FOREST HILLS BIERGARTEN

• 117-18  Queens Boulevard

• Forest Hills, NY 11375

• (718) 263-9754 •

Once upon a time, back in the Gilded Age, beer gardens were a big thing here in New York City. They dwindled away over the decades but suddenly, now that we're in a new Gilded Age, they're back! Seemingly, they've sprouted up everywhere, even as pop-ups in unused summertime parking lot. The closest that Forest Hills has had to one would be the Finback Brewery tasting room. Failing that, denizens of our fair hamlet would have to trek out to middle-of-nowhere backwaters like Brooklyn and Astoria. Thankfully, the fine folks at Cobblestones, the Queens Boulevard pub about three-quarters of the way between Continental Avenue and Union Turnpike, decided to right this particular wrong.

The Forest Hills Biergarten isn't the biggest beer garden in the city, but it's hardly the smallest, and it's a right proper one. There are murals and greenery. Long tables dominate the seating. There's a waterfall wall made from beer taps. Along with the food menu, the bulk of the beer is German or Oktoberfest themed. There's a bean bag toss, a six-foot tall Jenga block set, and a bunch of table games for people to play with. Forest Hills is a demographic melting pot and the customers that I saw were of every race and age. The beer garden was loud and lively without ever getting loud and obnoxious. You could have a conversation. Lutsy and I showed up around 9pm and got a seat right away, though there were precious few left.

Lutsy ordered a wine cocktail; some kind of frozen margarita type thing that was sweet and fruity. Very girlie. I ordered a liter of Hofbrau Oktoberfest that was the size of my head. Very manly. She did her nails and I beat my chest while we went over the menu deciding dinner. The food, as I stated, was very beer-garden-y. Bavarian pretzels and bratwurst and so forth. Having never eaten at Cobblestones before, I can't speak to whether this was their regular menu. Feel free to leave a comment if you know. In the end, I chose the Chicken Schnitzle Club Sandwich, which came with pickles and German potato salad. Neither Lutsy nor I expected the potato salad to be warm, but no biggie. It was pretty good. As was the sandwich, and I inhaled it much faster than I expected.  Lutsy chose the more pub food traditional Buffalo Chicken Wrap. Not exactly currywurst with spaetzle... but whatcha gonna do? She liked it and the fries that it came with, and would get it again. Her one nit to pick, the one stick in her craw, was that it was too small, and looking at the photo anew, yeah. It's small.

The Forest Hills Biergarten is a great addition to the neighborhood. The beer list doesn't pay much, if any, attention to the craft microbrews that have taken over the scene in recent years and the food is basically bar food, but that's the point. This is a beer garden. You go to have fun, drink, eat, play. There are games and TVs and pretty much anyone can go and feel at home. Go for a not-romantic date night or with your buddies or with the kids. I can say very honestly that the Forest Hills Biergarten might have the most social atmosphere of any place in walking distance. And I walk long distances.

Just about everything on the menu, from the food to the drinks ranged in the $10-$15 zone.

Just an FYI. the entrance is not through Cobblestones Pub, but around the corner and down the side street.