Gottscheer Hall

I come here from time to time with my wife to eat bratwurst or krainerwurst with sauerkraut or potatoes. The prices are ridiculously cheap for the quality of the food.
The beer selection isn't as good as other beer houses but it's enough. Service has always been excellent and in terms of friendliness of staff it's the best I've had in Ridgewood so far (I've lived in the area for 2 years now).
Iv'e never witnessed the extended menu they sometimes mention but the basic one is good enough.
The wife and I will keep visiting this place for dinner from time to time.

I stopped over here for the first time today.  I just stopped by around 6:30 PM or so for a quick drink and maybeeee some delicious German food.  I was by myself, and I knew that the place wouldn't be crazy crowded.

The bartender was absolutely adorable.  He spoke German and had a thick accent, and was so incredibly earnest and sweet.  He quickly gave me the remote to control the TV, and told me to choose some music from the preloaded Jukebox if I liked.   I ordered an Oktoberfest, which was $5.   He also gave me the food menu, and I just had to try the Three Cheese Spatzle.   He said that Thursday was a relatively slow night, but he could call the cook over since they just lived five minutes away.   He insisted, and the sweetest German lady came (I presume that she is the owner).  The food was done in five minutes, and since I have a macaroni and cheese weakness, it was absolutely sinful.

The bartender took me on a tour of the premises and showed me all the different rooms.   I am excited to go to the End of the World party here next week!!

All in all, I spent about $20 for two delicious beers and a ginormous plate of delicious three cheese spatzle.   Next time, I plan on trying the sourbraten (I have a weakness for German food).  The bartender was so incredibly sweet, and I loved the authenticity of the place.   The hall was founded in 1924, and clearly has a ton of history.   I can't wait for another party here, and in the meantime, this may become my new dinner choice when I need to get out by don't want to travel more than a few blocks and want delicious, inexpensive beer!

Anyone who thinks "Little Germany" in Ridgewood is a thing of the past has not been to "Gottscheer Hall" on Fairview Ave. - the community is alive and well here and continues to have a very active social life that includes regular monthly dances and Fests where you can still see people of all ages  dancing the old time polkas and waltzes to live Fest bands dressed in their traditional Bavarian and Austrian "Tracht" (costume).

This is a little piece of German New York right out of the past, but at the same time it continues on into the 21st century. A proud and "stubborn" people who are American first, but at the same time still honor the memory  of their immigrant forefathers.

The "Gottscheer Hall"  is probably the last place in all of NYC that still has regular polka and ballroom dancing.  The bar & restaurant here (called the "Tap Room") is also  the only place left in Ridgewood that still offers its patrons German style dining. They also have live music Friday nights and a jukebox with American and German oldies...  

The hall itself is a combination of the bar and restaurant, along with an upper and lower banquet hall, and a few private meeting rooms used by the ten different Gottscheer clubs that still meet here regularly and have their many dances and Fests at the hall throughout the year.

So what is a "Gottscheer" ? Where is "Gottschee"? Some have called the Gottscheers the "smallest German tribe". They are historically the ethnic German minority in that beautiful little Alpine country located south of Austria called Slovenia. They settled  there in the 1300's and lived for generations in a German "language island" for 600 years until WWII destroyed their homeland.

Today only around 1,000 still live in Slovenia, almost the entire Gottscheer population having immigrated to the U.S. or Austria after the war.  

When the Germans and Italians invaded  Yugoslavia in 1941 Slovenia was divided between them, with Italy in the south and Germany in the northern part of Slovenia, which they incorporated into Germany in 1942. The ethnic German population of Gottschee (numbering around 50,000) was moved north out of the Italian occupation zone and into the German, where they lived until 1945. At that time most fled Tito's communists and ended up in refugee camps in Austria until 1951 when many came to Ridgewood and other U.S. cities like Cleveland, San Francisco and Chicago.  

The hall in Ridgewood was opened in 1924, and today it continues on as a living tribute to so many who have worked so hard to keep their heritage alive. The hall can be rented for catered events, call Elfriede at 917-362-9027 for more information on prices and menu options.

The cozy "Tap Room" has a nice selection of imported and domestic beers on tap or by the bottle. Good tap beer (at only $5.00 for a half liter) includes; "Spaten", "Hofbrau" and the Austrian beer "Goesser". Bottled beer available includes things like "Becks", "Franziskaner Weissbier", "Stiegl" and "Magners" Irish cider.

Food here is real home cooking, with very reasonable prices for Queens. You can have potato, chicken or goulash soup, a house salad and then try one of their Slovenian "Krainer" sausages or a "Bratwurst" with sauerkraut. They also have sauteed "Krainer" sausage with "spaetzle" (noodles), Goulash with spaetzle or a three cheese spaetzle. Sometimes they have dinner specials like Sauerbraten. Some apple strudel or Black Forest cake for desert and you finish very satisfied.

I myself have had the "Krainerwurst" and the Goulash and have not been disappointed. On top of all this, the people here and the "regulars", are very friendly! It's the old neighborhood feeling that I just love. It's still alive here!

When you're in the Tap Room check out the picture portraits of all the former "Miss Gottschee" winners, also the old team picture of the club's soccer team ("Blau Weiss Gottschee") and a large map of old Gottschee hanging on the wall. The history of a diaspora community that has helped to make Ridgewood what it is today.

"Gottscheer Relief Association" (est. 1946) runs the hall through the "Gottscheer Central Holding Corporation" and is the "Umbrella Organization" for the following Gottscheer clubs who meet and have their events at the hall:

Gottscheer Männerchor   (men's choir)
Gottscheer Kranken Unterstützungs Verein  (health insurance)
Gottscheer Vereinigung  (social organization)
Deutsch Gottscheer Gesangverein  (mixed choir)
Blau-Weiss Gottschee  (soccer club)
Gottscheer Bowling Club
Die Erste Gottscheer Tanzgruppe  (folk dance group)
Gottscheer Rod & Gun Club

Some of the great local Polka / Oktoberfest show bands from the Ridgewood / Glendale area that play here include the "Adam Barthalt Band",  "Die Spitzbuam", "Die Schlauberger", Bud & Linda Gramer and Johnny Koenig - all a part of the entertainment scene in Ridgewood's "Little Germany", who's heart still beats at "Gottscheer Hall".