Great that you could make reservations on open table. We had no issues with them finding out reservation when we got there. We ate in the beer hall, if you come after 5pm on a week night there is a band. Try the beer, it is excellent and is made there. We shared the pretzel appetizer, the cheese is amazing. We both got the Worstplatte and loved it. There was so much food I took it home. We also got the Black Forest Cake which I highly recommend. Seating is bench seating in the beer hall, which would be nice for groups. There is also outdoor seating and a more private dining hall. Waitress was attentive and very polite. Make sure to have parking validated before leaving. Very nice place, we would return.
Review Source:Coolest restaurant in Rosemont. Authentic, cavernous and fun. You feel as if you stepped into Bavaria.
Atmosphere - the best part
You're greeted by waitresses as you would imagine they look in Munich with traditional beer hall garb. You walk in to find a massive high ceilinged place that could likely hold 1000 people. Â Seating is on long communal tables. If you come at night they have a German band playing that really adds to the experience. Every few minutes they toast their steins with the whole restaurant.
Beer
Selection is limited to the five beers they brew in house. Nothing experimental just the German favorites of lager, hefeweizen and dunkel. Hefeweizen is EXCELLENT. Citrusy refreshing flavor with a cloudy visage. Holding a full  liter stein is pretty badA.
Pricing
A stein is $13, pretty steep. No matter what size you get it's more about the novelty and less the value. Food is not as rough but still a bit more than you expect.
Food
Delivers as advertised. Good beer hall food of pretzels, fish and other German favorites. German food is pretty bland though so you're best off spending your chips on the beer.
This is a perfect place for a late night with some friends. The atmosphere and good beer is bound to deliver good times.
I went to the opening party and had a great time. Food was good, beer is great, and the place is fun. Â It was also free. Â We went back last night and I am pretty disappointed. It was still the same fun place with great beer, but the food is REALLY expensive. $14 for a brat? That was the cheapest thing! Also I asked for dumplings instead of fries and the waitress said "no substitutions". Â That is one of the worst things for a restaurant to do. The food was okay this time, and I don't know if I'll be back.
Review Source:Sigh.
Be clear they are using "Chicago" figuratively because this behemoth bar is not in Chicago, does not adhere to Chicago pricing, but it does have Chicago style service.
The Good:
Parking and the look of the bar. That is it.
The bad:
Our waitress,Nikk,  forgot to bring silverware, offered no refills and was generally absent. I can forgive her because at their prices you couldn't have  persuaded me to order anything else.
The Ugly:
This place either needs to change suppliers or stop assuming people are stupid. Now before you cry the price of "importing" i can assure the food here is as generic as anything you will find at your neighborhood bar except it cost about 5 dollars more. Currywurst was 14 dollars. For 14 dollars you will get 2 pieces of small, dry sausage accompanied by what I will generously call a dollop of ketchup with curry powder. they are also kind enough to give you luke warm fries thawed and reheated.
Also if you look online for their menu or beer list you will notice a suspicious lack of pricing. That is because their beer prices are absurd. 7-8 dollars for a half liter? Maybe they missed the memo, but this is a suburban bar located in a sea of parking with no quality or authenticity. 15 dollar cocktails? 6.50 for shots? Their prices are ridiculous!!
Final Thoughts:
Take it from a girl that has been to germany three times and every German bar in the city --this place is trash garbage.
Want a real German pour? Skip this bar a couple of times and you will have enough for a plane ticket.
There are two words that a restaurant can print that will instantly rub me the wrong way. No Substitutions. Those two words instantly get me fired up. Personally, I think it's a terrible business model (not to mention wasteful) to not allow for substitutions when it comes to sides - especially if they're the same price. What it basically says is "we're telling you what you want to eat, like it or not. And if you don't like it, eat somewhere else or buy more food". That's pretty much what Hofbrauhaus put on their menu "NO SUBSTITUTIONS! WE HAVE SIDE DISHES!" I'll end my rant there.
As for my overall experience, it was extremely lackluster. Let us review....
The positives:
+ The menu has a large variety of German dishes (duh, it's a German restaurant)
+ Gorgeous venue with top of line equipment
+ Live music!
