Upon graduating college I moved to the ever so popular Astoria, Queens. It’s a great little neighborhood in Queens that is full of great gyros and tons of young professionals. Almost immediately after telling others that I was moving to Astoria, people would ask if my apartment was anywhere near the Astoria Beer Garden. It wasn’t until almost a year after moving in and out of Astoria, and relocating to Brooklyn did I have the opportunity to finally go to the Astoria Beer Garden. And it wasn’t until only a few nights ago did I get to experience a much better beer garden in Brooklyn…

While the Astoria Beer Garden may be lacking in a few areas, it is not lacking in its great history and how it became the beer garden it is today. In the late 1800’s when many Czechs and Slovaks were moving to America, they built a new home in Astoria, Queens. The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria became a center for Czech people to hold tight to their roots while far away from their homeland. At one time there were over 800 beer gardens in New York City. The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden is one of the last remaining beer gardens still standing in New York City.

The Brooklyn Beer Garden, also known as Radegast Hall and Biergarten located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is very different from the Astoria Beer Garden. When you first step off the very random subway train that is the “L” train, you are bombarded with a popular New York City group of young people, also known as, hipsters... As you pull yourself through the streets of Williamsburg, you try not to stare at the overwhelming abundance of quaint little coffee shops and hip new restaurants. If you can tear through the sea of fedoras, you will end up on the corner of Berry and North 3rd street. It is here that the Brooklyn Beer Garden which appears to resemble a gingerbread house sits. As you step inside the main room, there is a large open space with a huge circle shaped bar in the center. The lighting in the Beer garden is scarce and is mostly lit with candlelight. The second room in the Beer Garden is adorned with picnic tables and a roof that is open for warm weather.

So here we have one big city, two popular boroughs, and two very different beer gardens. There are vast differences in theses two summer hot spots. What I enjoyed most about the Brooklyn Beer garden was its options, and organization. If you chose not to have bratwurst and french fries from the grill, you can enjoy some delicious options from a large menu with cheese plates, steak tartar, and many typical German entrée’s. Instead of screaming to an old man over a fire pit, like in Queens, you can speak at a normal volume to a nice waitress dressed in German Beer girl attire. If you are not in a beer mood, you can enjoy some great wine off their detailed wine list.

The Astoria Beer Garden is comparable to a jam band concert. Phish? The Grateful Dead? Unfortunately, at the end of this sloppy mess of an evening, there isn’t any great music to follow. If you’re looking for great beer and an eclectic menu of ethnic food, visit Radegast Hall and Biergarten. It’s the better choice for Beer Garden’s in New York City.

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