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Tue / Jan 19
Party Earth Review 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... ... read full review
2034 West Irving Park Road
Chicago, IL 60618
Brown Line: Irving Park
773-472-1749
M–F, Su 2pm–2am, Sa 2pm–3am
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.
Hipsters, beer snobs, German tourists, cantankerous old men, families, and blue-collar locals, mid-20s to 50s.
Televisions tuned mostly to local sports or news. Ambient tunes from bartender’s playlist.
Full menu of traditional German pub grub.
Sandwiches and burgers $4–$10, entrées $9–$16. Beer $5–$6, wine $5, mixed drinks $5–$10.
Casual: jeans, t-shirts, flannels, blouses, ballet flats, skorts, work attire.
Friday and Saturday nights to mix with German natives and young locals working their way through steins of beer, or any warm day to chill on the back patio.
Laschet’s Inn (2119 West Irving Park Road) is another charmingly shabby space that serves up German brews and food.