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Irving Park (Brown)
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One of my favorite beer gardens in the city. I definitely spend more time here in the summer because of that, which is too bad because the beer selection also delivers. German of course is the specialty, both on tap and in bottle, and there are many selections from which to choose.
The potato pancakes are really good too. Glad to have this in the neighborhood. Definitely a great spot for a beer or three with some pretty good food, that is not your standard bar fare, to boot.
Ja. Ja. and Ja.
I will never forget the first time I was "Optimized" right here in this little Northcenter German bar and restaurant.
Resi's Biestube has a great beer list, of which at the top is Spaten's "Optimater." A dark, malty, yeasty brew, it's served in a ginormous stein...it already has a high gravity (alcohol content) so be warned about consuming too many of these. Equally hefty servings of DAB or BBK will please you as well. There's even a German vodka on the shelf.
I always like to go with a big group and take in the intimate, warm decor inside during winter, or the warm weather on the outdoor patio out back during summer (another warning: no A/C at Resi's). What some folks would call trashy, I call charming: wood paneling, worn berber carpeting, and tons and tons of German chachkies - steins, cuckoo clocks, German travel posters...don't forget the surly bartender.
To each their own.
The food is straight up Kraut Komfort, in my book, and has all the standards. My mom's side of the family is German and at family gatherings ate this stuff regularly. The sausage (notably knockwusrt, thuringer) and schnitzel are ably prepared and served with generous helpings of black bread and spaetzle. The potato pancakes are a treat as well, with apple sauce and sour cream.
Allow plenty of time to eat and drink. You'll need it with the portions here. A group of good friends will help pass the time in this charming place.
Resi's is a great bar. The selection is extensive, the kegs are fresh, and the beer garden is one of the best in the city. A great place to go in the summer.
The food is OK, but if you're looking for a good German meal I suggest Laschet's Inn across the street. But again, Resi's bar is hard to beat. I suggest hitting up both bars and making it a little pub crawl.
Man this place screams Chicago, little bit of a whole in the wall with mixed clientele and no pretentiousness. The beer selection is amazing, so many of my favorite Bavarian beers and a full stock of the seasonal beer as well. This place is in a way pretty timeless I feel like I could step into a time machine and this place would be the same, sometimes that's just what you want, especially if you have a time machine.
We went here for a friend's birthday at the end of October and besides the place being 5,000 degrees...it was seriously like walking on the sun... it was a great time.
MOST of the beer was good... me and a friend accidentally got one that smelled and tasted like oldish raw fish. Like, straight tuna water... not good. I don't remember what it was called but I think it was an unfiltered wheat beer. Beware!
I had the potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce, they were plentiful and delicious... I had to split them with friends there was so much. Oh- and they give you rye bread with butter and I know it sounds stupid but it's the best rye bread ever! It's exactly what you want... or maybe I was just really hungry. I don't know.
Good Beer, Great Food... and and the service was fabulous. :)
Great atmosphere. Food is okay. But if you like a variety of imported beers. This is the place to hang out.
Yay! I love this place. I really want to invite all my friends to join me here so I can proclaim: Look around! This place IS me! Love me, love this place! Or something equally weird and dramatic. But anyway, here are the ways in which we (me and Resi's) are similar:
The bar has a focus on beer. I usually focus on beer.
It is in and of Chicago (do other American cities have this many German bars and restaurants? Milwaukee maybe?). I am of Chicago, and usually in Chicago.
It looks like someone's German basement. I basically am someone's German basement (4 years deutsch gelernt, 3 grandparents with nothin' but German blood, grew up Lutheran, beer steins lying around my parents' house, totally into scheisse films and lederhosen).
This place serves all kinds of sausage. Um, I'm going to stop on this one.
I didn't try the food, but I finally - after 28 years of ignoring my true destiny - sampled German beers. Love! We had a party of about 9 on a Friday night, and had no problems. Didn't sample the food, but everyone else enjoyed it.
Basically, I'll be celebrating all future birthdays and any nuptials (if they occur) here.
I have been here once so far for a birthday party for the future sister-in-law, and plan on making a second appearance.