+ Great outdoor patio for summertime boozing
+ Awesome mustard dips and Obazter cheese
+ Very friendly staff, minus our server...
+ Juicy and tender chicken snitzel
+ Private rooms for larger private events
+ Fun & festive German atmosphere
The negs:
- No substitutions - I don't feel the need to elaborate more at this point
- Bland (and I mean BLAND) food. The spaetzle was over buttered and had absolutely no flavor.
- Sausages were equally as bland.
- Although they dishes were brought out with fancy pants silver covers, my food was borderline warm.
- Soft pretzels were not served hot - nor did they seem fresh. (I know this since I saw the back of the kitchen and they're all sitting in a bin waiting to be ordered...just sayin...) Not to mention the price, which I will get to momentarily.
- Our waitress had a major 'tude. Not cool. Unacceptable.
- Outrageous prices. $14 for a giant plate sized soft pretzel is ridiculous. As is a $14 schnitzel sandwich
- My order was screwed up. (Shocking)
Needless to say, Hofbrauhaus was a total disappointment. Lower those prices and/or step up the quality of food and remove the "no substitutions" policy. Maybe just then you'd earn back a previously excited customer. Until then, stay classy Hofbrauhaus.
Let me save you a lot of time.
Fresh beer is good beer... and fresh beer hand crafted and served in the same building is even better. The wheat beer here is deeeeeelicious. The other selections are good, but the wheat just rocks the suds.
The service was excellent. The ladies in the cute Lederhosen outfits are everywhere carrying growlers of beer. Other places should take note... women can be fully clothed and still be sexy as all hell.
The pretzels are not so good and get cold fast. And they are WAY overpriced.
The band and "bell man" travel the dining hall playing and having fun. The noise is quite a racket, but this is a beer hall.
This place closed at 11pm on a Monday... so come early!
In short, I'd say eat elsewhere. Come here to drink and enjoy yourself.
Come for the beer. Stay for the minimal amount of time.
First, this place really blows. I came across this place on Yelp and was excited that Hofbrauhaus had a beer hall in Chicago. Then I clicked it and realized that it was not in Chicago, but in Rosemont. So that was my first mistake. I love beer German beer with all my heart and have been to the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich. That place was amazing. However, Hofbrauhaus Chicago is a mockery of the original.
German food is notoriously expensive for some reason. I usually don't mind paying more for quality, but my food didn't qualify. I ordered my favorite German dish, currywurst, and felt like I was ripped off. It was $14 for two small lukewarm sausages and cold fries with tasteless curry ketchup. I expected more for that price. Booooo. I've gotten currywurst from other places for a lot cheaper and that were better tasting. The prices are absurd for the amount and quality of the food.
The beer was $7 and was just ok. I've gotten better Hofbrau beer at bars for $6. Why does it cost more seeing how you guys make the beer there? No need to factor in transporting the beer out. The waitress was ok, but very spacey. Completely forgot to bring us silverware and napkins. So we just grabbed our own from an empty table.
After doing some easy interwebs research, I came to the conclusion that this place is a tourist trap. I put it in the same category as Rainforest Cafe and Hard Rock Cafe. They have a silly gift shop and that sells bottled beer that's more expensive than the same ones they sell at Jewel. I don't recommend this place at all. If you like German beer just go to an independently owned German bar in Chicago. If you're already headed up there just keep going north to Milwaukee. Â
The only good thing is that its a nice looking space.
I've read a few negative reviews of the Hofbrauhaus so I kept my expectations relatively low, and when I left I was pleasantly surprised. My family of four enjoyed everything from the jumbo pretzel through vegetable soup, curry wurst, and pork shank. While not a five star dining experience, the Hofbrauhaus hit all the marks for large, energetic dining/beer hall. Service was very attentive, live music lent a nice background without bring overly loud and the food was good. We had a fun time!
I would recommend this restaurant to friends looking for a fun, dining experience and I will be returning myself.
