Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten — Restaurant in Asbury Park

Update: Emailed management twice in response to their offer to have us back for dinner to make up for the awful experience we had bk in December. Heard nothing back. They’ve figured out how to make a bad situation worse. Follow up a terrible customer experience with an empty promise to remedy the situation just to save face on Google reviews. WOW!

DISGRACEFUL & DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS Attended the Dinner with Santa event last night with friends and their 3 y/o and 5 y/o kids. After checking in we were directed by the hostess to our table which turned out not to be a table but a HIGH TOP with BACKLESS bar stools. Immediately we told her that we were not comfortable nor was it safe to place children this young in such chairs. She insisted there was nothing she could do as they were at capacity and “the computer” organized all of the seating. The computer? What?! There were several suitable spaces at the regular banquet tables and since this event was a single seating starting at 5pm and ending at 7pm they didn’t have to be held for parties arriving later. I’ve worked at restaurants, bars, and hotels for.a good number of years so I have an understanding of how reservations work at events like this, especially ones where no requests were taken on specific tables. It should have been an easy fix. Instead we were forced to ask for a manager. That’s when Carey appeared. He repeated the same line as the hostess that they were at capacity and the computer assigned the seats. He then suggested that we stack several high chairs in order to bring the kids to high top table level. What?! Carey, High chairs are designed to be stacked for storage purposes ONLY. They are not intended to be built into unstable, Leaning Tower of Pisa-type structures and topped off with fidgeting children! He insisted that this practice is legal (it is not) and then went so far as to say the he was “comfortable with the risk” of having children this young being sat on backless barstools. Oh, Carey, YOU feel comfortable putting other ppl’s children in a dangerous situation and openly admitting that? Your employer must be thrilled. He then pointed out another family sitting at a high top with a young child and indeed there was. Problem with his example was that the child was firmly in the mother’s lap and Carey’s signature high chair tower was empty (and it remained that way all night). Under any other circumstance we would have walked out immediately but by now the kids had gotten a glimpse of Santa and there was no leaving at that point. We reluctantly sat down at the high top and almost immediately the 3y/o nearly falls off as his jacket is being removed. Thankfully his dad was behind him and disaster was averted. His dad remained standing through the duration while we kept arms behind the 5 y/o throughout our entire stay. The server came over to greet us and by now it was almost 5:30pm and there were still a number of open seats at the banquet tables. These were obviously no-shows so we again requested a move. Request denied again. Those tables remained open all night (see pics attached) With no other choice we placed out order at our high top and food and service that followed were fine. Although they were out of the first three drinks I ordered (their four grain bourbon, their small batch, and another) so that was another disappointment. Needless to say we will never go back to this place ever again. I understand the Industry was hit hard by Covid and is trying to rebound but there’s no place in it for reckless, completely avoidable behavior like this. If you can’t seat children safely at what is an entirely child-oriented event then you should not take the reservation, and if all you are concerned with is packing every seat in the place regardless of whether it opens up the opportunity for accidents to happen just to make a few extra bucks then maybe this isn’t the business for you. Ownership needs to staff/train managers who understand this and retrain or release any manager that’s openly willing to gamble with the safety of a guest’s...

Definitely a great establishment. They're known for their live music but I wasn't there when any live bands played.

Food- fantastic. Even before I was of drinking age, my family and I would often come here for an early lunch. The wienerschnitzel is definitely one of their most generally-enjoyable entrees (who doesn't like a big, fried piece of delicious and tenderized meat?), but their wursts (all sorts of sausages) are also fantastic for more discerning palates. The elk sausage (which lacks the usual gamey flavor of elk while also having a delicious and nuanced flavor) goes great with a lighter wheat beer, and the bratwurst is an excellent general choice. Most of the entrees usually come with tasty sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and some rye bread to hold it all together. Their appetizers are also great- the pretzels are large/tasty/filling, and the potato pancakes are a great starter to a good night. Desserts are fantastic too (especially the standard apple strudel!)- really recommend the Jameson Ice Cream w/ beer-flavored apple strudel, which I believe is one of their March specials for St. Paddy's Day! :) Anything I haven't mentioned, I haven't tried. They have a pretty big selection of food.

Drinks- incredible selection of beers. One of the largest I've seen, anywhere, and of course the German beers really shine. The German beers listed fit all sorts of flavor preferences, from lighter wheats to heavier stouts. For those not yet too familiar with German beer, I'd recommend the Weihenstapher Hefeweissbier (spelling?). It goes well with all of their main selections and is renowned for its smooth, yet grainy/nutty/fruity flavor. Also available are many bottles of imports and domestic beers, lots of good selections in those. The cocktails/wines/liquors are supposedly great too, according to my sister, but I can't speak much on that end myself since I was focused on the beers. They had a nice selection of whiskeys, I noticed. Beers were overall fantastic though.