I like North Center, parking is never a huge hassle, the neighborhood is quiet, prices are reasonable and there is always somewhere else to go. First off, the prices here are good and so is the beer selection. A few friends and I got ridiculous on Hacker-Schor.
ATMOSPHERE: Imagine your grandma's basement; maybe some old tables from the early 70's, wood paneling, beer mirrors, Brown booths. Very warm feel. Old guys at the bar. Everybody having a good time.
Kind of a neighborhood bar founded by German immigrants that has become welcoming of all sorts.
Without getting into the gazillions of times I've passed by dreaming of going here, I recently made it here one night and ended my wondering. Great selection of German beer, trippy + cool dated decor, pretzels, internet jukebox, and they even serve 2 gallon(or liter? I forget....) boot glasses of beer for those who have enough of a beer belly to handle it. Though my body politely says 'nein'(no) to that!
Would love to eventually try their German food menu, and to sit in their beer garden when it warms up. Looking forward to my next trip, to see if it gains additional star(s) I bet it'll deserve.
I come in to Resis every Saturday. The bartender who works this night is outstanding. Not only does he know everything on every beer, he is full of facts that "you may not know". Huge beer selection. You will definatley find something you enjoy. Ron, the bartender always has the most current sports game on T.V. as well. He also brings in pretzels and gives your some German mustard to snack on while you drink. Saturdays also come with $10 liters of beer.
The food is good not great. The Rahmschnitzel is so good but be ready for an extreme food coma after you eat it and suck down a liter of beer. So heavy. Mostly everything is good, but sometimes it comes out a little different and is not as good. Always the same cook, I don't know why.
Overall this place is excellent. Lot of different kinds of people in here. Sometimes you get arseholes from O'donovans come in here and think it's a frat house party. Try all the different kinds of beers to find what you like and you will have a hard time not coming back for it.
GO FOR THE BITBURGER..
Old-fashioned German decor and 70's diner (seats, tables) make this an interesting stop in Chicago. Beer garden is great for nice weather days.
BBK and others that aren't on tap at many places can always be found at Resis. In the past, I've noticed servers speak fluent German, as well as the kitchen staff. They've hired a more diverse set of employees on my 2008 visit though.
No food on current visit, but in the past I found it to be traditional Bavarian, and worthwhile if you like the cuisine in general.
Usually on my list for places to go when visiting Chicago. Small, intimate, and always a great German beer selection.
This place is so much better now that there is no smoking inside. It is a bierstube so dont expect anything fancy, it is a small German style pub that serves German food and beer. If they serve other drinks I never noticed and if you come here why would you bother.
Now when I say German beer that is all they have so no US micro stuff. They have about 12 taps and they are usually a lager, a pilsner, a wheat, an alt, and some seasonals, plus they have about 40 different bottles. As a side note some of the beers come in 1L glasses.
The food is traditional Bavarian fare so think sausages, potatoes, cabbage, etc. It is good and filling but not very original but again thats not what they do.
It is fairly small inside with a low ceiling but in the summer they have a beer garden, which is nice.
There is NOTHING wrong with this place except your expectations. Lots of linoleum - not exactly an Alpine lodge feel, granted - but even so, the place is pure Gemütlichkeit. Tasty food piled high, fine brews served by guys who don't mind giving some advice, a nice little patio out back. No stupid loud music. This is one of the most comfortable bars in town.
BTW some of these reviews are frickin' hilarious - "I'm giving it 3 stars because I ate too much" or "the sea breeze cocktails are so-so." WTF people??!! Get a CLUE for god's sake. Write a review about the PLACE (not some irrelevant personal behavior of your own which affected your ability to enjoy it) using RELEVANT criteria (i.e. don't go to a steak house & complain about the limited vegan options). This is SO common on Yelp: "this salon gets 1 star because I had a fight with my boyfriend on the phone while I was there" or "I wish I could give this place zero stars since I got a parking ticket while I was there..." Advice for Yelpers: Remove head from ass before logging on.
I was born and grew up in Austria, so I am making it my goal to try all the German and Austrian restaurants in Chicago.
I loved the food at Resi's. First of all - it is the most authentic German food I have tried in Chicago so far.
I had the schnitzl with German potato salad and it was good. The people I was with had schnitzl's in creamy sauces and they were absolutely delicious. Especially the "Turkey schnitzl" - which wasn't really a schnitzl but more like meat loaf but it was very tasty.
