Resi's Bierstube

Lakeview, Chicago –

Although Lakeview and adjoining North Center are no longer dominated by German immigrants like they once were, the old country lives on at Resi’s Bierstube, a bar and restaurant that keeps nostalgic couples, hardcore hops lovers, and laid-back hipsters well-supplied with bratwurst and beer.

The dim space appears to have been untouched for decades, its wood-paneled walls layered with Alpine kitsch from coats of arms to snowy scenes of Bavarian winters. Group tables provide most of the seating in the single narrow room, which features a bar on one side and booths on the other.

Before the bleary-eyed late-night hours set in, families stop by for schnitzel and other hearty German favorites, all the better to help Mom and Dad offset the effects of the large selection of beers. Names like Franziskaner Weiss and Kulmbacher Eisbock make the brews as fun to order as they are to sip, and luckily for hungry patrons, everything on the drinks list reportedly goes well with the venue’s signature potato pancakes.

Heavy food and beer make for a good pairing on cold nights, but when the weather cooperates, Resi’s backyard patio provides a quiet oasis away from the honking horns and exhaust on Irving Park Road – as well as a hangout for neighborhood twenty-somethings who prefer to booze it up under leafy trees, leaving the bar to the crowd of grumpy old farts and blue-collar locals.

Patrons don’t step out of Resi’s Bierstube onto snow-covered slopes, but the taste of German life keeps regulars and new faces satisfied, full, and frequently coming back.