Kid-friendliness: We brought a 3 y/o and a 2 y/o and it went really well! Kids menu is simple and customizable, and the environment was family friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bier Garden Burger
matthew reinhart
I sadly didn't have many positive things to say about my experience here. I'll state the positives first.Pros: the vibe is nice. There's not a lot of options that give the look and voice of this place in Portsmouth. The outside seating is nice, the inside reaches that "look" and feel of a pub. The beer selection is massive, almost too big (with a few problems)Cons: the price. I'm no stranger to going out to specialty places and paying extra for a unique "experience" or a rare experience... but this is just a biergarden. I was offered a menu touting over 130 beers. That's great! BUT, of the 4 beers I asked for, 3 were out. Averaging from 7-11 per beer (which is way too high for a non brewery, granted 90% of it is imported). My gf ran into the same issue. Hers was the most upsetting. By the time the beer was chosen cause it was in stock... It was 13 dollars a beer!!! The original beer was 6... It was the server that suggested the replacement.They of course don't disclose that to you when you switch items cause of the stock, but they should. I assure you, I would not have gotten the same beer twice for $26.The food was mediocre at best. The schnitzel bites appetizer was good... and that's it. I had the Rouloden, it was dry as a brick and salted enough to last 4 winters. The same for my gfs pork knuckle. It was obvious that it has been sitting for a long time under a lamp or in a warmer. It was dry and hard, could only physically eat half of it. The rest may as well have been bone. The sides were SO SALTY. The meals were mostly inedible.I could see myself going back for a few beers, but I would not recommend going to dinner here. It's a shame, it's a very unique offering for Portsmouth. Maybe I had an off day on the food, but a 130 tab for 2 people. 1 app, 2 mains and 4 beers is not an off day... Even with delicious food, that's not what this place should be aiming for...
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Brandon M
It is everything and more than you'd expect!The beer selection is one of the best in Hampton Roads. The food is great. Try the cordonized chicken sandwich on a pretzle bun with the spaetzel!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christi Gent
The staff is great but don't get treated with respect from their employees. The service would be better if they did!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Christopher Phillips
Excellent food service and gift shop
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christian Richter
Nice atmospheric restaurant in downtown Portsmouth with a good selection of German beer and cuisine. Went there a couple of years ago and the food back then was really good. However yesterday me and my partner were not impressed by the food. Especially the spätzle were disappointing. It was just a regular store bought egg noodle. The waitress informed us while ordering but I was just expecting it to be of a different shape, but going to be a totally different noodle. Spätzle are super easy to make fresh. I would expect a restaurant like this could make there spätzle fresh from scratch.Also I thought the sauer braten was a little dry.We also got the schnitzel and the big pretzel, both were really good.I hope the quality gets better again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel
Brian Scaturico
Old school vibes .. low ceilings , cool garden
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Schnitzel Sandwich, Bratwurst, Large Pretzel with Beer Cheese and Spicy Mustard
Sean McDaniel
Always a great time and having just been to Germany it is truly authentic!! Bier Garden is one of my GoTo Portsmouth spots. Old world charm, authen and delicious food and a beer selection you can't even believe!!! It is a family owned and operated spot as well and I have met several members of the family and all are awesome!!!!Kid-friendliness: We have taken kids of all ages to the Bier Garden and they are always amazing to accommodate the kids!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Schweine Schnitzel with Spätzle and Sauerkraut, Traditional, Sandwich, Schnitzel Sandwich, Gravy, Bratwurst
Renee Cray
Sunday lunchtime, arrived at noon. Immediately sat and then left alone for 20 minutes. Ordered drinks and food as soon as server finally came to table. Ordered sausage plate, fried flounder and pretzel to start. 40 minutes later and after asking twice…. Finally got pretzel. Server apologized and said she was ringing our order “as manager” so we would get “the best service” So after more than an hour of waiting asked about our meals. Another 15 minutes and finally got meals. As everyone else has mentioned…. Spaetzle COLD. Asked for replacement and it was cold too. No special service or discount even though we were there over two hours and were told we were getting “best service “ because of earlier delays. Get it together BG…. $103 bill and never again.
