beer garden was more like a barn garden and I couldn't really tell (read: I didn't really pay attention to) whether or not it's able to transform into the more typical open air beer garden.
The beers were all good, averaging about $7 and the picnic table seating meant we ended up meeting dozens of new people, eating french fries and slugging beers for most of the night.
This is one of my favorite places in Williamsburg. I try to come here weekly and have a lovely time each time. The beer is great, price just right, service is knowledgeable and attentive and even the food and decor are wonderful.
The original beer garden is in Queens, but this is the trendy version in you guessed it: Willamsburg. Having said that it is still a nice and welcoming place. Slovakian-born partners Ivan Kohut and Andy Ivanov gutted adjacent warehouses to create two distinct drinking spaces. The garden side boasts a retractable roof under which a grill man serves up sizzling sausages. Inside the "hall," has hand-hewn tables made from 150-year-old barn logs. Twelve drafts on tap or 37 beers by the bottle. The food is good and on a nice Sunday afternoon it makes for a delightful destination.
read more at my blog:
http://iheartnycbars.w...
This is a 5-star review if only I could find a place to sit when I come here! Too many times I try to bring a friend and even though there are just a couple of us, we walk around pacing for a sliver of table to sit at and eventually have to go elsewhere.
But there's something to be said for the fact that no matter what, I keep trying.
The beers are good, very good and very big. It's a little noisy and overwhelming when you first get there, but by the time you are halfway through that mug you feel like you are there celebrating with the rest of the crowd. It is always, always fun. As long as you can squeeze in.
I so rarely get to work out and drink at the same time. Now a days, only when Oktoberfest comes around do I get to drink yummy beer and do bicep curls with those large mugs. I got to do that here!
Ordered a big jug of beer (I forget which one, but it was the one with the most alcohol content). Went next door found an empty picnic table and sat with a bunch of fun people. Coincidently, met someone from LA also. High fives all around for the Laker win! We had a good time here.
Slightly dirty looks from Brooklyn locals must be karma police from the 5 years I lived in Astoria & practically got retinal detachment from eye rolling at all of the 'tourists' coming to the beer garden from the City. Why, why on earth would someone wait for an hour on a line to drink beer in Queens (read: stop overcrowding my neighborhood outdoor space, it's mine mine mine), I would lament.
Cut to last night standing around waiting forever for a table to open at Radegast. Fries are soggy, beer is pricey, crowd is dirty.
Sorry Brookyln, didn't mean to cramp your space. I'll just stay in my own neighborhood and stumble over to Lederhosen when I'm thirsty.
Came here a few days ago for a business meeting - we sat in the long beer hall that's in sort of a separate area to the right of the entrance room. I loved the room we were sitting in - it felt like an atrium of beer. The lighting was soft and the noise level was quiet enough for us to have a conversation. Service was prompt and friendly and the beers were really tasty. The regular menu is a bit pricey so we got the self-serve bratwurst, which came with a hefty portion of saurkraut and a choice of brown bread or fries.
The front room had a loud band & a rowdy crowd - it looked like a lot of fun.
I really enjoyed this place and will definitely be back again. It's definitely a cool place for a casual dinner with a few friends or colleagues. I would also recommend it as a cool place to take out-of-towners.
Radegast feels a little Medieval. I really like the long tables, which invites a good commune atmosphere, and the wide selection of beers can make most anyone joyful. Rain or shine its a great place. The roof is almost entirely windows, so a good pitter patter makes for a very romantic setting and my friend says they open them up during the summer, letting gusts of air through the huge stone bar.
But the waitress can be abrupt and unhelpful and the slew of meats is unattractive at best. Their fries are REAL good though... which is dangerous on two pints of beer.
I'd definitely go again, but hope that my friends will want to eat somewhere else first.
I've been here a few times with friends and have started to realize some good rules to follow.
DO:
* sit in the large room at the picnic tables. you'll find it more fun and it enbibes all the spirit of a german beer garden.
