Biergarten Dinner review-March 23rd

[mommyintn]

My dh and I love german food, we went to Europe before kids and love, loved our dinner in Germany with the bratwurst and sauerkraut and of course the spaetzel. I obviously didn't expect the Biergarten to be that good but I thought maybe it would be at least as good at the bratwurst we get at the grocery.... We walked in and it only took about 5 minutes to be seated the inside of the is nice and you get some of the German feel because the people who take you to your table and wait on you sound German and the tiered seating was neat. We had a perfect view of the stage and helped ourselves to the buffet. I had not hyped up the Biergarten that much in my head since I had heard negative reviews of it before you went but it was very disappointing for the cost. As cute as the show was and being able to go with the kids down front and dance was, it was totally not worth the price just to experience that. I really don't know what kind of sausage they used but it wasn't good none of the food really was, except the macaroni salad and I'm pretty sure that's not authentic German. Also the spaetzel had no cheese at all on it with zero taste so that was a bummer. The only up side was the beer and my dh got a little sampler of the different beers. If you must see an oompah band go ahead and go but if your craving a bratwurst look elsewhere.

 

[SteveS]

I need to disagree on this one. We love the Biergarten restaurant and find it to be very authentic. The sausage is great. Being from Wisconsin, we love our sauasage and know good sausage. The Red Cabbage is outstanding.

Who ever heard of "spaetzel with cheese". If I want Mac and Cheese I can go to the corner deli.

We normally go during lunch and it isn't as expensive. I agree, dinner is a bit pricey.

In the end this one of the best experieces at WDW

 

[mommyintn]

Who ever heard of "spaetzel with cheese".

When we ate in Stutgart Germany there was cheese on the spaetzel, but it was far from tasting like mac n' cheese. I'm glad you guys enjoyed, maybe lunch is better and if you don't like it the price isn't too much. Just sharing our experience.

 

[DisOrBust]

No disrespect to the OP and everyone is entitled to there own Op. but I need to also disagree.
Another wisconsinite here that was really imprssed with the Biergarden. We went with really low expectations. My parents, who are BOTH from Germany, found the food to be pretty good! Granted theri Brats aren't nearly as good as our Johnsville ones but not bad either. Many of the cold salads were as good as my mom's. The spatzle were decent although not made by hand. I have never heard of cheese on spatzle in my life....

 

[vicb]

Biergarten turned out to be a pleasant surprise for us last trip. We had a great time there and thought the food was very good, much better than what we had anticipated. Personally I think all the food is over priced at WDW!

 

[eeyoregirl]

My family agrees with the OP. We were disappointed in the Biergarten, especially since we are of German descent on both sides of the family. We felt that the sauerkraut and sausage that my mom makes is much better, more authentic, and a lot cheaper. Oompah band is fun, though.

 

[michaelwilliammidd]

DW and I love the Biergarten and having been to Germany on a trip myself I found the food to be comparable. We eat at Biergarten every trip and wanted to take DMIL and DFIL this past trip...they weren't keen on the idea as they aren't fans of German food but ended up enjoying it so much they were asking about going back a second time before we left. There are alot of varying opinions not only on Biergarten but on every WDW restaurant...thats another one of the great things about WDW is that there is so much to choose from that there is something for everyone.

 

[mickeymousemom]

The Beirgarten is one of our favorite restaurants. We always go for lunch to save money as the items at dinner aren't much different. The spaetzle is one of my favorite things. I also have never heard of spaetzle with cheese. Anytime I've seen it cooked on TV or seen recipes for it, its never had cheese. Oh well. I love the sliced pork loin with the spaetzle and either the apricot chutney or the gravy(which means I have to eat it twice so I can have both). The red cabbage and the sausages are very good. I love the cold meats. I do agree with a previous poster who said the brats aren't Johnsonville, but nonetheless they are still very good. I grew up with this type of food as my grandma was German...love love love it....DH and I even took a friend to eat there with us a month ago...she'd never been and was skeptical. She was very pleased and had a great time. I would recommend it to anyone. Sorry your experience was not a good one.

 

[dixiedizfan]

Agree with the OP ... Loved the show, but found the food to mediocre at best.