Been here many times over the years. Always consistently yummy food, great beer list, comfy place to while away some time. A real neighborhood classic!Vegetarian options: Server proactively offered to modify vegetarian options for a vegan diner and had good knowledge of how dishes were cooked to inform choices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Cucumber Salad, Pretzel
hoscarnag
I've been a Biergarden patron since the '90s but likely not again. Over the years the Biergarden has impressed with consistently good food, good beer selection, & good(albiet sometimes slow) service. Last Thursday(03--07) was a huge disappointment. We arrived around 7:50pm and asked not to be seated next to any young children. Girl seating us said OK and immediately seated us next to a large group with a 1-1.5 year old kid. There were several tables available in the adjacent dining room with no kids in sight. Fail. The kid was well behaved until the parents allowed him to crawl all over the floor in the dining room...sad, but very typical of today's parents.Ordered 2 Tripel Karmeliets and they came out in reasonable time...both warm, 60° warm. Fail. We ordered and food came out 20 minutes later...which is typical for this establishment and fine by us. My Rouladen was dry. Fail. The spatzle was different(not made in house anymore?) & undercooked. Fail. The wife's order (1/2 portion Jager Schnitzel) arrived breaded and fried when it should have been grilled. Fail. It was sent back and the sides were left at the table. Fail. Fifteen minutes later, a 4" x 4" piece of grilled chicken was delivered. It was 1/4" thick and so dry and overcooked it couldn't be eaten. Huge Fail. The gravy ordered with it was nowhere to be found. Fail. Waitress returns a few minutes later with the gravy. WIN!..and the high point of our evening. The sides that had been served 15 minutes prior were now stone cold. Sad. I had finished my dry Rouladen(or all I could eat of it) and sat and watched my wife try her best to enjoy her Jager Leather, cold sides, and warm Belgian Ale. Really sad. Waitress credited $11.00 for the screw up(s). This abysmal experience still cost over $75.00 including tip. Not good. I'm OK with paying a little more for quality food and service but this experience was anything but quality. If this is the direction that The Biergarden is heading, then it won't be long before that long standing establishment is long gone.Hugely disappointing.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
William A Hudson
Locally owned German restaurant in the heart of historic Portsmouth, Virginia.Between our group of three, we sampled the Knackwurst, Bauernwurst, Wienerwurst, Kartoffeln, Sauerkraut, and Spätzle. Everything was delicious. Authentic, traditional and very tasty.We also sampled some of their German bier on draft. They even met our request for a Cola-Weizen, which is half fountain Coke and half Hefeweizen. It’s quite good, and outside of Germany, I’ve never been able to get a restaurant to agree to make one for me.The waitstaff were very friendly and attentive.The atmosphere inside was warm and cozy with lots of decorative pieces to add to the German dining experience.Parking: Free parking is available on the street; however, on weekends it might be difficult to find a spot close by. We had to park about one block away, but it was not a problem as it was a nice evening and walk was very short.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Schweine Schnitzel with Spätzle and Sauerkraut, Traditional, Roll
M Welsh
Friendly service. Good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel Board, Gravy, Large Pretzel with Beer Cheese and Spicy Mustard
Kid-friendliness: We brought a 3 y/o and a 2 y/o and it went really well! Kids menu is simple and customizable, and the environment was family friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bier Garden Burger
I sadly didn't have many positive things to say about my experience here. I'll state the positives first.Pros: the vibe is nice. There's not a lot of options that give the look and voice of this place in Portsmouth. The outside seating is nice, the inside reaches that "look" and feel of a pub. The beer selection is massive, almost too big (with a few problems)Cons: the price. I'm no stranger to going out to specialty places and paying extra for a unique "experience" or a rare experience... but this is just a biergarden. I was offered a menu touting over 130 beers. That's great! BUT, of the 4 beers I asked for, 3 were out. Averaging from 7-11 per beer (which is way too high for a non brewery, granted 90% of it is imported). My gf ran into the same issue. Hers was the most upsetting. By the time the beer was chosen cause it was in stock... It was 13 dollars a beer!!! The original beer was 6... It was the server that suggested the replacement.They of course don't disclose that to you when you switch items cause of the stock, but they should. I assure you, I would not have gotten the same beer twice for $26.The food was mediocre at best. The schnitzel bites appetizer was good... and that's it. I had the Rouloden, it was dry as a brick and salted enough to last 4 winters. The same for my gfs pork knuckle. It was obvious that it has been sitting for a long time under a lamp or in a warmer. It was dry and hard, could only physically eat half of it. The rest may as well have been bone. The sides were SO SALTY. The meals were mostly inedible.I could see myself going back for a few beers, but I would not recommend going to dinner here. It's a shame, it's a very unique offering for Portsmouth. Maybe I had an off day on the food, but a 130 tab for 2 people. 1 app, 2 mains and 4 beers is not an off day... Even with delicious food, that's not what this place should be aiming for...