Also the beer selection was great. I had checked the website before and I am glad I did because some of the beers were listed on the website but not on their menu. One of those beers was the Goesser Dark which is a very common, Austrian dark beer. They also have a large selection of white beers - German and Austrian.
About the interior - I wouldn't say it was very traditionally German. There are some German posters on the wall but in general it looks more like an old American pub than a German restaurant.
Also it was pretty expensive for a place like that and instead of Spaetzle or Knoedl, which is a more common German side dish they only had pasta.
I heard they have a lovely beer garden which I will definitely check out in the summer.
To sum it up - good food, a bit expensive, interior could be nicer.
A-OK place! My bestie and I were driving around aimlessly, wanting to stop somewhere for a drink (note: we parked the car and left it around here, since she lives just north of this near Montrose -- no drunk driving!), and decided to eventually pop by Resi's.
Irving Park is not my definition of elegant. It's such an awkward "Road." But we popped by Resi's to meet her bro, and it was just a quaint German bar, looking incredibly 60's.
But the prices were great, bartender was awesome, I consumed many pretzels, and am really interesting in going back to try out the food someday (and sit on the AWESOME beer garden out back -- took a quick peek of it, and it looks great!).
Got drunk there, talked about boy problems, and left happy. It's a non-descript facade, and isn't a pretentious place at all. Dig it. Looking forward to going back, trying the food, experiencing the patio, and hopefully up-rating my stars on a second review.
I have added Resi's to the "places to entertain a curmudgeonly father" landmark register...
It's uber (I think that's a German word, no less...perhaps?) old school German pub/restaurant. I venture to guess it's pretty darn authentic judging by the old school German patrons, formica tables, faux leather chairs in a lovely shade of cinnamon and kitschy German decor spattered about...
What's not authentic: apathetic service. I mean, can't we find some nice German people? Methinks its possible. Cute isn't everything. Our server was doll faced, but lacking. However, the bartender...dammmmmn, I don't care where you came from honey, you were fine with me ;)
I didn't have the food. Something about heavy beer, sweltering temps, and oppressive humidity saps my appetite for encased meat and potatoes.
The beer, good stuff. I tried about 4 different kinds and left feeling like I consumed 12 loaves of bread.
Like I said, good for the experience. I'll bring my dad here. Good "dad" place. The beer is cold, the crew is old...let's all drink.
For just one night, I was transported back to my childhood and the hot summer nights when my family and I would go to their favorite restaurant located on a lake. We would sit outside and I would watch the adults clink steins and eat sauerkraut. Every once in a while one of the grown ups would let us take a sip of their beir and all I could think was "mmmmm...delicious!"
Resi's has a lovely collection of German beir and food. The potato pancakes are the best that I have ever eaten (sorry mom!!) The bar itself is a bit of a hole in the wall, but that's why I liked it. The beer garden is great! I can't wait for the day when I can go back to Resi's (with a smaller group) and enjoy their Gastfreundschaft.
I seriously doubt I would've walked into Resi if it wasn't for a bunch of yelpers and I lived only blocks away for many years. It looks like a dive German Bar on the outside and it looks like a dive German Bar on the inside, complete with some regulars. But it does have a nice size beer garden!!
I really can't comment on the food cause I was dumb enough to order a chicken sandwich instead of some potato pancakes or something a little more German. The chicken sandwich wasn't very good. One waitress was very cute but wasn't very friendly and the other waitress pretty much ignored most of us. I understand having to take care of probably 20-30 yelpers probably isn't fun but it's not like we didn't try to make her laugh. The bartender was pretty cool, but I think he was making fun of us (or just me) a little.
Drinks were good but I don't recommend the mystery shots!! I think I threw up a little in my mouth. Now I am not a beer guy but if I was, Resi has a crap load to choose from. I would go back, at least with the same crazy yelp crowd.
I give it 3 stars. The chicken shnitzel was okay, it was so huge too. The waitress kept asking us if we wanted a box and Maggie R and I said no and yes, we felt bad, all that work from the kitchen staff and for what! The plate still looked full, sorry kitchen people. Next time, I'll not eat for 4 days before coming in.