Service- Fantastic! This equally goes out to security! I was celebrating my recent 21st birthday and they were very polite/professional at the door despite my baby-face, and dealt with crowd flow with equally-excellent qualities. The food service people and waitresses were pleasant and quite attentive given the massive Saturday-night rush. I can't speak fairly to the quality of the bartenders' individual services since I was at a table, but they poured the beers quite well (little froth in our pitchers). Notable is also that our waitress made sure to keep our table regularly-stocked with water.

Decorum/Cleanliness: Great and unique. The Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten really models itself off of a classic German biergarten, giving its charm, easy navigation, and cleanliness. The establishment itself has an elegant yet spartan-like quality while still being comfortable to spend time in. The hard floors combined with the wooden tables/benches means that it's easy to get an area clean quickly for the next party. In the style of a German biergarten, it's entirely possible that you'll be sharing a very long table with other smaller parties, but that's one of the fun aspects of going to a biergarten. Bathrooms were alright, given the amount of traffic; toilet paper/paper towels/soap were stocked consistently through the night. They remained surprisingly clean.

Overall/Other: Definitely coming here again! This is one of my favorite places I've been to for a night of good food, drinks, and company. Also thought it'd be good to mention that Jennifer Lambert (the General Manager) is a pleasure to deal with both as a customer and from a community perspective. The work she does in representing the Biergarten both with her customers and with Asbury Park's local charitable causes is well-appreciated. :) The staff hold really well together in the face of a steady but intense stream of customers, and the head chef running the kitchen must definitely be running a tight ship to deliver this level of quality consistently...

This was my first time here. I can see why this place is so popular. I know the area very well, and spent my summers growing up in Bradley Beach and Asbury Park. It's located next to the Asbury park Distilling Company. That being said,what makes this place unique is its size. Once you enter and walk up a flight of stairs, or ( THERE'S A WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE ELEVATOR FOR HANDICAP.) you can see just how big this place is. You will need to put your name in with the hostess if you want to get a table, unless you have a reservation. Inside, there's a 6000 sq ft indoor hall where they claim to be the biggest Austro-Hungarian Biergarten on the Jersey Shore. The bartenders serve premium local, and international draft beers. If beer isn't your thing, you can also get mixed drinks, a bit pricey for the size. The have HAPPY HOUR Weekdays from 4-7pm All day on Fridays Weekends from 1-3pm. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays. In the back right corner is a long bar, some high tops, and long wooden communal tables all across the entire room. It has the feel of an industrial warehouse. The floor is concrete, the tables are wood, the ceiling is high and completely open. Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten has a very cool vibe, perfect for the area. Upstairs, there's a 9000 sq ft rooftop Biergarten with communal outdoor seating, with umbrellas. You can take in the lovely views and watch people rent the swan paddle boats. You can also bring your DOGS to rooftop bar only. They host MOVIE NIGHT ( check schedule) and also have WEEKLY BANDS, ( check schedule.) Since this place is so unique, they also BOOK WEDDINGS. ( it's best to check and see when there going to be closed so there's no surprises.) They have street metered parking, and several lots in the area, along with a few handicapped spaces. FYI- this place gets crazy busy! It was a hot summer's day on a Saturday,so I started with a mixed drink of Tito's and club with lemon upstairs at the rooftop bar. Once my family showed we put our name in for a table and we're seated within 15 minutes at a high top. We ordered another round of drinks including beer. I decided to order a few different dishes and we all would share. I ordered their large BAVARIAN PRETZEL with 3 different mustards for dipping. The pretzel was huge and it was delicious especially when it was dipped. Next came SMOKED POLISH KIELBASA-Fresh pork sausage with garlic, sauerkraut and rye bread. The Kielbasa was so good and fresh tasting. Next was their SMOKED MAPLE BOURBON RIBS-Biergarten original rubbed barbecued ribs with french fries and cucumber salad. The ribs were very tender fall off the bone. They had great flavor, and the cucumber salad was also delicious. Last was the HALLE BURGER- Red onion slaw, Munster cheese,tomato jam on brioche bun served with French fries. The burger was very tasty especially the sauce. The food here was very good, we really enjoyed our time here, It's definitely a great place to catch up with family or friends. I wouldn't hesitate to come back, it's a lot of fun. We even went next-door to their distillery for...