Hallo Berlin

Fair is fair: the beer is great. And probably the only reason to come here. I love German food and sadly it's hard to find in NYC. I've been coming here for years and it has progressively gotten poorer and now it has reached rock bottom. And I mean, desperately so. The service is the poorest I have experienced in the City. And I've lived here over 30 years. When I complained about the food, the waitress simply walked away. When I asked for the managed, he showed up and smirked the whole time as though there were some joke I was missing. I have really wanted to champion this place, but it's a disaster. Unless all you want is beer.

First, you can't make reservations. But we wanted to try it anyway. When we went there, we had no trouble getting a table for six. The waitress came to our table within one minute and asked us for drink orders. We weren't ready. She did not return for AT LEAST ten minutes. The noise level was beyond hearing your neighbor speak. (I don't know about others, but when I got to dinner, I like to enjoy a good conversation.) We asked them to lower the music three times. When she finally returned, she took our order for drinks and appetizers. We ordered the sausage appetizer for several. It was good and plenty for 4-6 people. Before we were even halfway through the appetizer, she was bringing our soup. I asked that our dinners not be brought to the table until we were finished with everything else. Dinner arrive -- well at least five out of the six. I had to wait 15 minutes for my dinner. Someone (besides our waitress) brought the meals and our waitress didn't even bother to come and check that all was okay. We finally were able to get the attention of another waitress and I finally got my dinner. I'm not sure why I bothered. I ordered Konigsberger Klopse (meatballs). The mashed potatoes had no taste - very bland and the meatballs tasted "okay" but were very mushy. I've German food before -- but never like this. My friends ordered various dishes including Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten and Kassler Ribchen. None of which made anyone rave. The German French fries got favorable reviews. The German potato salad was nothing like anything ANY of us had had before. To their credit, they did acknowledge their mistake in my getting a late meal. They gave me a free dessert.

Sauerbraten was the best. Great service, friendly and fast. I will rerturn here many times.

Ever since visiting Germany in my travels and having true German brat & sausage fare, I've been dying to find a place in NYC that can come close to that experience. Hallo Berlin definitely doesn't meet that standard...but they're not horrible. I think they're a bit pricey...but what do you expect on 44th & 10th? I wish the steins we're glass...but as long as they're full, I'm happy. I do like the brats & sausages. I really like the black lager, even though it's not as heavy as you'd expect. Service has never been spectacular...but only because I've always had to wait a long time between moments of servitude or have had to flag my server down. But they've always been uber pleasant when they do come to the table. And I've been given a free mug of beer when I was made to wait too long for my server. If you're looking to dine in, I'd recommend this place for a lazy afternoon or evening...post theater...that sort of deal where time isn't an issue and you just wanna chill, chat, and have a few brews and brats. If you're under a time restraint or have the luxury of living in the area, the Express Menu for take-out is the way to go. But I do keep returning because, after my first visit, I just get a hankering for the place.

Dinner tonight was mostly lukewarm in a bright yellow and blue playroom. I did like the spicy mustard that people criticize below.

Had pre theatre dinner on a Wednesday night. The place was empty but we waited by boor for several minutes. We finally went to the bar and asked to be seated. One of the bar staff, who had seen us standing there, eventually told us to sit wherever we wanted. We had out choice of picnic bench or lawn furniture, must of which could use a good cleaning. Waiter came over and took order quickly. He left menus and we late saw our meask came with soup, hich he never offered or brought. I had to ask for bread. He eventually brought microwaved Italian bread. All this aside, the beer selection was great and the food passable and average German food, albeit overpriced. We both had the Jagerschnitzel which was good but nothing to rave about. The several sides (spaetzle, cucumber salad, red cabbage, string bean salad, kraut) were also good in very small quantities (except the spaetzle). Don't even think about dessert. Strudel was horrible - undercooked and cold. Coffee tasted ancient. I'm sure you can find better for the money. Two beers, two dinners and two desserts for roughly $75.

I sometimes come here for the Currywurst and some wheatbeer and I just love the atmosphere of this place. It's the perfect bar to hang out and relax after work. The service is always good, very authentic and down to earth. Once you go there you have to check out theire selection of german shots and shnaps.