Resi's Bierstube

Longstaff

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4

If you're looking for a German meal with a wide selection of German beers to go with it, this is the place to go in Chicago. Thier beer selection is the biggest I've seen for a German bar anywhere. Spaten-Fransikaner, Weihenstephaner, Bitburger, Paulaner, and other big breweries were represented on the tap handles while some other lesser known goodies were in the fridge including Augustiner Maximator which I was able to try for the first time. Huge portions of food for a good price and tasty German beers more than make up for the bar's diner like atmosphere.

10-20-2003 20:01:06 | More by Longstaff

silenius

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The 4.0 I gave the atmosphere is a combination of the beer garden and the inside. The beer garden is great with lots of tables and chairs and two huge trees. The inside (minus the actual bar) looks like a german VFW hall with lots of brown paneling, brown chairs, brown stained ceiling, etc. with lots of beer kitsch knick knacks and flourescent lighting. Not my idea of great "atmosphere." The bar itself is pretty fun and all the great beer on tap makes it beautiful. Obviously the room outside the bar isn't attractive, but it could be fun in a kitschy kind of way. The bartender is friendly and asks if you want a lemon in your weiss or not. Plus! I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. Lots of beer on tap. Probably a total of 30 differnt German beers with maybe 10 on tap. The food is decent German food which is filling, but I'm not a fan of everything being brown. Try the schnitzel and an Erdinger Weiss!

03-31-2006 00:20:25 | More by silenius

12vUnion

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

I'm German. It's no secret. I love German culture, beer and food!

I took my friends here for dinner one night. Irving Park stop off the brown line. In a neighborhood like this one, Resi's classic German facade stands out. On the inside it's a little restaurant. It's not very big at all. Very cozy. Some people would call this place dank, sparse, or some other unkind work. I disagree. It's very warm and cozy. It very much reminds me of my grandfather's home. Wood paneling, vinyl covers chairs, knick-knacks and flower boxes. Steins hanging about. Add some old cans and a small dog and you have the traditional German-American house. I love it.

The bar...the bar! The bar mostly runs from the front to the back of the dinning area. It's smaller than it sounds. It's topped with tap castles with German beer tap handles coming out. I'd say at least a dozen. Behind the bar is a large, bearded bald fellow who looks like he's straight out of Bavaria if you didn't talk to him. Beer is everything from BBK, Paulaner, Weihenstephaner, etc. Mostly what you'd expect. Germany is well represented in these taps. There's also a fridge or two filled with bottles. I didn't see an actual list, but my friends also got some Samuel Smith's and some bottles of various Dopplebocks. I would guess you could get just about any German style style here.

The food! The food is great! I had the jagerschnitzel. A big portion of pork schnitzel covered in a peppery mushroom sauce and a big lump of Spätzle on the side. After a liter or two, it was obvious that I was not going to finish. That's a good meal.

Resi's does allow smoking in the dining room. It wasn't bad at all. At least until someone lit up a cigar. But what the hell. I was feeling too good to care. If the smoke does bother you, there is a beer garden out back. It's shaded by two large trees. It would be great on a warm summer night or a crisp fall day. Resi's is going to be a new regular for my nights on the town. Prost!

09-07-2005 23:58:40 | More by 12vUnion

Redrover

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5

Here is another great German institution in the St Bens neighborhood. While not shiny, bright and new inside, it does have some charm that really grows on you.

I have always had top-notch service here. The bartenders are respectful of beer and their customers. The waitresses are efficient and friendly. Who knows, they may even pull-up a seat at your table for a chat!

A fantastic selection of German beers. There are 20+ taps and man I don’t know how many bottles (I would hazard a conservative guess of 75+, maybe over a 100). There is always something new to try. Tap lines seem to be kept in immaculate condition. Glasses are always clean.

They serve good, inexpensive German food. It is easy to pair a favorite food with a good beer. Try the schnitzel, thuringer plate, or the hunters stew.

The beer garten is great, I wish it were bigger. Lots of tables to share and nice shade trees. I have met some interesting people here while sharing tables.

Nice bonus, If your at Resi’s, make sure you cross the street to visit Laschetts Inn, another great local German bar.

This is a fun bar and gives you a taste of what the ethnic places in Chicago used to be like. Now, if they would only make it nonsmoking…..

03-06-2003 11:36:46 | More by Redrover

nocheinsbitte

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Resi's is really two different bars; the winter bar and the summer bar. In the spring and summer, the bier garten in the back of the bar is the best place in Chicago to go and have a few biers, talk, eat good Bavarian fare, and begin to think you were in Munich. In the winter, it is a smallish kitschy bar that before the smoking ban, was almost unbearable to be in late in the evening. Now, with the smoking ban, the bar is charming and allows me and my friends to enjoy the great bier selection year round. It does have one of the best Weizen selections I have seen this side of the Atlantic as well as a nice BBK, DAB, and many other bottles.
Service: the bartenders are great and attentive. The waitresses can be a bit aloof and inattentive, but when asked, they respond well and take care of you.
Food: Great food for the prices...don't tell my mom, but they have the best potato pancakes I have had!
Overall, this is one of the my favorite places to go anytime of year, but especially in the summer. If you are coming to Chicago, make sure your stop by Resi's, you will not be disappointed.

02-11-2008 04:24:21 | More by nocheinsbitte

yemenmocha

Arizona

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $

Old-fashioned German decor and 70's diner (seats, tables) make this an interesting stop in Chicago.

BBK and others that aren't on tap at many places can always be found at Resis. In the past, I've noticed servers speak fluent German, as well as the kitchen staff. They've hired a more diverse set of employees on my 2008 visit though.

No food on current visit, but in the past I found it to be traditional Bavarian, and worthwhile if you like the cuisine in general.