Beer was Good, Soup was good, the PRETZEL is $14!!!! We ordered it without the menu and a beer as had been to the real one in Germany... where the Pretzels are around 90 cents at the REAL one..... $14 for a PRETZEL ?! . I totally think a place should charge what they think they can get but making your customers feel SCAMMED won't have them returning at all... so we won't be returning. - $14 pretzel. ah
Review Source:We were here April 9, 2013 for lunch. The beers were better then I expected. Three sizes to choose from. I wanted to taste one of the selections however, the waitress informed me that everything is metered so no tasting allowed.(???) Never-the-less I would have ordered what I tasted anyway it was that good! Laura liked it too. She normally doesn't like the darker type beer. The food was very good. Although for lunch is was a little pricey $72 with 15% tip (because we sat at the bar). We always tip less when sitting at the bar.
Review Source:Having been to the one in Newport, KY, I found this experience to be a little underwhelming.
The restaurant is beautiful and a lot of fun. There is live music every night and we had a good time, even for a slow Tuesday night. I would love to go back during the weekend as it is probably even more fun!
The beer is good, I had a Liter of the Hefeweizen and my husband had the Lager but they are a little on the pricey side. We also had the "award winning" apple liqueur, which was just OK.
Service was good. We always had what we needed and the food came up fast.
The food was probably the least favorite part of our trip. To be fair, I did grow up in a German house with an Oma who made killer Sauerbraten and other German fare so I have high expectations.
We had the Giant pretzel and potato pancakes for appetizers. The Pretzel was really good and enough for all 4 of us. The potato pancakes were not flavorful at all and the portion (2 small cakes) for the price- $9 was not worth it at all.
I had the Sauerbraten for my entrée and it was tough. The veggies that came with it were rock hard, not soft and tender like it should be. The sauce was OK but lacking in flavor.
My husband had the Braten Teller which was a combo of Sauerbraten and then a Pork Roast with a mushroom sauce. He did not care for the pork and felt the same way I did about the Sauerbraten. The couple we went with had the steak and Jagerschnitzel. They said the schnitzel was good and that would probably be my pick to try if I went back.
Overall, I would love to go back for drinks and appetizers but for dinner I think I'll try somewhere else. For really good German food try the Bier Stube in Frankfort. Chef Klaus is awesome. The atmosphere here is good, but it is way overpriced for the quality of what you get.
This place can be a lot of fun but probably isn't for everyone. I've been here twice: once with several friends and another time with my parents. On both visits the food was good and fairly priced - the portions of both the beer and dishes are massive so you do get your money's worth - but the ambiance can be hit-or-miss depending on when you go, how crowded it is, and which one of the rotating bands is playing. The wait to get a table on a Saturday can be fairly lengthy - around an hour since they don't take reservations - but I'd still recommend going on a Saturday to get the best atmosphere. Going to a place like the Hofbrahaus when it's half empty and when no one is in the communal, German partying, beer-guzzling spirit is a waste of a time and, really, a waste of money. Far as recommendations, the sampler entree is a good place to a start if you haven't had much experience with German food and the Wiener Schnitzel is probably the largest cut of meat I've ever seen (it's as big as the over-sized plate that it's served on). The Half-wiesen is in my opinion superior to their Dunkel and is a better compliment to most German foods, the Potato pancakes with salmon are over-priced and underwhelming, the salads not worth ordering, and the various Pretzels are delicious and a fantastic complement to the rounds of beers you're bound to consume over a lengthy dinner. Â
Oh, and finally, the Apfel-strudel is divine. The most authentic I've seen in the States. A must order
Dear Hofbrauhaus,
What you need is a $10 beer sampler with all 4 of your beers in 4 oz sample sizes! Â I am an IPA girl and I had no clue what to order and without being able to taste a beer sample, it was tough to decide. Even harder to decide considering your menu does not list any prices for the 4 beers that you do offer in various size mugs. Â Didn't want to be stuck with something I really didn't like.
5 stars for your Lager! Â It was really good. Â The German band with their German beer chant was also excellent. Â A little loud for a Thursday happy hour, but good.
The reason I can only give you 2 stars is due to your lack of beer samples, lack of published prices on the beer menu and the cost of food being WAY too high for the actual quality of the product. Â I had a room temperature pretzel with cold condiments for $13.95! Â Are you kidding?! Â There was no cooking involved, serving it was a breeze and the cost of ingredients could not have possibly exceeded $2. Â So why is a pretzel $13.95?? Â It really wasn't even remotely delicious and I certainly would not order it again. Â The special cheese spread...meh. Â It was okay.