 

[WDWAurora]

Wow, I've never heard of spaetzle with cheese, and we're frequently at authentic German restaurants, and DH is 1st generation American (dad was born in Germany, mom is also of German descent). I've always really liked this restaurant, even before it was a buffet. I've always felt it was as authentic as WDW standards allow (in other words, they tone down the foods from most of the countries, or tweak them to make them more American). We've been happy with all meals there.

I'm not saying I don't believe you, etc. please don't take it that way. I'm just surprised based on so many previous positive experiences there.

 

[mommyintn]

I'm really not trying to take away from anyone experience at the Biergarten I was just sharing my opinion and this was our experience and it was a letdown food wise. I don't doubt all of you who had positive experiences we just all have different taste buds and that accounts for differences of culinary opinion. As far as the spaetzel and cheese I'm not delusional we did have it this way twice in Germany and it also had onions in it. Are there different ways to make spaetzel? I know it was not figment of my imagination and I promise I wasn't drinking too much of the good beer at the time!

 

[Chloesmom]

I lived in Germany for a year and have traveled there several times as well. spaetzle is just a plain dumpling that generally does not have a lot of flavor on its own.. Think of it as a rice or noodle side dish that gets flavored by whatevr you put it with. It is usually served plain and is yummy yummy yummy with saurbraten. I have never had it with cheese except my local restaurant served it that way in place of mac and cheese for kids.
I adore the Biergarten. Its " american authentic" german and it makes me feel like I am back in Germany again. The red cabbage is great.. some of the best I have had except for my own recipe. Every place can have a bad night and every one has different taste buds. To me it's German food at its best.. hearty and plentiful.. yummy.
For a special treat ask for a spetzi to drink.. its an orange drink and coke mix that is yummy. They can mix it for you.

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Also have to post a positive for the Biergarten.

Dh and I are of German descent and loved it ! Of course, no one will cook better than mom but this is a very good "Americanized" version, even a couple Canadians can enjoy it!

 

[Mamu]

Here is another place that get rave reviews, but we won't be returning.

Nice restaurant, great show, good service, the cook actually cooked up and served a special plate for my Granddaughter who wouldn't eat anything there.

What can you say we just didn't like the food.

I can't say enough about how WDW goes overboard to try and make your experience's special.

 

[DianeV]

Does anyone know where to find the schedule that has what times the band plays? I know there are actually "set" times..we loved the place by the way when we went a couple years ago and are going again this summer..just want to make sure to be there when they are playing

 

[SeaSpray]

I had dinner at Biergarten with my brother and his family back in 2002 and hardly ate anything because there was nothing there that appealed to me. I had no plans to ever return there again.

Then last year my DH wanted to try this restaurant so I made a PS and off we went to lunch there. I was very happily surprised! The food this time was a bit different, there seemed to be more variety, and it looked very freshly prepared. It tasted great; there were enough things to choose from for myself, and DH even got to eat pigs feet

I would definitely return there again.

 

[BadgerBruce]

The band schedule, and schedules of just about every live entertainment offering at all of the parks, can be found at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares

We are also big fans of the Biergarten at lunch--although I feel the brats there or at the Sommerfest counter service can't compare to our Johnsonville or Klement's brands.

 

[otownguy]

We went to Biergarten last time to Epcot and got the last lunch ADR. Well we really enjoyed the variety and the food was much better than expected. And since we were there so late about halfway through our meal they started bringing out the dinner only items. We basically got to eat dinner at lunch prices and also have to say the "bier" sampler made it even more enjoyable.

Ein, Zwei, Drei, Zunfa(sp)!!!!!

 

[DBarber600]

I've looked at the entertainment schedule and wondered if they started any earlier in the summer. Does anyone know if they have started earlier in past summers? We have ressies for noon in June and would need to change if the band isn't performing during this time.

 

[TikiHut33309]

My husband is from Germany and we go every year and have eaten in many different regions. Like anywhere else in the world, the foods are cooked differently depending on what part of the country you are in. Take for example Chicago pizza and NY pizza......see what I mean? The same goes for the sausages, style of beer, etc. We eat there every time we go to Disney, and love it, although it's not 100% authentic, it is still very good. And the service staff there are all from Germany, it is very interesting to talk to them also. Fun place, good food, can't go wrong. If you NEED to have 100% authenticity, hop on a Lufthansa jet and head over to Deutchland!!