The bar did have some character, it was rather small (or maybe it looked small with all the yelpers), but it had tons of beer that I never heard of and random German shots. haha
They have a jukebox for music people! I can't tell you how much that made my night. I get to sit here, drink, AND listen to my favorite 80s tunes!
The service was a little slow and the bartendar was getting angry when a customer kept spilling his beer. And it was way too hot for the beer garden. Also, they need another girls bathroom.
Okay, they don't control the weather. So the hot sticky night in the quaint little beer garden wasn't their fault. But my parched throat was. I don't get how a waitress can get a group of hard core drinkers and not be thrilled about it. Or how one can pass by someone with an empty glass a hundred times and say "excuse me" and smile but never think to say "would you like another?".
No problem. Go to the bar, should be a breeze. I have cash and know what I want, right. Not so much. Bartender Sonny was doing a great job but I guess they really don't ever expect to do much business and are clearly not ready for it when it happens. Which is sad because this is a cute little place with an old world vibe with just the right mix of neighborhood hipsters wearing fake Fendi hats and second generation germans with fancy mustaches to make it a regular stop on the cocktail express.
Its just the service. The waitress inside wouldn't wait on us unless we were sitting down, okay fine, I'll sit, and then only with a tab. okay fine, I'll open one, and then only if you're eating....huh? I'm German (and Swedish) and know my people like to make up crazy rules but that is just a bit much. I just wanted someone to take my money and pour me some more of that Reisling. I guess I will have to play my Swedish card at Simons!
Don't get me wrong, it was a fun time with fun people but they really didn't seem too thrilled with money spending customers wanting to buy drinks. Makes me wonder....
A Tiny Authentic German kitch/cuisine Gem tucked tightly and unassumingly on Irving Park. .. plus just one word.. "MysteryShots"(its one word after 3 but sounds more like MissTissTreeShhhotz). Luckily MissTissTree Shhhotz Ale was taped out, so there was no confusion. They have many authentic German Beers that I couldn't read because I couldn't see after several flights of German Shots. I might be biased, but anyplace that serves "mystery shots" gets a 3 star minimum.
Also.. I like booths.. it had booths.
The potato pancakes and LARGE portions were the talk of the night!
The Service was great!..
Lots of great reading behind the bar with many funny signs.
I'd like to check it out for lunch.. this trip turned into a drink-a-thon.. but a lovely one none the less!
Cozy little place with interior decorated in late 70s wood paneling and burnt orange furniture. I felt like I was back in my Uncle's basement! There is also a cute little beer garden in the rear which has a really homey backyard feel. However to be honest, I wouldn't really recommend Resi's for large group gatherings (aka Yelp Beer Garden) as it is very tiny and cramped both in the beer garden and the bar/restaurant area itself.
The food is pretty good, we had the bratwurst sandwich on a bun and it was fat and juicy just like the way I like my sausage ;). A mild horseradish and German mustard is served on the side. We also got to try the potato pancakes and they are OUTSTANDING! Made with shredded potato and fried, served with sour cream and applesauce just like Mama would at home.
Waitstaff and bartenders were efficent and friendly. I would go back, but in a smaller group or just Da Count and I.
I am not a good German girl. Oh sure- I've got the German surname, my grandparents came over from the "old country" and spoke German to us growing up and cooked all things German on Sunday afternoons. But seemingly- none of that stuck. I don't speak a word of German and German food is pretty much at the bottom of the list of foods that I eat.
So that aside- on a recent sultry Summer's evening- I had a chance to go to Resi's with the Yelp Beer Garden Club. My biggest concern? Knowing that the only German food that I like is a big stein of German Beer and I knew that something else had to go in my stomach as well.
Well- problem solved. While Resi's has the traditional Germanic fare- they also have a menu of regular bar food, so one patty melt later I was ready to take on their beer list.
A friend suggested a Spaten beer (crisp and refreshing) which was the perfect choice for the evening. They have a wide variety of beers both on tap and in the bottle to suit most everyone's needs. I'd stick to beer here as those who were drinking mixed drinks seemed to find the pours a little weak.
The beer garden itself is pretty big with many tables scattered around. The high fence and trees, however, pretty much keep any breeze from entering the space so you might want to go when the weather is a little more temperate or risk melting in the great outdoors.
