Brauhaus Schmitz

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Took the family downtown for some Christmas sites and stopped here for dinner.
At 5pm on a Wed. place was pretty empty.
Got a good booth watched a little soccer while listening to songs In German, pretty cool.
A nice beer listing but i thought it could and should be a bit better. Leans to wheat beers.
I did have a tall Jevers which was soft and mellow, and Schlenkerla Urbock.
Good.
My wife ordered a baked pretzel as an apptiezer and wienerschnitzell for dinner which got a big laugh from the kids.
It's a good place and would certainly go back again.
Ohh! and the barmaids are hot.

12-12-2010 15:32:55 | More by micromaniac129

MsRif

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -10.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5 | $$$

I've been here several times with friends and it is a pretty nice venue. The atmosphere is lacking simply because of the crowd that typically comes here, especially during soccer games. Pretty obnoxious and certainly not there to enjoy beer so much as chug it and enjoy being tanked during "the game." Service is excellent...the bartenders are fairly knowledgeable and helpful. Selection is pretty darn sub-par...obviously come here knowing that the draft selection will be German brews, and the bottle selection is meh. I basically come here for the kartoffelpuffer, the bartenders in dirndls and the interesting selection of German beer, when I feel in the mood for it...which is not too often anymore. For what this place sets out to be, I think it hits the mark, I just don't really consider it the best craft beer destination in the city.

12-24-2011 04:48:22 | More by MsRif

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Located on South St. between 7th & 8th. Opened in June '09 and I stopped in for a visit on its first day. The place is beautiful, with a tremendous facade, and great atmosphere. Nice service, and waitresses in dirndls. Beer selection is great. Finally a truly great drinking establishment in the South Street area...it was well overdue. Lots of great German beers on tap, some of which you can't really find anywhere else in the area, and a wide selection for all over the world in bottles. Cuisine is good, mostly German, as would be imagined. Visit during Oktoberfest for an amazing time!

The one downside: TERRIBLE crowd, and it's just been getting worse.

04-29-2011 13:12:42 | More by Rifugium

tomthumbsblues

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Have gone here a few times with my girlfriend, the last being on New Year's Day. Setting is long beerhall with thick wooden tables and large booths. There is an illuminated copy of the Reinheitsgebot on one wall next to the bar. Waitresses wear dirndls in typical beerhall fashion. The German music playing in the background adds authenticity, but it's often too loud and makes conversation challenging.

Brauhaus Schmitz offers a wide selection of foreign and domestic beers available in a variety of sizes. I have gotten beer in a pint glass, a stein, and my favorite, a boot (Das Boot!). The last time I went I started my beer journey with a stein of Jever Pilsner and finished with a syrupy EKU 28. Both were memorable brews.

The food is traditional German fare, so a lot of sausages and meat, pickled fish and vegetables--all of which are surprisingly good! Some recommendations are the rollmops (pickled herring), the Obatzda cheese spread as appetizers. The laugenbrezel also comes highly recommmended, but we've never had it. The entrees are equally good with some of the ingredients, like sausages, being made in-house. The last time I went I had Schweinsbraten mit Dunkelbiersoße, which was roast pork served with a dark beer and mustard sauce. For desert, we shared an apple strudel and sample some schnapps from the Brauhaus's extensive offerings of this liquer.

Overall, prices are reasonable and waitstaff is helpful and eager to give recommendations. The food is great and they have changing specials. My only complaint, as I mentioned previously, was the music being too loud.

01-18-2011 03:35:46 | More by tomthumbsblues

jjboesen

Maryland

4.18/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

The recent Veteran's Day holiday provided an opportunity to spend a long weekend in Philadelphia. Brauhaus Schmitz was the first stop. The Brauhaus is situated in the blander section of South Street behind a somewhat nondescript storefront. Upon entry, you pass several tables to the well-polished bar. The room is dark and pretty narrow (and, at the time of this visit, very packed). The bar itself is clean and polished. Plenty of wood and brick ensures a convivial and comfortable drinking atmosphere - and perhaps some gemutlichkeit? Overlooking the bar area is a mezzanine level with additional tables for drinking and general merry-making. (Just pray that Begby* isn't up there with a pint or two.)

Obviously, the Brauhaus' several taps of fresh German bier was the primary reason for this visit, which included quaffs of Stoudt Oktoberfest, Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest and the very excellent Ayinger Celebrator. There is also an extensive lists of bottles (die Flascheliste) to further enhance your beer drinking experience - and even includes the infamous EKU. Other enhancements were the frequent rotation, correct glassware and some very attentive service. Of course, the Brauhaus offered up the usual suspects of German cuisine; I lunched on a pork sandwich with spatzle. Not bad, but not great. (What is the German word for "meh?") Nevertheless, I enjoyed the visit and would return in the future (die Zukunft).

* Begby is a brutish, drunken lout who appears in the film Trainspotting.

11-15-2010 18:24:49 | More by jjboesen

cevafm

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +10.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

The atmosphere was good. The lighting was a little dark and our table was a little wobbly, but there was a nice big TV next to our section that I watching the Phillies game on. Would have like to see a little bit more German beer culture represented in the decoration.

Quality was excellent. The table linens and silverware were extremely clean. I sampled one of the Bavarian "Big 6" beers that I have not tried yet, Franziskaner Weissbeer, and also had a 1/2 liter of Warsteiner Dunkel. The beer was fresh and the taps were clean.

