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. Â I just stopped by around 6:30 PM or so for a quick drink and maybeeee some delicious German food. Â I was by myself, and I knew that the place wouldn't be crazy crowded.
The bartender was absolutely adorable. Â He spoke German and had a thick accent, and was so incredibly earnest and sweet. Â He quickly gave me the remote to control the TV, and told me to choose some music from the preloaded Jukebox if I liked. Â I ordered an Oktoberfest, which was $5. Â He also gave me the food menu, and I just had to try the Three Cheese Spatzle. Â He said that Thursday was a relatively slow night, but he could call the cook over since they just lived five minutes away. Â He insisted, and the sweetest German lady came (I presume that she is the owner). Â 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. Â 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. Â Next time, I plan on trying the sourbraten (I have a weakness for German food). Â The bartender was so incredibly sweet, and I loved the authenticity of the place. Â The hall was founded in 1924, and clearly has a ton of history. Â 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... Â
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. Â
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. Â
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", Â "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".
Oh my heavens! this place is decent but needs some work in terms of organization and customer service. I came here for my cousins sweet 16 Saturday night. First off I got there at the invitation time which apparently wasn't "cool" as all the other folks literally came at almost 9pm (look I was drinking by then so yea it's not like I cared) the hall itself is pretty big with an upstairs hall and downstairs. We were in the Downstairs. We decided to grab some drinks since we had gotten there early.
First round of drinks weren't bad. Gin and Tonic for my mom. Rum and coke for me. All together it was $12 which wasn't bad I guess. I had only 10 on me so my mom had to chip in two bucks. The bartender was pretty cool. Seems very friendly and clearly has a lot of regulars.
During the night however drinks took longer and longer to make as she seemed to be the only person working the bar. Now if you've got two parties happening at the same time you might want to make sure that sorta thing is covered. At one moment I left the bar because I was waiting to long for her to get back to the bar. Then when I got back she was overwhelmed with people. Second I don't know who organized this thing but the kitchen staff should have had food warming up at least as people got in. People literally didn't eat until 11 but I'll maybe chalk that up to just the organization by those who did the whole sweet 16 to begin with.
The bathrooms by the end of the night had no toilet paper. No one to clean up. Nothing. We all had to fend for ourselves in that respect. I'd like to come back here for the atmosphere I noticed before the parties started. This place has a lot of regulars and sees really cozy. Other than what I stated it was a great huge hall and I enjoy it for what it was.
I'm torn.
I love this place. Â I had never been here before, but my dearest friend recently moved around the block, and as she's aware of my fondness on all things German (beer, men, food), she suggested we go here the weekend my (now estranged) wife and I visited her in her new hood.
This place is great. Â It smells like sauerkraut, the bar is small and simple, they have a short tap list but the beers are varied enough to cover your taste (miller lite::vom::, spatan, hoeegarden), a decent bar selection and a lot of bottled beer.
The menu is German (YUM), and even though I had just destroyed two slices at Rosa's I was tempted to go Lt Aldo Raine on some brats. Â The bartender was friggin adorable AND - here's the kicker kids - the 1.5 pints are 5 beans. Â Peanut sized beers are like 3 bucks. Â Boom. Â I can get lit up here nice and cheap. Â And there are tables where I can attempt to teach my "special" friends how to play cards.
**note: if the friggin card in the middle falls between the two outer cards YOU WIN Blondie. Â For the Love of God I'm not even the Brains of the group and I know how to play acey-deucy**
Anyway, I'm hesitant to give this 5 stars simply because as we were enjoying some delightful banter and beer-swilling card play, we were legit over run by hipsters.
I'm not even joking, it was pleasant, and nice, and we were having a great time, when BAM! Â Three came in. Â Before we knew it, they were everywhere. Â Like f-ckin cockroaches. Â One tried to take my seat and I had to shoo him away (hit the bricks Jesus, or I will brain you). Â Another tried to eat her brat at our table and I had to block her (sit down here and lose your food, hipster)
Hopefully it'll start being cool to drink at the places I like so they'll go back to Williamsburg where they belong. Â Or maybe they can head over to Bushwick and see how the boyz in the hood feel about hipsters. Â They'll eradicate them faster then...(insert classless German joke here).
Not really a bar - not in the 20-something sense anyway. Day time TV, 60 y/o Cheers-like patrons. It's not bad - it's quaint, strange, fun, and a definite throwback to sometime between 1960 and 1985.
It's a beer hall, but there isn't much interesting on tap (a lot of bud light and other boring domestics). I hear there is food, but I didn't see anywhere/anyone to order from. At least it's cheap ($5/.5L).
