For those of you who have already been to the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden in Queens will find the Studio Square Beer Garden in Long Island City (LIC) to be the 21st century version of the beer garden. Let's face it, the place is new. It just opened this spring and you won't find any dust on the tables. They also have park bench type seating with large picnic umbrellas to keep back the sun or rain depending on the weather. There is a large indoor space that people can retreat to during the winter or when it the weather goes south in the summer. This makes this beer garden a place you can go to year round. Although, the closest subway stop is about two blocks away. So if you take public transportation you will have to walk 2 blocks in the rain, snow, or sun! That's not bad because you will definitely be rewarded with the modern look and feel to a german beer garden!
On this day, we arrived around 2 in the afternoon. The place was busy but I wouldn't say packed. The line for food wasn't very long and their food offering wasn't that bad. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich which was about $10. That's actually pretty normal for Manhattan so if you were expecting cheaper eats in LIC, don't expect it here. The very first thing I noticed about this place was that you had to stand in line to order. There was no wait staff out in the garden that can get you drinks and food. I thought that was a little disappointing. The other thing was that this place does NOT take credit cards. So if you come, be sure to bring some cash. They do have ATMs in house, but I wouldn't rely on them to have any cash towards the end of the night/day.Just like many other beer gardens, the place would be great for a group of people! We ended up sitting next to some Columbia students (maybe grad students).
They were cool. Have yet to go to a beer garden where the people are not very friendly!The beer selection was great! They had some beers I never had before! The pitchers of beer were $18 a piece. This is actually a lot higher than the Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens. The pitchers of Sangria were about $22. I personally was disappointed in the amount of alcohol in the sangria. I thought it would keep my buzz going, but I ended up losing my buzz drinking the sangria! LOL! Anyway, the wait for the beer wasn't very long. They have several bars and lots of bartenders ready to give you your drink(s) of choice.
Entertainment? Well... I don't know where they would put the band. There isn't a spot that speaks "the band plays here". Their web site seems to indicate that that they do have bands that play there. The next time I come back I hope to see a band play! So to summarize...
Positives:
+ New! There is something to be said about everything being so 'new'!
+ Lot's of room outside and lots of room inside too!
+ Closer to Manhattan.
+ Good food selection
+ Great for large groups
Need to work on:
- Not happy about the cash only. Who brings a lot of cash when they go out.
- They should have wait staff going out and taking drink and food orders. The food line can take forever on a busy day. Also, they need a better system for calling out food numbers. I feel sorry for the girl who kept calling out numbers.
- I thought the music was too low. They could have turned up the volume a little bit more and I still would have heard the person across from me.
Overall, I would definitely come back! I would like to see how this place is with live music. July 16th may be the date of my return!! Once again... You don't have to be in Manhattan to have a great time!
http://studiosquarenyc.com/main.html
