Zum Schneider NYC

Best german food in NYC. Keep in mind your are in the USA not germany - so even though its not like perfect its way beyond good. THey have a ton of festivals - pretty fun - don't have bad thigns to say about this palce at all except that it would be nice if kids got seating priority during events (saw a bunch of drunks cutting the line and taking seats that a family would have had - that was a shame. )

Ahh, the beginning of Oktoberfest. People, including myself, love a good reason to drink giant steins of beer and indulge in giant soft pretzels.

We helped kicked off the German celebrations this weekend at a biergarten I have yet to been to. Zum Schneider in the east village is probably one of the greatest attractions on Avenue C. Their blue and white outdoor umbrellas and flags are very attractive and make the place east to spot.

We walked in and our friends had already started filling up a long picnic style table. I was a little disappointed to see the place so empty. They claimed that it would start getting busy around 3 or 4pm (it was around 1:30pm now), so I'd be interested to go back at that time next weekend and check it out.

The waitress was there ready to take our order the second we sat down. The giant steins were only $12 each (!!!) so of course we ordered those. They had a huge beer selection with descriptions of how each one tastes. We also ordered some soft pretzels but were unimpressed because they were very small, smaller then the ones you would get at a baseball game. The other downsides are they don't do separate checks which was hard since I was leaving early and are cash only.

I am curious to come back and check out what this place looks like when it's crowded!

Terrible food, decor, and furniture -- but everyone is super nice. It's pretty hard to complain when you think you're in a beer garden.

Nice selection of German beers that you don't see too often with reasonable prices. Had the schnitzel which was tasty. Potato salad was good but would be have nice to have warmer style you often get in Germany. Pretzels were average. One star demerit for being cash only in 2015.

The interior feels like a beer garden without being exposed to the elements and they have a good selection of beer, with delicious wheat beers. I haven't eaten much here beyond a pretzel but it was really good.
They also offer outdoor seating, which is great, unless you're there to watch a football/soccer game.

Cash only, so stock up as prices aren't low.