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
It is everything and more than you'd expect!The beer selection is one of the best in Hampton Roads. The food is great. Try the cordonized chicken sandwich on a pretzle bun with the spaetzel!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The staff is great but don't get treated with respect from their employees. The service would be better if they did!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Excellent food service and gift shop
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice atmospheric restaurant in downtown Portsmouth with a good selection of German beer and cuisine. Went there a couple of years ago and the food back then was really good. However yesterday me and my partner were not impressed by the food. Especially the spätzle were disappointing. It was just a regular store bought egg noodle. The waitress informed us while ordering but I was just expecting it to be of a different shape, but going to be a totally different noodle. Spätzle are super easy to make fresh. I would expect a restaurant like this could make there spätzle fresh from scratch.Also I thought the sauer braten was a little dry.We also got the schnitzel and the big pretzel, both were really good.I hope the quality gets better again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel
Old school vibes .. low ceilings , cool garden
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Schnitzel Sandwich, Bratwurst, Large Pretzel with Beer Cheese and Spicy Mustard
Always a great time and having just been to Germany it is truly authentic!! Bier Garden is one of my GoTo Portsmouth spots. Old world charm, authen and delicious food and a beer selection you can't even believe!!! It is a family owned and operated spot as well and I have met several members of the family and all are awesome!!!!Kid-friendliness: We have taken kids of all ages to the Bier Garden and they are always amazing to accommodate the kids!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Schweine Schnitzel with Spätzle and Sauerkraut, Traditional, Sandwich, Schnitzel Sandwich, Gravy, Bratwurst
Sunday lunchtime, arrived at noon. Immediately sat and then left alone for 20 minutes. Ordered drinks and food as soon as server finally came to table. Ordered sausage plate, fried flounder and pretzel to start. 40 minutes later and after asking twice…. Finally got pretzel. Server apologized and said she was ringing our order “as manager” so we would get “the best service” So after more than an hour of waiting asked about our meals. Another 15 minutes and finally got meals. As everyone else has mentioned…. Spaetzle COLD. Asked for replacement and it was cold too. No special service or discount even though we were there over two hours and were told we were getting “best service “ because of earlier delays. Get it together BG…. $103 bill and never again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
My little piece of Germany over in PTown.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Traditional, Cucumber Salad, Pretzel, Salad
Restaurantji Recommends
Been here many times over the years. Always consistently yummy food, great beer list, comfy place to while away some time. A real neighborhood classic!Vegetarian options: Server proactively offered to modify vegetarian options for a vegan diner and had good knowledge of how dishes were cooked to inform choices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Cucumber Salad, Pretzel
I've been a Biergarden patron since the '90s but likely not again. Over the years the Biergarden has impressed with consistently good food, good beer selection, & good(albiet sometimes slow) service. Last Thursday(03--07) was a huge disappointment. We arrived around 7:50pm and asked not to be seated next to any young children. Girl seating us said OK and immediately seated us next to a large group with a 1-1.5 year old kid. There were several tables available in the adjacent dining room with no kids in sight. Fail. The kid was well behaved until the parents allowed him to crawl all over the floor in the dining room...sad, but very typical of today's parents.Ordered 2 Tripel Karmeliets and they came out in reasonable time...both warm, 60° warm. Fail. We ordered and food came out 20 minutes later...which is typical for this establishment and fine by us. My Rouladen was dry. Fail. The spatzle was different(not made in house anymore?) & undercooked. Fail. The wife's order (1/2 portion Jager Schnitzel) arrived breaded and fried when it should have been grilled. Fail. It was sent back and the sides were left at the table. Fail. Fifteen minutes later, a 4" x 4" piece of grilled chicken was delivered. It was 1/4" thick and so dry and overcooked it couldn't be eaten. Huge Fail. The gravy ordered with it was nowhere to be found. Fail. Waitress returns a few minutes later with the gravy. WIN!..and the high point of our evening. The sides that had been served 15 minutes prior were now stone cold. Sad. I had finished my dry Rouladen(or all I could eat of it) and sat and watched my wife try her best to enjoy her Jager Leather, cold sides, and warm Belgian Ale. Really sad. Waitress credited $11.00 for the screw up(s). This abysmal experience still cost over $75.00 including tip. Not good. I'm OK with paying a little more for quality food and service but this experience was anything but quality. If this is the direction that The Biergarden is heading, then it won't be long before that long standing establishment is long gone.Hugely disappointing.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Locally owned German restaurant in the heart of historic Portsmouth, Virginia.Between our group of three, we sampled the Knackwurst, Bauernwurst, Wienerwurst, Kartoffeln, Sauerkraut, and Spätzle. Everything was delicious. Authentic, traditional and very tasty.We also sampled some of their German bier on draft. They even met our request for a Cola-Weizen, which is half fountain Coke and half Hefeweizen. It’s quite good, and outside of Germany, I’ve never been able to get a restaurant to agree to make one for me.The waitstaff were very friendly and attentive.The atmosphere inside was warm and cozy with lots of decorative pieces to add to the German dining experience.Parking: Free parking is available on the street; however, on weekends it might be difficult to find a spot close by. We had to park about one block away, but it was not a problem as it was a nice evening and walk was very short.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Schweine Schnitzel with Spätzle and Sauerkraut, Traditional, Roll
Friendly service. Good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel Board, Gravy, Large Pretzel with Beer Cheese and Spicy Mustard
Great place to
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Traditional