What a strange divy throw back. It seriously looks like this place is trapped in another decade. But, that is what makes it way cool. And where the hell else in the city can you get $5 Franziskaner? Nowhere. The locals are strange, but endearingly so (they actually try to talk with you) I came here on an evening when a friend was playing a set of music. The ballroom in the rear looks like he it hasn't been worked on since the 70's and the lighting is atrocious. So, these combined with the strange but friendly locals makes this place a worthy haunt. If I'm in Ridgewood I'll be coming back.
Review Source:Checked out the holiday party the bartender invited me too. Another Yelp reviewer also sent me a message inviting me to come on down.
So I tried the food. I had the German potato pancakes with apple sauce. I liked the way the apple sauce was generously sprinkled with cinnamon. The dish overall was okay. However, both bartenders were extremely kind. The female bartender asked me how my food was. But I hope Gottscheer doesn't stop serving food. It's nice to find a place where you can eat and drink within your means. So I'll probably order some dishes from here again.
The best part of this whole entire place is the vibe. From the sweet employees, chill locals, and people just enjoying themselves. This place can easily be your home away from home.
The result?
I bumped this up to five stars. Had an awesome time last night.
The tap room at Gottscheer Hall is the type of place that probably has looked the same for at least a decade. The same five to ten men are there every night, ordering the same beers, telling the same jokes, and popping quarters in the jukebox to play the same 80's rock favorites.
The night me and a friend decided to go was just before Halloween, and the main ballroom (if you can call it that) was filled with a party for children all dressed up in their cute costumes. Although not much dancing was taking place, I could hear the chicken dance and electric slide coming from the hall.
That finally cleared out on this Friday night around 9:30pm, but the tap room stays open until at least midnight on weekends, depending on the crowd. They serve dinner from Wednesday through Sunday, and it is worth coming here for the experience of the whole place, even if the German food will not completely knock your socks off.
Although he became annoying to the point of anger, our neighbor at the bar began a conversation with us before we had even sat down. It is just that type of place, where even two young kids living far away from Ridgewood can come in and feel very welcome immediately.
They carry a couple bad US beers and a few good German beers, usually poured in the correct glassware in metric sizes. You will notice small signs on the tables advertising a $1 beer in the 0.3L size with any food purchase. Make sure to take advantage of this at some point during the evening.
On the specials the night we went was the sauerbraten dinner ($12.50), a big plate that comes with potatoes and red cabbage. The potatoes will be enjoyed, especially with the tangy gravy poured over the meat. The red cabbage is so-so, while the meat itself is on the dry side. It's fine with that sauce, but I found that a bite should probably include the potato as well.
Did someone say three-cheese spaetzle ($8)? When the bartender did in fact say these words, we jumped at the chance to eat it. Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations, as the noodles were soft and dead and the whole thing just tasted too similar to macaroni and cheese. That being said, it was not terrible, it just was not like spaetzle.
Between courses we enjoyed another round or two of $5 beers in half-liter mugs, an absolute steal even for Ridgewood. Eventually the promise of apple strudle ($3) came, but even this disappointed. Besides coming about 30 minutes later, it was just a microwaved dish. Unfortunately the black forest cake ($3) that was on the menu was not available.
Despite the fact that I have not said so many nice things about the food, I would come back here in a heartbeat. The place has charm, and the experience of it is definitely worth any distance and time you have to take to get here. The service is friendly and you are treated like family on your first visit. They have a bunch of memorabilia on the walls that is worth a look, and a big map of the Gottschee region, where the first immigrants who started this place were from. That region is now in current day Slovenia, and this place has no German accents, but it is all still very pure somehow.
Man, I can't believe I've lived in Ridgewood Queens 27 years and have never set foot in this place. Super friendly staff and wonderful service have made this German pub my new local hangout. The bartender, Stephanie was super friendly and even let me sample a couple of things I've never tasted. I came in early in the afternoon and even though they really weren't ready in the kitchen, Roland, the manager (owner?) made sure I got a burger and fries at the bar. What more can I ask? Even though the crowd is a little older, I'm definitely planning to be a regular.
Review Source:I have been to the Hall two times, on both occasions, it was for an event that was held by a friend. It clearly has deep roots, as the hallway and portions of the large dining room/banquet hall, adorn pictures, paintings, maps and more. The German beers, whether on tap or by the bottle would please any German beer fan. When it was time to eat, given it was buffet style, the sausage was very high quality-I was a bit tipsey, so I dont recall every dish, so after a full plate of sausage, I quickly bee lined for my seat. It is on the top of my TO DO list to return to Gottscheer Hall, for a less drinking infused, relaxed sit down complete dinner. I cant wait!!!
