Pilsener Haus & Biergarten in Hoboken, NJ

When you think about a Beer Garden, you think about that particular smell in the dining room that is a mix of beer and sausage, and the heavy comforting food with a giant pretzel as a must have. That is what Hoboken’s Pilsener Haus and Biergarten has to offer. The best time to go? Before 6pm when families are the main crowd, the place not being that crowded and still with an acceptable noise level. Hoboken’s Pilsener Haus and Biergarten is very big and kind of stands out in an area still evolving from the industrial era to a more residential neighborhood. When entering to the bier Hall, you cannot miss the pods outside where courageous diners can spend some cozy time slightly isolated from the cold.

Important to know is that in the back of the main dining room sits their self served Grill and Rotisserie where you can order sausages. Yes the self served only related to the fact that you order there and pay cash: you will not cook yourself! Of course I could not resist trying their Kielbasa that took quite some time to cook but was very good, although I was a bit surprised they said “smoked Polish kielbasa” as it was not smokey. Still, it was very good, but also very filling.

The rest of the food is also very good and we appreciated the fact that they offered quite few vegetarian dishes like the giant pretzel I mentioned above, that was not just for the show and nicely made, the Gebackene Brie that is a Brie in a golden brown crust that is oven baked, the kind of dish that would satisfy cheese lovers, although I admit that I would have loved it to be more melted. On the fried side, there is the Champignons & Blumenkohl that are fried mushrooms and cauliflower served with a house made tartare sauce or the pan fried potato pancakes that were all very good and not greasy.

Brunch is also quite good with choices like their salad made with arugula, artichoke, radicchio, portobello, avocado and some cheese on slices of bread, but I preferred the tartines like the Kaese Schnitte that is made of grilled sourdough, Berkshire ham, fontina, raclette, gruyere (i.e. lots of cheese!) and tomato, topped with a sunny side egg.

Of course, I cannot end this post without talking about beer! I tried their Hofbrau Munchen original that is full bodied yet not robust, as well as Weihenstephan Heffeweissbier Dunkel, a dark ale that should be free if you can pronounce its name…They do have a large selection of beer that I am sure will satisfy the connoisseurs.

We did not try their desserts as we were full but it is another reason to go back there…

Enjoy (I did)!

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Pilsener Haus & Biergarten - 1422 Grand Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030

Jean-Philippe Gerbi