Overall the place is spacious and it has a cool vibe. The servers in authentic German outfits look great. Â The store with all kinds of cool German candy and knick knacks is fun. Â Your downfall is your actual food/restaurant experience.
I would consider coming back for a beer during Oktoberfest, but otherwise I would not be a repeat customer.
Disappointed,
Judy
I have been eager to check this place out as I have been to the HBH in Las Vegas and wanted to see how this one compared. Facility-wise, this place is a LOT different - dark woods vs light in LV, this place is huge compared to that one - which is also quite large - the one in LV has an indoor biergarten, this one has a large area for outdoor seating. I like the visible brewery here - interesting look.
I visited on a Friday around 2PM and it wasn't too busy. My server was Teri and she was the highlight of my visit - pleasant, attentive and outstanding service. But here's the thing - it's not cheap. I had a soda, pretzel (normal sized) and the Jagerschnitzel and it came to $23.87 (pre-tip). The entree was just "ok" - spaetzle awash in mushroom sauce with a fair portioned, but somewhat dry schnitzel topped with bacon. I'll stick with the "neighborhood" German places like Edelweiss or the ones in Milwaukee when I'm looking for truly authentic German food. This was passable - but nothing special.
I do plan to return to check out the beers - and I will do the food on occasion. It's another "something else" that's different in the Chicago area, which makes our city and the metro area a special place to be.
Dinner for four on a weeknight:
THE GOOD:
+ Fun atmosphere! Â (Very comparable to the one in Germany)
+ A++++++ service! Â Wait staff, servers, and bus boys were awesome! Â
THE SO-SO:
+/- Â Food was so so. Â Just as you'd expect: Â Your average German eats
THE BAD:
- Spacey/airhead hostesses. Â Probably need to work more on greeting customers promptly instead staring into space
- Parking was a pain. Â This is in Rosemont's entertainment district so expect a parking lot maze.
- EXPENSIVE! Â
We ordered a "jumbo complete" (pretzel with 3 dips: sweet mustard, onion mustard, and cheese) for our appetizer. Â It was $13+!!!! Â For a pretzel? Â I thought Auntie Anne's pretzel in the shopping malls were already expensive! Â That just blew my mind. Â Wow!
Shnitzel sandwich (fried chicken breast on a kaiser roll) $13+
I forgot what our other 2 companions ordered but each were $17+ each dish
Beer (Premium Lager) was $13
- Food was super salty
BOTTOM LINE:
It was a fun place to be in but would probably not come back unless someone paid for me. Â I'm still not over the sticker shock on that pretzel appetizer.
I haven't been to Germany, but all my friends I went with have visited a/the Hofbrauhaus in Germany and had complimentary things to say about this one in Rosemont. According to them, it was very comparative. although the beer selection here was apparently limited, i.e. the Light, Lager, Dunjel and Hefe Weizen all available in different sizes.
Band/Music - The live German Band was very entertaining and fun. They played some cool instruments, German songs and celebrated many birthdays.
Food - We didn't eat, though seeing and smelling what people got, it looked really good. Did seem fairly pricey though, hence the minus 1 star.
I think every new place goes through growing pains, and some of the early reviews here seem to suggest that. This place is very new and the staff must be getting better because we experienced none of the issues some of the other reviewers encountered.
Our hostess was charming, and we were checked in right away. While we've never been to this Hofbrauhaus, we have been to the original in Germany on several occasions, and our hostess was very interested in how this one compares with the original.
Our server was very attentive and prompt. The beer was fabulous. The food was great. If you come here for a quiet meal, you've come to the wrong place - this is very much a German beer hall with loud music and lots of noise! It's all part of the experience.
I downgraded the stars to 4 because of price. It is expensive. The food is good, but I still like the Bavarian Lodge in Lisle for their food. But for the total German experience, this place is great.
I felt after leaving that the staff does read these reviews and is improving. Given the investment in this area, I'm sure they want to succeed. We will come back!
P.S. make sure you ask to get parking validated!