Service was great. Only thing that prevented me from giving it a 5 was that the hostess was a little on the shy side so I could barely hear her. Our waitress was extremely helpful.

Selection was awesome. Didn't even finish reading the beer list as it was soooo long.

Food was very good. You can't find this food at too many places in Philly. Reading Terminal market comes to mind. As well as Miller's in Lancaster, but that's not in the city now is it.

Value was good. Most of the beers were priced around 5.50 a half liter, with some of the more exotic micro-brews pushing 8 a bottle. I felt it was reasonable considering the combination of food, beer selection, and great service.

06-12-2010 21:46:41 | More by cevafm

bfree

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -14.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$

As a resident philadelphian, tap lists do not usually impress me much...but this bar has an extensive list of german beers on tap.
However, the setup of the bar sucks if you are going to have a beer and not dinner. It is very cramped and not much seating at the bar is available. I have been there a couple of times including tonight, and this time the waitress actually made us get up from one of the booths because we were not eating, and this was at about 10pm so it was not really dinner time. Mind you, there was nowhere to sit at the bar and nowhere to stand as the bar is very narrow, but we were made to stand while waitresses walked back and forth, running into us every time. I have been here at other times when it was not as packed, but still had to deal with the narrow bar and people running into me constantly. This is not very authentic, as most german beer halls leave room to breathe.
I would recommend this place if you go there during the week for a good german style beer, but beware on the weekends.

05-30-2010 04:21:08 | More by bfree

mvanaskie13

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

As many of the other philadelphians have mentioned this is a welcome addition since Ludwigs has closed, and I finally made it in to check it out. Stopped in to catch the Bundesliga on a Saturday morning, a definite bonus of this place since many of the local pubs broadcast premier league games.

The atmosphere of the place seemed good, we were in a little early to see whats like with an evening crowd, but I feel a place that opens up for football can have its own atmosphere for that. Anyway, you walk in through the large double front doors into an open, airy seating area with bar to the left towards the back. Seating is mixed of booths and tables, with additional tables on a lofted overlook. I really like the setup and its cozy enough to give the feel of a more european setup while keeping with the narrow philly row style. The wood bar and amenities are great and the bar seating is very comfortable. We were there for nearly 2 hours and sat at the bar the whole time and did not feel uncombfortable at all. My only complaint is that the TVs are situated a little high for the bar seating.

Quality of the place was good, each of the two beers I had was well served and the food was delicious.

Service was alright, we sat at the bar and were served by the bartender. It wasnt really busy and he filled our orders in timely manner, but had to grab his attention a few times.

Selection was great for German beer on draft, and they even had a few Stoudt's on draft. It looked as though they had an extensive bottle selection as well.

Food was also very good. We ordered more appetizer type selections since it was early in the day, but each was well prepared and very good.

Value was very reasonable, the majority of the drafts were 0.5 L and all were <$6, while the food selections were appropriately priced.

Overall, a very good place that i hope to stop in to more often, for football, beer and food.

03-21-2010 20:07:09 | More by mvanaskie13

TheFightfan1

Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$$

After my wife and I took a tour of Yards brewery. We drove down the street just for this place. Parking was great right in front of the building do to the snowy weather. As you walk in a curtain blocks most of the view of the restaraunt. We were greeted with sounds of a man playing an accordian right behind that black curtain. Bar is to the left stretching down the building to starcase and on the opposite side there are some boothes. Our table was upstairs and if you have been in this place the ceiling is not meant for us tall people to be walking up there. A little tight but never uncomfortable.

It took a little time for our server to greet us and take our order it was a Saturday and right around dinner time. Luckily we were able to get a seat in time as it did get very busy. Very nice to see all the waiter's and waitresses dressed the part as well.

Everything tasted like it was home cooked and very good at that. Food was a bit pricey but he isn't everything on South Street but it is well worth the money. An amazing place and a definite try if your in the area.

01-31-2010 19:50:44 | More by TheFightfan1

gos42

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$$

Went to Brauhaus Schmitz for the first time last night. I'll be honest and say that I was impressed with the beers, but not so much with the food.

First the beers. With almost 20 beers on tap, mostly German or German style, there's something here for everyone. I started off with the Franzikaner Dunkle Weisse, which was both crisp and complex. Very drinkable. My wife enjoyed the Hefe--also quite good. I eventually moved on to the Kostrizer Schwarzbier with was fairly uneventful. Enjoyable, but nothing that I would write home about. Finally, I ended up with the Christmas Beer, which was both delicious and smooth. Had a nice closing of spice on the back of the tongue.

But the food is where this place falls apart for me. Started with a Laugenbrezel (pretzel) which was exactly what you'd want in a pretzel--and when combined with the house honey mustard was perfect. But at 3 bucks each seemed a bit overpriced. I had a Schweinsbraten mit DunkelbiersoSSe, described as Roast Pork rubbed with herbs and spices and served with a dark beer and mustard sauce. It was almost half fat. And the mustard sauce was bland and lacked any of the spicy flavor that mustard should have. Strange, because there were mustard seeds visible and crunchable--but no flavor.

My wife enjoyed the signature Hausgemachte Nurnberger Bratwurst and the pork, beef and cheese Kasewurst. The pork, beef and cheese was mild but more commercial than the housemade. But the Homemade Bratwurst was was tasty, with a strong caraway taste.

Would I go again? Definitely with a crowd. The tables and layout encourage seats of 6 or more while the serving staff have a good working knowledge of the beers. Would I go there to eat? Not again.

01-17-2010 19:59:10 | More by gos42