Krogh's Restaurant And Brewpub

jjboesen

Maryland

3.55/5  rDev -9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5 | $$

Situated along the shore of Lake Mohawk – actually, a dam, Krogh’s is a small batch brewpub packed with history and house beers. The building, which began as a tea shop in 1927, is a picturesque relic of the past and somewhat reminiscent of a rustic lodge somewhere Bavaria – or maybe even along a dam in New Jersey.

The interior is intimate and homey, with dark wood paneling, heavy rafters and walls made of chinked logs; strewn about is an arbitrary array of tables with sturdy booths clinging along the windows. Once inside, head towards the rear, where you find a P-shaped bar, a well worn one that has supported several generations of tourist elbows.

At the bar, there is a selection of four year-round house beers along with the usual seasonal suspects. The beers were decent, though nothing to crow about. (Sorry) The menu is loaded with hearty fare that includes huge slobbering burgers and features one massive plate of nachos, the “Nacho El Grande,” which is Spanish for the “Big Nacho.” Ay carumba!

All in all, Krogh's is an interesting venue that is worth checking out - if in the area.

08-06-2012 21:33:15 | More by jjboesen

muskiesman

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev -1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

This place is a nice little local brewpub. Across the street form the lake shore and Mohawk Lake Country Club.
We flighted all the available beers. The Three sister wheat and the Alpine Glow Red were above average and an honorable mention to the oatmeal stout. However, the best things at this place are the food and the service.

The whole place is a little small so it easily gets crowded but the staff and service remained top notch. We had seafood stuffed mushroom appetizer and the Kroghs famous Nachos that come loaded they were plenty for four adults. Entrees were New york Strip sirloin steak, chicken marsala and baby back ribs.

02-04-2012 15:09:44 | More by muskiesman

9InchNails

New Jersey

4.65/5  rDev +19.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Visited the Establishment on 11-23-10

My buddy and I ordered a sampler of beer which there were seven types. The names are: Old Krogh Oatmeal Stout, Log Cabin Nut Brown, Alpine Glow Red Ale, Brogden Meadow Pale Ale, Krogh's Gold, Krogh's Seasonal Abbey Ale and Three Sisters Golden Wheat. My favorite was the Oatmeal Stout and Alpine Glow Red Ale.

The service was incredible; I dropped my fork and magically another one was handed to me in seconds. The waitress and waiter were both incredibly nice. I did feel a little rushed but understandably so, it was extremely busy! Dinner time is nuts there! That means they must be doing something right.

It was impossible to get to the bar, it was so mobbed. A lady, I believe the manager, she told us that they have a Wing special on Tuesday and that's why the bar is mobbed.

The food was really good. I had grilled chicken with Meunster cheese and sauté mushrooms. It tasted fresh and the wait wasn't too long either to receive our food.

Since the Oatmeal Stout was so good I decided to get a pint of it. It tastes better than the first time. This is a must try stout if anyone comes here!

Overall, I'd recommend this place to anyone in New Jersey. I'm extremely impressed with the service, quality of food the beer is really good. They certainly know how to handle themselves during an extremely busy dinner hour. I would love to try this place when it's not as busy.

11-24-2010 03:50:08 | More by 9InchNails

nathanlovesipas

New Jersey

4.38/5  rDev +12.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

I love Krogh's. The beer and food are both phenomenal. It's tough to pick a favorite among their nut brown ale, red ale and oatmeal stout, and their seasonals are always worth a try. A while back I discovered their Cajun Burger, and I don't think I've eaten anything else there since. It is my favorite burger ever, and it is consistently excellent whenever I have it. The staff is friendly and patient. The restaurant itself is nice, clean, and homely. Nearly every surface inside Krogh's is wooden, which I do fancy. They have HD LCDs over the bar for whatever game is on. Prices are decent for the most part. They also fill growlers to go, which is great, although $17 is certainly not cheap.