This was my first time at the Hofbrauhaus, my friend went to the one in Munich regularly when he worked for BMW. Fred had the Weisswuerst grilled (two links, med at best) with spatzle, I had the Schnitzel with dumplings, we each had the potato soup (best part of the meal), gravy and I had a diet pepsi while Fred had a .5 (Small) beer. The total was $70.12 before tip. I'm sorry I expect a lot more for $70! If you like German food go to the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bavarian-lodge.com&s=44f52eeff340196e4f05ec47aa618437ffef6b584c82a0ed1197decf6469201c" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.bavarian-lodg…</a> in Lisle, IL. Service was also poor. Very disappointing.
Review Source:Portions are EXTREMELY SMALL for the price. Â I ordered the Bavarian Style pot roast, which was delicious but for $20, I'd expect more than 4 small thin strips of beef! Â My husband ordered the wurst plate which was a steal at $14, but it's really just 4 different types of sausages on a plate. Â Like I stated, food is delicious, albeit SMALL. Â My husband enjoyed his Hefeweizen beer with the meal. Â Our server was friendly, but it was super busy so I would constantly have to flag her down for a refill on my water.
Overall, I don't think this place is worth the bang for the buck. Â I've been to the Hofbrauhaus in Las Vegas, and the portions were waaaay bigger. Â I'll stick to German when I'm on the west coast or other German restaurants in Chicago.
Take a deep breath and as soon as you walk into the place you smell HOPS!! Lots of HOPS! The establishment is great. Very big restaurant, awesome beer, and live entertainment.
I've been to the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany and it doesn't compare to the original, but considering it's in Rosemont, IL it's not a bad comparison.
I give it 3 stars and not 4 or 5 stars because the food is standard. Nothing extraordinary about it. It's not bad. It's just not memorable. The prices are a bit high for what you get in taste. Also, the wait to be seated is ridiculous!! A group of us stopped by on a Saturday night to find out that there was a 2 hour wait. We went back on a Wednesday afternoon and the place was almost empty. Therefore, service was superb!
I have to mention that the beer is AMAZING!
TIP: If you go on a Friday, call ahead for reservations. They make reservations for non-peak times. They do NOT take reservations on Saturdays.
SPOILER: Â This review is ONLY for the beer. Â I don't care about German food, I don't care about atmosphere, I don't care about authenticity, etc. Â What I DO care about is beer. Â
I don't really go for German beers, typically, because they are pretty bland. Â I prefer my beers to have strong dark malt or coffee/espresso flavors OR strong hoppy notes. Â German beers usually have neither. Â They are solid, and smooth, but lack serious bite. Â That said, the Hefe here is pretty damn good. Â I went in to get a sampler, but after seeing that the smallest pour they offer is a 10 oz., I just picked the one I knew I would enjoy. Â And a 10 oz. pour I got. Â After grasping my baby sized beer and scanning the restaurant and seeing huge mugs and boots of beer I felt a little ridiculous, but you've got to start somewhere, right? Â RIGHT? Â The Hefe here is really good, actually. Â It's got great citrusy and spicey notes and a nice cloudy appearance. Â It is VERY easy drinking and I can no doubt put a boot of this down in no time. Â (Challenge accepted, by the way...)
I will definitely be back to chug a boot and enjoy some live German music and food. Â Got to wash the beer down with something, yes?
I want to really like this place but....
1 litre of bier will cost you $17 (with tax and small tip).
Food portions are soooo small, no substitutions what-so-ever! oh, and pricey.
Service was slow. Â There were about ten of us at a bench and we got three beers at a time in 10-15 minute increments! And the food took forever.
It's a shame, I guess your paying for the acts from Germany. Â The entertainment band is usually fun. Â And i would suggest at least making one visit to see the live music cause it's straight out of Munich fun! I'm in a traditional German band and the music fits right in. Â This is one quality your really not going to find this at the other German bars. Â Other bars in the area have local acts but the Hofbrau gets the real acts from overseas. Â It's good to go for a beer and watch the music but just get ready to unload your wallet!
As for alternatives, I would highly suggest laschet's Inn, then Mirabells  and then Edelweiss and Brauhaus. The only reason why i say that is those to places feel more like a neighborhood bar rather then going to one of the "big" chicago german places.
Prost!