Review Source:I almost don't want to write this review. Why? Because I love this place so darn much and the thought of not being able to get a seat at the bar or the bartender forgetting my name, makes me shudder. Then again, the thought of it going out of business makes me weep, so here we go...
It is the middle of December, the M train isn't running to Ridgewood and mounds of snow are still piled in the streets from the last big nor'easter. And it is my birthday. My 30th birthday to be precise. Despite the overwhelming odds, I held my party at Gottscheer Hall and those who came were rewarded with not only my best birthday ever, but one of the greatest nights out of their lives (I'm assuming).
When we arrived, we were told that the chef wanted to go home so instead of leaving us to go hungry, we were given a tray of sausage and peppers and rolls on the house, more than enough for all of us to share. We then spent the night sharing a few dozen pitchers of good German beer, bought for well below Manhattan prices and taking advantage of their free jukebox, which filled the room with classic rock and polka music. Sometime near midnight, a friend sat at the baby grand in the back and an impromptu karaoke session began, creating a scene that would have made Chris Columbus jealous with its cliched cheesyness.
I've been back many times since for dinner, which is always wholesome and never disappointing, and cheap weekday drinks. It is my go-to spot and should be yours, just save me a seat at the bar.
adventure. i'm always up for adventure.
a small group ventured from our comfortable brooklyn existence to travel to the wilds of queens.
and at the end of our journey we were rewarded with amazing delicious german food and tasty cold german beers.
this place is one part VFW lodge, one part banquet hall and one part restaurant in rhienlander, wi.
those are all very good things. and so are adventures. i plan on making this adventure regularly.
Seeing as I come here almost weekly, I figure it is time to write an account of Gottscheer Hall that is more than 4 lines long.
Whatever random parties rent out the catering hall in the rear or wander in off the street, Gottscheer Hall is foremost a diaspora community's (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGottschee_County&s=408e630db788734b5672584670aeac019267ffca72d84e1e6f0f2ee45c8a91c5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/…</a>) central hive. The maps, memorials, and Miss Gottschee portraits on the walls serve to remind the rest of us will always be (welcome) visitors. It's useful to think of this place slightly different than one would an average restaurant or bar.
As a bar, the Gottscheer Hall Tap Room is one of the best watering holes in Ridgewood. Rarely busy unless someone is having a party, this is a low-key space to sit with a few friends at night or even read the paper during the afternoon. The space dates to the 20s(?) but appears to have been most recently renovated in the 60s(?) given the drop-ceilng. The feel is classic, and light pours in the large plate window during the day. The (conventional, not internet) jukebox holds a mix of classic rock-n-roll (think Seeger, Springsteen, CSNY, Beatles, Petty, Joel, etc) and a sprinking of German-language discs. The jukebox is typically pre-loaded with credits, so anyone can step up and punch some songs in without adding cash. I've seen everything from PBS to the X-Games to football on the small, typically-muted televisions. The Gluhwein (German mulled wine) is only $3/cup and hits the spot in the winter. On tap are a small selection of beers, including Spaten, Hofbrauhaus, and Gosser. Overall, the Tap Room is a cozy, calming environment, although the crowd can vary widely, depending on the night. Live bands play on occasion.
Food is served Wednesday through Saturday evenings. I can't stop eating the 3-cheese baked spaetzle (think mac-and-cheese, with the macaroni replaced by homemade German noodles). It probably isn't healthy. Meat fans will find all manner of goulash, pork chops, and sausages.
I went to Gottscheer Hall for the first time last Saturday night. Â It was a really great time! Â It has the feel of a German VFW Hall. Â They've got a couple beers on tap, we had the only German sounding one on tap (can't remember the name) it was $5 for a large mug. Â Good deal. Â They also had some hot toddies (It's crazy cold in NY right now) and something called Gluh-wein for $3 a glass. Â Gluh-wein ended up being this delicious spiked hot apple cider, awesome. My group ordered food, chicken strips, potato pancakes with applesauce, bratwurst with sauerkraut, all delicious. Â Around 10 pm, a woman came around with this bucket of tiny pieces of papers rolled up (think diplomas for mice). Â You could purchase 5 for $1, and if you unrolled them and found a number, you won a prize! Â I won a bottle of champagne!
It was unexpectedly a great night at a low-key German bar in Queens.
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