There a just a few drawbacks. Parking is very limited, and you may have to park around the corner and down the hill (this sucks in winter, when it's below freezing). If a band is scheduled to play, arrive early, have your fill and leave before the headaches start. The bands which play are always loud and always lousy. Third, the bar can get very cramped and you may have to squeeze by the long part of the bar to get to the other side (which is annoying, but the far side of the bar is where it's at, if you know what I mean). Also the bathrooms are tiny. This may be an issue for some people.

Overall this is still a great place. The beer is great (better than Trap Rock and Long Valley Brewpubs, in my opinion) and the food and service are also top notch. If you somehow find yourself in Sparta, NJ (I should hope you know how you got here), definitely stop in.

07-01-2010 18:18:06 | More by nathanlovesipas

86sportster883

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev -10.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

I stopped by Krogh's Restaurant & Pub for dinner and beers on a Monday night. It's a relatively small place with a decent sized bar, which is where I chose to sit and eat dinner. The Yankee game was easily viewed from one of a few flat screens around the bar. The dark wood interior was dimly lit by an assortment of hanging stained glass shade lights.

On tap they offered a filtered wheat (Three Sister's Golden Wheat), a pale ale (Brogden Meadow Pale Ale), a nut brown (Log Cabin Nut Brown), Kroghs Gold and Old Krogh Oatmeal Stout. Unfortunately for me, the seasonal (an IPA) wasn't scheduled to be tapped until the following day and there was no other seasonal offered. One other year round beer that wasn't available when I visited was the Alpine Glow Red.

I tried both the Pale Ale and the Nut Brown, and thought they were both very good and interestingly distinct. The Meadow Pale had a big hop finish that paired well with my Cajun steak, while the Brown had a very pleasant malt profile. On the beer menu, the Pale is compared to Sierra Nevada, while the Brown was likened to Sam Smith's. Meanwhile, the wheat was recommended "if you like Bud, Coors Light, Miller Light or Corona" and Krogh's Gold if you liked Molson or Labatt's. The Red was likened to Yuengling, Bass Ale or Killians Red, and the oatmeal stout was recommended if your tastes tended toward Guinness, Murphy's, or a porter. Hmmm...

Overall, I thought this was a good place with ok food and better than expected beer.

09-01-2009 02:09:02 | More by 86sportster883

donniecuffs

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev -1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 5 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

Set in a cute cobblestone cottage overlooking lovely Lake Mohawk, you kind of get the sense that you're in for a laid-back experience before you enter, and it doesn't disappoint. While you do get your share of dopey patrons who disrespectfully shun the above average home brew offerings in favor of Coors Light, at least they are all friendly and welcoming. It must be due to the fact that since this place isn't easy to get to, it relies heavily on the local dollar. The servers are fairly knowledgeable about beer, are eager to give you a free taste if you have a tough time making a decision, and are good conversationalists. The food, while unspectacular, is still very good and evokes the feeling that mom is cooking the meal behind those closed kitchen doors. Of the year-round beer offerings, the only standout is the Oatmeal Stout (A-), but their seasonals...e.g. Augie's Alt (A+), Maibock (A-), Gruny's Belgian Dubbel (B+), etc...are usually fantastic, which begs the question as to why some of them aren't added to the permanent roster.

07-27-2009 05:01:10 | More by donniecuffs

madmanjf

New York

3.43/5  rDev -12.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

I stopped here this past Saturday with my BJCP Study group. We were having a post-exam lunch.

Nice place, tightly packed with a lunch crowd that emptied out rather quickly once we got our table.

The Beers .... nice typical brewpub selection. They were offering up a Maibock, one of my favorite styles, so I gravitated to it pretty damn quickly without even asking for a sample.

It was a good beer, but not really a Maibock. If it were given to me blind, I would've guessed a hoppy Pale Ale or perhaps an IPA. The color was right on, but the flavors were not to style. We even questioned if it was a Lager. Fortunatelly, it was a good tasting session beer and I'm a Hop-Head so I really didn't mind.

My second beer was the Gold. Again, good tasting session beer. I won't review it here.