This place is huge and loud with live entertainment! It definitely takes you into a spin of German culture, they even serve their beer in steins, which gives it a nice cultural touch. The servers dress up in uniforms and we're seated at wooden benches (picture a high school cafeteria, but with wooden benches vs metal). We were told they can seat 850 people, holy cow, how do they maintain business on the weekdays? Because Friday night it was jamming packed! They definitely have the German thang going that's for sure.
We were doing a pub crawl so only opted for some huge pretzels and beer. Our server constantly checked up on us and the music kept playing. We cheers a lot and the place was very entertaining, oh and they had the Blackhawks game on! Kudos! I definitely want to come back to try their food, possibly on a less busy day.
We decided to try this place on a Saturday night. Ehh.. maybe we should have tried another night. The new Rosemont entertainment district is ridiculously crowded on the weekends.
I was annoyed when I called because they don't take reservations and they wont let you put your name on the list. What exactly is the reason for this? It would do nothing but make patrons happy. I rarely go to a place that does this because it is EXTREMELY inconvenient.
After being told our wait would be 2 hours we wanted to leave but were waiting for one of our friends to arrive and decided to go to the bar. The bar was soo crowded with people waiting (for what I guess was 2 hours also) that we couldn't get anywhere close to it for a drink. Â Once our friend arrived we decided to wait it out and fought our way to the bar.
The Bar:
Its insane. It was extremely busy and there were only about 4 bartenders. On a  night like that, you really need a bartender for every foot of the bar. It took about 15 minutes to get the attention of a bartender then we finally got our beers. I mean.. its good.. and kind of fun cause they have big beer steins. I believe they are about $13 per stein. You can also order appetizers at the bar. We ordered a giant pretzel with the different dipping sauces. It was definitely enough for the 3 of us. The cheese dip was pretty good.
The Entertainment:
Its pretty loud in there. They have a German band playing and they are pretty good. They entertain the crowd well and have "sing-a-long" type songs. The later it got.. the crazier the patrons. The beer wenches even spank people (by request) with shot paddles. This is no joke. They spank HARD.
3 steins, and 2 hours later or number still wasn't called. Â I had to complain and then we finally got seated. Â I hate to do that.. but we had waited soo long.
Food:
They have a lot of options. Weve been to a lot of German places and I have to admit, the food here was near the top of them. It was kind of expensive, but good. I had schnitzel, my husband a steak and our friend, one of the sausage plates. Â We ordered potato pancakes to start with. Our waiter knew there were 3 of us and didn't say anything about us ordering it. When it came it was 2, silver dollar size, potato pancakes. The rest of the plate had sour cream, 2 cucumber chunks, 2 cherry tomatoes and the rest of the plate was FILLED with smoked salmon. Um.. we ordered potato pancakes. None of us eat fish.. so this was a waste. Our waiter didn't give us napkins or forks.. it was weird. I guess he wasn't that good.
Overall.. Id go back but never on a Saturday.
I was ready to leave a bad review due to their no substitution policy. What restaurant in this day and age doesn't allow substitutions? Some people have diet restrictions and there are way to many restaurant options out there to not accommodate your guests. Luckily, we had a great waiter who sympathized with my anger of no substitutions and accommodated.
Now that my rant is over, I will say the food was delicious. I ordered some roasted chicken and it was cooked perfectly.
The beer, even though they are limited in options, is great. They brew their own beer, so it actually tastes better than hofbrau beer I've had before. If you want selection go to park tavern next door, if you want a great German beer in a beer hall atmosphere, this is your place.
Even though their substitution policy sucks, this place is solid. Definitely, a great place to stop after work and grab a few beers.
The atmosphere is good and I liked the kitschy band, but the food and beer was a dissapointment. Â They only have 4 beers...at a beer hall. Â Of course the day we were there, they were OUT of one of the beers...and then there were three. Â The sauerbraten and spaetzel was okay, not great, kinda buried in the sauce. Â It would have been fine for 12.95, but disapointing for 18.95. Â $18.95...had to purchase the soup (the best thing I had, liver dumpling for $5.95) and when I asked the waiter for some bread (a nice rye, anyone?) it was an additional cost. Really? Â
I may try it again, and just hang in the bar and have one of the four beers and a pretzel, but I believe the food is very, very overpriced.