Inside- there are these huge round booths (built for an oom-pa-pa band perhaps?) that are hard to navigate and trust me- go to the restroom before sitting down as you will have to have everyone slide around to let you out! My favorite seat? Sitting at the bar and talking to some of the "regulars". An interesting bunch that is for sure.
Since I am not a German food fan- I doubt I would go out of my way to come to this place unless I was in the neighborhood and had a hankering for a German beer served outside. But the prices were reasonable and the service pretty good given how busy it was.
Auf Wiedersehen.
WTF IS THAT SMELL?
I pondered as I made my way into Resi's. It's often argued that smell is the sense most linked to memory. Usually it's the smell of pumpkin pie or baking bread that triggers fond childhood memories. At Resi's it was the smell of beer, bar mats, and a funky bathroom that instantly triggered flashbacks of the aftermath of college parties, drinking games, random people passed out in my living room, walks of shame, etc.
Perhaps that's one of the reasons this place worked for me despite the olfactory assault. It reminds me of what I love about going out. This place isn't about seeing how many big screen TVs you have, how beautiful your crowd is, or how cool your image is. This place is quite simply about great German beer and hanging out with your friends.
(Seriously though, someone needs to freshen up that bathroom)
By a very narrow margin, The Stube is now my favorite bar in Chicago. I will always have a very special place in my heart for the Old Town Ale House, but it's just too far away to make it my regular place anymore. Especially when I can easily stroll over to and stumble home from The Stube.
The beer garden in the back is an absolute treasure! And now that it's warming back up here, it's one of my favorite places to hang out with friends with a big old beer.
Great selection of German beer and awesome bartenders who are friendly, knowledgeable and have given me many sample glasses to try all the lovely brews on hand.
Full of character and full of characters. Love it.
I am slowly falling in love with the Chicago Beer Garden. I have been to two in the past month and there is a casual open feel that you just don't get in a restaurant. Of course, both were Yelp events with great, crazy people so that may have something to do with it. More investigation is needed.
So, I did not eat here and unfortunately due to a new found beer allergy was unable to partake of the hoppy-goodness. I can say that a Stoli and Cranberry will cost you $6.60 and they are a little on the weak side. The waitress did her best to keep up with the group.
All in all, seemed a fun place. I will have to go back when things are a bit less hectic and write an update.
I love this place, I kind of like it better than Lachet's Inn in terms of menu options, music and crowd (although you can't go wrong with either). The potato pancakes are unbelievable!
Bartender was friendly and attentive, even when busy. I'll be back often!
Eh... not what it used to be. Sometimes I wonder if I changed or the place did cuz I've been around for so damn long. ANYWAY, Laschet's puts this place to shame on so many angles, it's not even worth discussing. I still stop in here for a drink every now and then, but there's really nothing other than nostalgia that brings me back.
I don't go here enough. When I used to live outside the neighborhood (ages ago), I'd go out of my… Read more »
Went to Resi's one night because we have lived in the neighborhood for years and had never tried it out. We we just going to go in for one beer. One beer turned into about six and we realized how wrong we were for ignoring this place for so long.
Resi's has a great German beer selection. Resi's has Augustiner, which according to my sources is pretty hard to find. Lots and lots of weiss beer too. The first time we went was a Sunday -- they get deliveries on Monday or Tuesday, so they were out of some of the beers we wanted to try. They had tons of other German options for us though.
Also, Resi's has some of the best potato pancakes you will ever eat. Crispy on the outside and deliciously slathered in sour cream and applesauce.
Great atmosphere. Some nights its empty and the juke box is all yours - if you can fight away the few regulars in there. But other nights there are a ton of people. A pretty normal north center crowd.
Overall, Resi's is a great time. You should go there very soon.
You want hands down the best Potato Pancakes?!? Come to Resi's! Three thick cakes each bigger than an average male's hand! You see the $7.95 price ($8.95 w/sour cream) and say, WTF? $8 for potato pancakes? Well, you will leave beyond stuffed and ready for a nap even if this is all you order. Served with apple sauce, crispy on the outside, perfectly soft on the inside, and chock full of flavor. Good schnitzel too.