For those of you that have read my brewpub reviews, you'll know what's next ... Yes, I ordered a Hamburger!

So here's an iteresting twist on a common fare... Welsch Rarebit sauce. It was a cheese sauce made with beer and was quite tastey on the burger, and also a little messy.

Another thing to note was that every burger listed was the same price ... I found this both to have great value and humourous as to the way they still bothered to itemize each burger out on the menu as if they'd have a different price.

04-22-2009 17:55:42 | More by madmanjf

harpus

Alabama

4.13/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

The outside of this place looks pretty neat. The downtown area of Sparta looks like a good place to visit and walk around. The Brew Pub is located across the street from the lake. The building was built in 1927 and has log cabin feel to the place. They have 6 year round beers and 1 seasonal, the seasonal was sold out when I went. The quality of the beer was good, not beers stood out as great or bad. I tried the Mexican Pizza, which was good and I think pairs goos with the Pale Ale. If in the area, this is a place worth a trip to go try.

03-12-2008 02:43:25 | More by harpus

phantomwyse

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

I've been going to Krogh's since I was really little. My father and I used to go there as our 19th hole on the way back from certain golf courses. So, I remember the place pre-brewpub era...and I still love it there.

First off, Krogh's is located in Lake Mohawk, a section of Sparta, NJ. It's a quaint little area inundated with Bavarian style homes that reflect the heritage of the developers of the area. Lake Mohawk is a faux mid-sized lake for the area that was once a meadow (of which Krogh's named their Pale Ale after). One side of the lake is taken up by a gated community, where Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston once had a house, although were rarely there.

Anyway, Krogh's is in a rambling Bavarian building that appears long and low. You can enter through one of two doors, the dining room or barroom door. The interior maintains that Bavarian feel with dark beams and white plaster walls. There is sort of a college dorm feel going on with strands of Christmas lights hung above the bar. At first appearance you would classify this place as an old man bar. The dining room area isn't large and when it's busy it gets quite loud and hard to move to the bathroom locations, which are less than spectacular. The bar is shaped like a big inflated 'p' and to egress between the dining room and far end of the bar area requires acts of gut sucking to pass through. Around both areas are brass plaques with real and interesting names from back in the day when Krogh's had an expansive beer list and these were given to those who drank every beer listed.

The food is pretty good. Interesting and typical pub food with a few suprises here and there. I'm a big fan of the rarebit. The service is generally acceptable, staffed by local people, generally youngish. They have a large martini list, which is ht or miss depending on the bartender so I've been told. The beer is good, nothing incredibly outstanding, although I enjoy them, particularly the oatmeal stout. My only complaint ever about the beer is that the carbonation gives is a soda feel sometimes, with exception of the stout. The only other beers on tap besides Krogh's beers and Bud and Bud lite.

Krogh's does offer entertainment, but this is a small place, and sometimes the music can be overwhelming esp for those seated at the far wall by the band.

It my sound like I've been harsh on Krogh's for it being a place that I love. But, I'm just being honest. Krogh's has personality. I wouldn't trade the worn bar and low slung christmas lights for any slick, clean shiney bar in the area.

Edit 1.20.09: Growlers are outrageously overpriced, but the Tuesday night wing night is where it's at.

01-12-2008 15:45:53 | More by phantomwyse

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.18/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I used to take the trip up here from my Dad’s place in Butler every couple of months, just for the great feel it offered. I always remembered driving through here as a kid and it just looked like a fairytale kind of place. Once I got older I really got to appreciate what was inside. This was really a cool little place, with their own brand of unique ales. A great cozy, old English vibe inside with great food and a staff that is very eager to please. It has been a while since I have sampled the brew, but I used to love the pale ale, and their seasonals are always great. I never saw a band there, and really cannot picture one as the place is quite small. Overall though it is a must stop if you pass through, you will not find a friendlier place in the area and it is really something that should not be missed.

10-23-2007 23:33:49 | More by mikesgroove