The beer is awfully good and so is the food. Â I'm having a hard time remembering exactly what I had to eat which should be a good indicator of just how good the beer is. Â I'm not kidding - 4 liters is basically a 12 pack of beer... did you know that? Â I know that now. Â In my haze, I remembered we ordered some soft pretzels - and I think I had some sausage with some potato on the side... there was some cutlet that was pounded flat and breaded and fried... jeezus - we had a lot of beer and I assure you it was good.
I feel like we were kind of hard on our waiter - we brought him a group of 12 and it somehow morphed into a group of 17-18. Â He split our check as well as he could - we were kind of sloppy by that point in the evening but he was a good sport.
This place is a large beer hall.. Â Having been in Germany last week, I am rather familiar with the concept. Â
The atmosphere of the place is lots of fun if you are with a fun group. Â Tonight, it consisted of two old men from HB who were hitting on young girls, a collection of single guys at the bar and several tables of families. Â Large tables, high ceilings, lots of space to hang and drink and eat with friends, family and even strangers. Â Not to mention, there is a band there to keep the atmosphere jovial. Â
The staff was super friendly. Â The problem with this place is the beer and the food. Â I am a big fan of German Beer and Food. Â In fact, where most people complain about German Food, i find it to be down right comforting and delicious. Â Well, that is not the case here. Â
Beyond coming here because it's a new restaurant in town, Â this place is not worth going to. Â Firstly, craft beers are all the rage these days. And in just a 5 minute walk of Hofbrauhaus, there are many restaurants serving a much larger selection of much better beer. Â Haufbrau brews on premises. Â However, they only offer like 4 beers. Â I had the Dunkel. Â It was just ok. Â On top of just an ok product, my first beer was room temp, my second beer was slightly colder than room temp. Â Is it better than weihenstephaner? Â not even close. Â One might have trouble buying a beer next door that wouldn't be better than any beer being served at Hofbrauhaus. Â
The food. Â It is a bad sign, when the best food at the German Beer hall is their seasoned potato wedges. Â I ordered the Nuremberg Sausages.. Now, in almost any place in Germany, these sausages are small, generally flavored with marjoram and cooked over beechwood. It has a distinct flavor.. Â They are like 5 inches long and skinny. Â They are normally served by the 6's or 8's. They are really delicious. Â However, their version at Hofbrauhaus, they are the size of 1/4 pound hot dogs. Â They are served over congealed room temp mashed potatoes and room temperature soggy sauerkraut.
Truly, the food was among the poorest examples of German Food I have ever had. Â The beer limited and average. Â And at 7 dollars a glass, I certainly do not see the value in the fact that it was brewed steps away.
If you are looking for good beer, go to Park Tavern or Four Roses. Â If you are looking for food, well, I can't really help you there in Rosemont.
I must say, this place is not for everyone. If you are looking for a new experience and trying different types of cuisine, experience, culture-- this may be worth a place to try out!
The atmosphere is loud, but also very fun. The Beer hall is  traditional  with long tables and benches. They have a stage with musicians, and a small bar area too. My favorite part on friday/saturday nights when full-- people standing up on the benches and singing the drinking song along with the band (Cheers to you)!
The food is not for vegetarians. Lots of Meat and sausage. The Half roasted chicken with rosemary is pretty good and the sweet mustard sauce with the pretzel is good.. One suggestion, I wish the pretzel was warm. I still enjoyed the pretzel as a snack even though it is served cold.
LOVE THE BEER. If you are a beer person, this is a great place! They do only have 4 choices, but it is a microbrewery. I usually do not drink dark beers, and I absolutely loved it. Very smooth. The wheat and premium lager are also delicious.
I love going to this place for the atmosphere and the beer but had to give one star off for the food. Happy Exploring!
This place is huge, but make sure you're ok with sitting at a communal table with another group of people. Even though we saw lots of empty tables, we were seated with a party of 6. I'm sure if you ask, you could sit somewhere else, but we were gung-ho for anything, so we just shrugged it off and sat down.. but...AWKWARD!!!
We shared the crispy pork plate which was humongous. The piece of pork was the size of my head, and it came with 2 sides of dumplings and a bowl of coleslaw. The sides were bland, but that skin on the pork was so fatty and delicious. Apparently, it taste just like in Germany. They skimp on the gravy and we had to ask for more.