Usually on my list for places to go when visiting Chicago. Small, intimate, and always a great German beer selection.

11-10-2008 03:38:26 | More by yemenmocha

emerge077

Illinois

4.45/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

What can I say about this place? It's one of my favorite bars in Chicago.

If you crave authentic German cuisine paired with a hefty liter maßkrug of fresh Hefe, Maibock, or Doppelbock, this may be your kind of place. The seasonal biergarten in the back is easily the most quaint and intimate I have ever visited. It feels like a laid-back backyard party, with vintage beer lanterns, flowerboxes, and two giant trees towering over the patio.

Inside the decor relies heavily on wood paneling and decades-worth of vintage kitsch. Mounted deer and antelope horns are alongside German beer signage, woodcuts, a cuckoo clock, and assorted photos. A vintage bottle collection sits above the back coolers, including Tannenzapfle, and other oddities. Clay krugs line the back wall near the kitchen. Behind the bar is a wooden slat roof, and dozens of vintage oddities on the wall. There is a classic worn-in vibe to it, but updated to the present by the varied clientele and tunes from the bartender's ipod. If you arrive late after the kitchen closes, and still happen to be hungry, don't worry. Ask for a couple Landjager sausages and spicy mustard, which are smoky and truly excellent with a giant liter of lager. Thuringer dinner can't be beat either. All meats are sourced locally from Paulina Market.

Beer wise, Resi's has a well-rounded and medium-sized collection of quality German imports. Weihenstephaner, Ayinger, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr are the staples, plus a few others that rotate on tap. Always a rotating seasonal (Maibock, Zwickl, Oktoberfest, etc), but nothing too obscure on draft. Bottle selection is best represented on the menu (or by looking in the coolers), it's more current than what's listed on the boards in the back, and you may find hidden gems in there (1809 Berliner Weisse for example). Check out the vintage porcelain beer towers here as well...

My home away from home...

08-17-2006 16:58:35 | More by emerge077

jackndan

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4

Resi’s Bierstube: In Chicago, just West of Lincoln on Irving Park. Surprisingly small, with a huge selection of imported beers, pored well and served in appropriate glassware. Every major German brewer is represented, and the beer was terrific.

The main room is relatively small, and yes, a little dingy. There is a long bar that runs along the wall, with a few booths on the other wall. However, there is a small, but very comfortable beer garden out back, with 4 or five picnic benches and a hand full of smaller tables. The primary decorations were flower boxes, and two massive trees right in the middle of the concrete patio. The atmosphere was perfect, low key, and the service was knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful.

The food was phenomenal. Nothing fancy, just very well made and huge portions. The sauerkraut was simply the best I have ever had, bar none. Very tender and flavorful.

If you can go while the Beer Garden is open, this is a fine spot to enjoy good beers, good food and a nice atmosphere.

07-28-2003 15:16:52 | More by jackndan

malcontent

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Oh, Lord. I curse you, Resi's, for letting me find you. Single-handedly responsible for my current German beer kick, Resi's is dangerously close to my workplace making it a more than tempting option after a grueling shift.

Despite the subtle, pretty brick facade, the interior of Resi's is all kitsch. Think a combination of a VFW and your grandpa's basement/barroom. All sorts of nick-nacks adorn the back bar and the furniture is, shall we say, unpretentious. There is a beergarten in the back but I'm a drinker, nature be damned! There are 2 TV's and neither generally has the volume very high. Instead, one of the two barkeeps (both genuine, low-key dudes) will generally have their music on over the overhead speakers.

Service is top-notch and very personalized although I've never been waited on outside of the bar (although a few of the waitresses are pretty darn cute...). I'm always offered samples of anything on tap, which is a huge plus.

The selection, while not huge, offers a damned good cross-section of German beer (they lose a half point for no Berliner Weisse). On draft count on at least two of the seasonal (Oktoberfest, Hefe, Dopplebock, etc.) along with Kutcher Alt, BBK, Spaten and some other, funkier options. Bottled selection is strong as well with plenty of Avinitus, Ayinger and the like.

The food, while predictably German (read: meaty and heavy) is of the highest quality. Any foodie I know would be impressed to find that all of the sausage served at Resi's is purchased fresh daily from Paulina Market.

Resi's is my new favorite haunt.

09-13-2007 22:53:17 | More by malcontent

orbitalr0x

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Second stop on the German Pub Walk. This is located right across the street from Laschet's. Cool old world German styling on the exterior with a big Warsteiner sign leading you in. Upon entering you sorta feel like you stepped back in time a bit. Brown vinyl chairs, wood paneling, German knick knacks and plenty of steins adorn the well lit interior. The bar is on the right and features cool beer castles. The interior is really laid back and casual, but as previous posters have said it does have a sort of VFW hall vibe as well.

Lots of good German brews on tap again here..Spaten, BBK, Köstritzer Schwarzbier, and many more. Probably around 20 in total. There were some coolers with bottles but I didn't really look them over that closely. I grabbed a big ol glass of the Schwarzbier and headed out back to the wonderful beer garden. Lots of shade is provided by the mature trees and there are plenty of picnic tables and small tables, which made it really easy for our large group to hang out and drink in the wonderful sunshine of a beautiful Chicago afternoon.

Our bartender was nice and our glasses were kept full. Again, I didn't try the food here...might have to do that on my next trip. A great place to go for some tasty German beers and to hang out with friends. Pick a nice evening, grab some food and a big mug of beer and enjoy the beer garden...that'll be my itinerary for the next time I stop in. Check this place out if you're in the city...an easy one/two stop if you wanna hit Laschet's as well!

06-05-2006 03:23:57 | More by orbitalr0x