* bring lots of friends with you. this place is much more fun if you've got a group of people to share stories, sing songs, give high fives.
* eat some of the food - its all good
DON'T:
* expect to get good table service. don't wait for your waitress to come back to get your orders, pull anyone you can and ask them. we've done this a few times and they've been fine with it.
* sit at the bar. you could do that at 50 other establishments in Williamsburg. take in the atmosphere and sit at the picnic tables!
It started one late afternoon when I noticed that one of my seemingly good-girl colleagues had a medium-sized colored tat on her lower back. Shocking! This spurned a discussion on tattoos to get, tattoos we thought were hot, and a friend of mine saying "I'll go get tattoos" and me responding "Ha is it a group activity now?"
And so the Fake Tattoo Party was born.
About 11 or 12 of us headed to Radegast on Saturday around 1:30-2:00. If you go at this time you can get a long wooden table. Half of the retractable roof was open. The beer selection and kitchen grilling brats and burgers in the back offer plentiful, non-stop options. There were lots of young families there for brunch, toting their little hipster babies. Looked like some out-of-towners were there too.
We were there for a fun, beer-filled, 4 hours. Bill for all of our drinks was $318, tip included for parties of 6 or more. Service was great, they kept our drinks full, brought us water to affix our tats, a pen for the mad libs. We did get shushed once during a heated game of a$$hole. But my guy friend is always being shushed, he was legitimately probably too loud.
Great spot for a big group, drinking, and card games. We plan on going back in the summer, provided they don't remember our hi-jinks and let us in.
I've been to Radegast Hall twice now and twice I've walked away having had a good time. Williamsburg, despite the presence of unicycle-and-lacrosse-stick-carrying hipster twats, has started to grow on me. This bar is definitely one reason why.
Having lived in Germany and been to real biergartens, I won't go so far as to say the experience is 'authentic' (an anodyne adjective if ever there was one). It does not feel like you're in Germany; the beer does not taste like you are in Germany. Or any of the Eastern European countries either. It feels like Williamsburg with good beer and that, my friends, is good enough.
It's the sort of place where you can meet a cool dude at the bar, talk about religion and atheism and then he invites you to go outside and smoke a massive joint. (Yes, it happened.) And when you wander back into the bar, completely fucking battered, it's the sort of place where the bouncer just looks the other way and all your friends (and other bar patrons) laugh because you reek of marijuana. But they don't judge.
Because it's Williamsburg and they're all probably fucking high too.
(There is apparently some good food here too but I've only ever got tanked here. That said, if I hadn't been wandering around in a fitted top, deathly afraid of looking bloated later-- shut up about the beer, you bitch -- when I was out dancing with shirtless boys and looking for a different sort of sausage, the bratwursts did look pretty yummy.)
I like the Biergarten. However, I like the Biergarten when and only when it is at less than 25% capacity. At all other times, it is so hellish that I run away.
When we were looking for a new apartment, we were charmed by the idea of moving in next to the Biergarten. We foresaw leisurely afternoons with sausage and fine crafted beers, relaxation and comfort stretched out as far as the eye could see. We didn't anticipate the hordes upon hordes of bridge-and-tunnelers who would drive drunkenly down our block on their way back to Jersey. We didn't anticipate all the baby strollers (why this is a family-friendly boozefest, I fail to understand). We didn't anticipate all of the people blocking our route to our front door. Fortunately, there's good insulation between the walls. Once I fight my way through the toddlers and the fratboys and the ill-parked SUVs into my building, I can shut out the noise, at least.
It is my new favourite place to go on a very snowy afternoon. There's venison and warm drinks and the usual crowd is stuck on Staten Island. That means that it's worthwhile to me maybe a half-dozen times a year--and I am thankful for it on those occasions. On other days, I'd just as soon it be gone.
Dinking around in the sun Brooklyn we came upon this place. Having just been to Munich I was impressed with their selection of beers and loved the HB on tap.