A live band also came on at the end of the meal, and the place literally woke up.
Stars were deducted for service though. We had a hard to tracking down our server. We were halfway done with our meal before our extra gravy arrived. The place also need a better system of table-numbering. I witnessed 2 separate servers/food runner standing there counting the tables with their head and getting lost about who's food is whom. It was really funny to see...
Be sure to check out the gift shop on the way out. I would have love to check out the distillery though. Maybe next time.
How disappointing! My ginger and I ran past here recently to try it out, since we've been watching it being built for a while now, and what a tremendous disappointment. The only thing I disliked more than the food was the service.
We sat at the bar and not once did I see any of the 4 bartenders interact with any guest. They only seemed to break up the conversation with themselves when someone waved for their attention. Two of the bartenders were obviously more concerned with getting each other naked (which I'm always a proponent for!) than refilling a beer or taking an order. The beer was good, but don't expect the bartenders to give you any help deciding what to drink.
The food was a disappointment. Obviously mass produced, everything we touched was lukewarm. And nothing is made in house! The people sitting next to me asked the bartender if they made the sausage in house, and was told that a distributor makes in and then sends it to them. Seriously?
Maybe its just opening issues, but just a real disappointment.
Hofbrauhaus was a blast last night. If you want a quiet little place to enjoy German cuisine, this is NOT the place to go. It's big, it's loud, the fresh brewed German beer is great and they have pretty good German food; it also seems to be everyone's birthday (the band announced one every 20 minutes).
It was a 1.5 hour wait for a table, but we enjoyed GIANT beers near the bar while we waited. We were entertained by the interactive band and the waitress that couldn't keep up with the line of people waiting for a spanking with the wooden stick (who knows, but it was funny).
At least on a busy weekend night, it's a great place to go with a group to get loud, sing along with the band, stand on your chair and shout german toasts and have a good time.
They also validate your parking ticket, so it's free. Or you can pay $7 to valet.
Some say it's overpriced, but we didn't think so. The beers are huge and it's no more expensive than any downtown spot. Â As long as you know what you're in for, then it will be fun. Loud (did I say it was loud? lol), crowded, raucous, a little pricey and fun. Â The other upside is you can always meander to any of the other spots in the Rosemont Entertainment district.
I have been here twice in the past week to celebrate my dad's birthday and I have no plans on going back.
I liked how big the space is and the decor. Â It does feel like a German beer hall, but that's about all I liked.
I'm not really a beer drinker so I can't comment on that (although my dad said that it isn't the same as the real stuff...he would know, he had been stationed in Germany).
The food tasted fine but they must do something weird to it. Â Typically I can eat German food (a brat or chicken with sauerkraut and red cabbage) and not gain weight, but the next day I was three pounds heavier (that's with no cake and hardly eating during the day) and felt totally gross for the next two days. Â Both times I went I ordered something different and each time it was the same.
The service was mixed. Â On one trip it was decent but slow. Â The other trip our waitress was a little spacey. Â Orders kept getting mixed up and nothing showed up together. Â I asked for water and she said they were out. Â My brother and I each ordered a side of German rye bread and she didn't bring him anything and she gave me kaiser rolls. Â Finally she brought the bread for me but then tried to give my brother the kaiser rolls. Â (To her credit, when I was there before I had ordered bread and they brought American rye because there was a computer glitch...I'm assuming the glitch has not been fixed). Â She did not know the menu (for example, my brother ordered the seasonal beer and she tried to tell him it didn't exist when it is on the menu).
It could be that some of the problems are due to the fact that it is a new restaurant. Â Maybe I'll give it another chance in 6 months, but for now, when I want German food, I will be going into the city.
I went there earlier in the week with some friends from "Hey Der" Wisconsin, the land of beer and brats. Â The place was outstanding on all counts, ambiance felt like I was in Munich Germany. Â Excellent food, most enjoyable German music and the service was outstanding. Â Felt like I should have been wearing my - lederhosen, german word for leather breeches.
Lastly the beer was fabulous, just like what would be served in Germany in the 1 liter mugs, smaller glasses are also available. Â
All good, I would suggest you add this to your must go list with friends and family. Â Great fun and great laughs had by all.
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