Nothing fancy going on at Resi's. It feels like your 1960's/'70s basement with wood panelling on the walls. It is small and still allows smoking at all the tables. They must be able to avoid the smoking ban and pass it off as a "bar establishment" and not a restaurant though most people that go there are there to dine.
Nice German beer selection too.
I've lived nearby for over five years in various neighborhoods, and never had any idea this place existed. It is a little hole-in-the-wall German bar that's not as ostentatious (and overwhelming) as the Brauhaus. There is a beer stein collection on the wall that, I would imagine, rivals some German homes. The decor probably hasn't changed from the late 60s or early 70s.
The beer garden was lovely to look at, although I sat inside on a beautiful summer night because I'm a baseball junkie. Since I'd just spent last weekend in Vegas, I felt like the beer prices were getting away with murder. Ah, it's good to be back in Chicago. If you want what seems like every German beer under the sun to choose from, you've come to the right place.
Resi's is great. It's a small cozy German bar. Great bartenders. Great selection of German brews. Baskets of pretzels. Great beer garden for the summer time. Great location. Need I say more.
I will honestly say that I don' t think this place is even close to having "the best german food" in town, but this might be my favorite german restaurant anyway. I feel like I am eating in a VFW hall or my uncle's basement... and even though the schnitzel is just greasy pork and they don't even serve red cabbage, the place is irresistable. The potato pancakes are out of this world (and HUGE), and the sausage was very good. Honestly, we were so comfortable here that my boyfriend and I were in no hurry to leave.... so we enjoyed a shot of jager and another stein and hung out for quite some time after we ate.
I can't wait to enjoy this beer garden I keep hearing so much about too!
I'm about to become a regular here, if I haven't already. The draft beer selection is excellent, if a little pricey (but hey, you're getting a half liter of decent weissbier. don't complain too much), as is the bottle selection; and if you're an adventurous sort, you can spring for the $2 "mystery beer". (I've done it four times; twice I've gotten Berghoff-brand beer, once Lacrosse Lager, and, memorably, one pint can of Colt .45) The food here is decent also and reasonably priced; two sausages, about four slices of rye bread, and some german potato salad runs for about $10.
The clientele as well as the barstaff is a friendly, neighborly bunch; they fit right in with the character of the bar, which looks a little bit like a 1970's basement rec room (wood paneling, old signs, etc). It's a seriously pleasant place to eat and drink.
I went here after working something like 9 hours at my own bar, so my tired-ness should probably be taken into account.
This place reminds me of my old old kitchen. Now, when my parents bought our house, the original owners had decked out the kitchen in really weird wood paneling that was really knotty, and then covered the walls in strange knick-knacks. Maybe the old owners were German, who knows. The point is that the interior of this bar reminds me VERY strongly of the way my kitchen did in the 80's, before my parents could afford to remodel it.
It's a little hole-in-the-wall place with a few well-placed TV's that serves some really excellent-smelling German food (I didn't order, but the people next to me did). Bonus points for the guy next to me's handlebar moustache. AWE-SOME.
That being said, this bar is really not my speed. It's not a bad bar at all, and their beer selection is impressive, to be sure. I just think I need a little more going on, and probably a younger crowd.
we were here for a friends birthday, great selection of german beers and a totally laid back atmosphere.
sorta a throwback, lavern and shirley-esque decorating scheme inside, bright linoleum, funky orange booth seats with fake wood tables. the beer garden looked awesome so i'll give this place a second chance in the summer to really check it out.
i was a lil disappointed though that for a beirhaus they didn't have ubberbeers or anything really funny beer garden like. again i'll evaluate in the summer, maybe winter is this places term to hibernate.
went here on a saturday night for the fiance's b-day. I had read (in metromix and other places) that this was the best beer garden in chi-town. it was nice, but not all that. like someone's backyard. on the plus side, closes at 12 on friday and saturday.
inside is small and funky, like an old-timer's bar (think fake-wood tables and walls). the beer selection was great, lots of german beer on tap and they were very good about recommending beers. didn't have anything to eat but had a pretty extensive german menu. i would like to take my dad here to eat.
waitstaff and bartenders were very nice and friendly. I would go back for a chill time, not for a crazy night. would recommend for a weekday or weekend-day outing.