The prices are fairly punchy though - $26 for two steins. A day spent drinking here would bankrupt you. However, on a day when a sun is streaming through the glass roof and you are sitting in a friendly warehouse beer hall, we felt it was definitely worth it.
One thing that is slightly strange is that some of the 'character' that they have gone out and bought is a little off. Some signs are Russian/ Polish (not the German's favourite races...) and the picture of the Kaiser on the wall was... well brave (though I think it was one of the Austro-Hungarian ones, not a 20th century one) .
I LOVE THIS PLACE! Another great find from Yelp! I brought a couple of friends here to find this beer haven. It is off the beaten path, but once we made found it it was love at first site! Huge liters of beer, long tables filled with really fun people, and great Kielbasa! Thank you radegast for being my new found love!
We managed to stumble in here after we drank our weight in beer at the Brooklyn Brewery. Somehow, we managed to snag enough of a picnic table to seat our entire large party. And then more beer started flowing. These beers were massive! And great!
The place seems family friendly, as there were many children and people of all ages making themselves comfortable. The food smelled good, especially some kind of sausage dish the people seated next to us opted for...
Definitely a cool place to check out, whether or not you're 3 sheets to the wind after a stint at the brewery...
Stop #2 on Oriana's infamous beer bar crawl!
So this place definitely captures the ambiance of a German beer hall. I even love the beers that are served in glasses -- "larger than your head"! They have a good selection of German beers on tap and even a very nice list of Belgian beers in bottle.
But there were a few problems for me. For some reason a lot of the women brought their babies or toddlers with them. It is a little unsettling to see a woman with a baby on her shoulder and a beer in the other hand as large as the baby. I guess it was in the afternoon, but I would think a beer hall is really an adults only kind of place.
Another issue, was that the service was really really slow. It took me more than 25 minutes to get my first drink, and I was third in line at the window. We only had 45 minutes for this stop, so that put a crimp in things. The bartender was nice to us when he finally did serve us and gave me and the guy in front of me the beers for free. But still, it wasn't like I was going to wait for another beer, I could have walked to another bar and had a beer in the same amount of time.
I kept hearing about Radegast, so I had to check it out. You'll find a lively beer hall serving great German fare (at kind of high prices), but it's totally worth checking out. They have an impressive array of German and Belgian beers on tap, and many more in bottles. I like that you can get a liter of beer in one big glass (we ordered those "accidentally"), and there is ample seating along benches and tables spread out across two big rooms.
The "beer garden" room is bright and really fun, and has a counter in the back from which you can order a quick bratwurst or something to accompany your meal if you're not feeling like ordering something more substantial from the menu (like schnitzels).
Of course, the crowd is the requisite demographic of Williamsburg hipsters, but they're fun to be around much of the time. It's definitely a cozy and unique atmosphere in this part of Brooklyn, and I really enjoyed the huge beer. If you're around here and find yourself craving a liter of Erdinger and a wurst, you know where to go and I say it's highly worth it.
Definitely won me over this weekend. I wish I knew more about beer to actually enjoy the place for what it's probably aiming to be, but, I tried a few of them and from what I understand they have a good variety. I especially liked a citrus orange-y beer that they serve. In addition to beer, they have an awesome grill in the back. They have excellent fries and burgers. Honestly, SOOOOO freakin good. I was pleasantly surprised.
There are only two minuses about the place: one is the fact that there are only two restrooms for ladies; needless to say a line formed. However it does give you a chance to meet people while waiting !
Another is that seating is limited, despite the place being big. It might be hardest on a Saturday night though so I suggest coming in before 9PM if you'd like to get a table. Otherwise you will probably hang around the bar area, where they have stools and a counter at the wall. Not too bad.
Oh, and they play really pretty cool European music. Gogol Bordello and Goran Bregovic type music.
Awesomeness!
Birthday Person Drinks Free!
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
happy hour 11 am till 7 pm
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - South Side
Category: American (Traditional)
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - South Side
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Bay Ridge
Category: German
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - South Side
Category: Barbeque
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - North Side
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
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