The Bier Garden

This used to be my go-to German place. It's very much like a real German restaurant from the food to the... service. I used to joke that the service was typical of a real German restaurant (read: bad) but the last time I went there it was beyond my lowest expectations.

I went with a group of friends and everything just took SO LONG. Lunch is nice bit not when it gets stretched into 3+ hours because of slow service, mixed up orders, lost credit cards, etc. The manager lied to us and tried to blame the problems on it being so crowded (there were three tables) and although she gave everyone gift certificates, I knew that was it for me and the BG.

The salads were brown and pre-made. Food came out at different times. Some of us got hot food and some of us got cold food. Guess the microwave wasn't working that well. It was a total nightmare. I am giving it two stars because of the beer selection and they do have a patio. Now that tolls are going up and the fact that the service is abysmal at best the only thing I have to say to BG is tschuß!

First... They flipped the table cloth to clean the table. Kind of a turn off.
Other than that...the food was really good.
The sides weren't that great. I got a german noodle side and the potatoes. The potatoes had a strong dill flavor.
The reuben schnitzel was A Maz Inggg!!
Fleischkuegel....hamburger meatloaf type thing with a sauce. It was really good.
Then of course... The beers!!  All kinds to choose from.

By the way the waitress tried to upcharge for certain things and didn't tell me about it. Plus, she offered me a beer that was $11!!
Is it wine??  I mean maybe im being cheap. But Damn!! Hahaha

We were visiting friends and they took us here.  What a great choice. We've been to Germany several times and have had 3 German exchange students live with us over the years so we know German food quite well.  The food is very authentic. To start, the beer list is amazing.  I'm a fan of Kolsch style beer of Koln' (Cologne) and I couldn't believe they had it.  I've never been able to find Kolsch in the U.S. What a treat.  Anyway the food was great, my wife and I both had the Goulash and Spetzle, and I had the pan fried potatoes and she had the potato salad.  Our friends had Snitzle's.  Everything was perfect.  The only reason I gave 4 stars is because they were out of Knodel, 15 mins after opening. I don't think they made any that day.  I was disappointed because it's one of my favorites.  Nevertheless, great food, great beer, and simple German atmosphere.  When I  lived in VA, we were always told don't go to Portsmouth because it's not safe, however, things have really changed downtown, it's quite nice now with many restaurants.  Don't let old history keeping you from visiting the Bier Garden.