One of the best beer gardens in Chicago!
The garden is small,which means it doesn't get crowded with drunk college students, and authentic with long picnic tables made for meeting friends. The interior decor is like a great throw back to your neighbor's 60's style "redone" basement and the guys running the place are chill. It's foreign and familiar at the same time.
My husband loves the sausages; I think they need to offer stronger mustards. Not a lot of vege options, duh, it's German food. It's not like you go there for a gastronomic adventure.
Why anyone would go to Moody's when there's Resi's is beyond me. I've given 4 stars b/c the beer selection could be improved/expanded.
In Munchen steht ein Hofbrauhaus
Eins, zwei, ... g'suffa!
Resi's takes me back to German class in high school, which as close to Germany as I've ever been. It's a traditional beer hall crammed into a fairly small space on Irving Park Road. The hanging sign and cross-beamed plaster facade are unfortunately gone, giving it a more generic look, but inside it's all Deutsche. Big honkin' beer pulls anchor the bar, and the wall behind is crammed full of tchochkes. (Is it appropriate to use a Yiddish word in a German bar?) If you're lucky, you'll hear Beatles songs sung in German playing over the sound system.
The menu is limited, and the German selections are primarily sausages and schnitzel. I had the Rahmschnitzel, which is schnitzel (breaded and fried pork tenderloin) served with sour cream mushroom gravy and buttered noodles. Breading and fat -- how can you go wrong? There's also Jagerschnitzel, which has mushroom gravy without the sour cream, and even a turkey schnitzel. Sausages include Bratwurst, Thuringer, Knackwurst, and Weisswurst. A handful of other German dishes -- potato pancakes, pickled herring, veal loaf -- fill out the menu, along with some Amerikanischer sandwiches. Dinners come with soup or salad. Do NOT get the salad. I wish someone had warned me. The soup was chicken rice, which didn't thrill me, but the salad was a plate of watery iceberg with tasteless dressing. Rye bread comes with your meal, but it's like the sliced Beefsteak rye you'd get at Jewel rather than anything traditional. The schnitzel and noodles were good, but they couldn't be bothered with the rest. If you're looking for dinner, go across the street to Laschet's for a much more satisfying meal.
When it comes to beer, though, Resi's is ready to serve you. Their focus is on German beers, of course, and seemingly Weiss beers in particular, though this may be a seasonal thing. While some brands may be familiar to you -- Warsteiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten -- most will probably be new. The bartenders are very knowledgeable, and even the servers -- who seem pretty indifferent most of the time -- can make some decent recommendations. I'm not enough of a beer geek to remember the names of any of the beers I drank, but they were all recommendations, and they were all excellent.
Resi's has a beer garden out back, which is smallish, but great. They've replaced the picnic tables with smaller metal tables and chairs, so it's easier to reconfigure for different size groups. It's semi-secluded, and the big trees help take you away from the city. Warning: If there are a lot of Yelpers back there, it can get loud.
If you sit inside, come early to get a sense of the regular clientele. Regulars are in and out all night, but later in the evening the crowd gets younger, and a little hipstery, which surprised me. The inside gets crowded, because there isn't much space between the bar and the tables, so expect people to be crawling over you all night. Grab a stool if you can -- they're fairly comfortable -- and make the narrow passage someone else's problem.
Came here for the YBGC. I got there fairly early and the place was early, not a crowd yet. There was no one tending at the bar and the waitresses were trying to pretend they didn't see me. Nary an offer to help for many minutes, until finally one of them told me the bartender would be back shortly. Couldn't they have told me that when I first walked up to the bar? The service did not get any better as the evening went along. Their distaste for our crowd (or was it just to have to serve us?) was palpable. I don't get it--you have 20 or so people ready to proffer up lots of money to drink--why wouldn't you want to take advantage of that?
On a positive note, the pieces of potato pancake I bogarted from a friend were tasty and they knew to serve them with apple sauce (none of that sour cream stuff--latkes go with apple sauce).
I doubt I would go back--too many better options in that hood.
Neighborhood: North Center
Category: German
Neighborhood: North Center
Category: German
Neighborhood: Irving Park
Category: German
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
Category: American (Traditional)
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Bars
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