04/24/08

Avoid at all costs

by anthozoa

Thinking that the German food on the menu might be limited but good, we stopped for dinner at the "new" Berghoff. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!!!. The food costs 2X as much ( main course was smaller and more expensive and you have to pay extra for each side dish) and not as good. Do not be tempted to go there. The restaurant was practically empty and for good reason. What a shame. Doesn't the Berghoff woman get it?

• Pros: none
• Cons: 2X as expensive as it used to be

02/21/08

It's just not the same

by vegitoboi

I feel privileged to say that I was there for lunch when the Berghoff closed its doors for the last time. Whether it was the cafe, the bar, or the actual restuarant, the Berghoff family really did German cuisine (and beers) right. I LOVED just about everything about the place in the short time I would come around for lunch or a quick beer before heading home. I even bought as much memorabilia as I could (including about 3 bottles of whisky) because of the history this place possessed. Now that although the building still remains and the place is now a catering company and the cafe portion has opened up once again, for me, it has just lost its "flare". It will NEVER be as good as it was when the entire place was standing. Sure the cafe still somewhat "carries" the Berghoff name and serves the "same" German food as the old cafe did, it's as almost as if the place is trying to hold onto something that is already gone, and sadly missed by everyone in Chicago. I do applaude them for trying to hold onto the Berghoff tradition, but without the bar or the restaurant (which was the heart of it all), all that's left is an empty shell of its former glorific self. I hope one day the place can be resurected becuase it is not that easy finding German cuisine that matched this place. Not Chicago Brauhaus or Glunz Bavarian Haus can come close.

• Pros: Still can find good fast German food, occupies the Famous Berghoff restaurant, close to all the train lines
• Cons: Not as legendary as it used to be

08/04/07

historic, maybe, but not great.

by mabstb

we intended to dine on german food here. if you call sausages german, then you can find an item on the menu. otherwise, it's mainly american food with a european "flair". and "flair" isnt necessarily good. my sausages (i went for the german food since that what id expected...) were banal. the spaetzle dry. i think next time, i would pass and go for real german food in ravenwood instead. saving a historical restaurant for the sake of history is not always a great idea...

• Pros: location, prompt service
• Cons: food is mediocre at best

07/11/07

Great food, great beer & root beer!

by marianne_54

Amazing German dishes and simple American dishes for the less adventurous. Their desserts are incredible--spice cheesecake, chocolate rasberry cake, apple strudel. Delicious! The brats and German potato salad are some of the best I ever tasted. Great with large groups, perfect for a business lunch or even a date. Try the root beer or the diet root beer, it is the best i have ever tasted!

• Pros: GREAT FOOD!
• Cons: Parking

The Loop's historic Berghoff space gets an overhall, but maintains its charm as a lunch and after-work spot.

by Contributor

In Short
After a slight remodeling to accommodate more groups (and plasma televisions in the bar for sports and news updates), the former space of Chicago's famed Berghoff is opened under a new name, serving several of the old classics. In addition to Berghoff beer and root beer, patrons can still find schnitzels, sauerbraten and sausages, as well as new additions like pumpkin ravioli and salmon.