Best BEER Restaurants (not bars)

[mrnas]

Lets start an original chain. Restaurants with beer menus worthy of mention.

I'll kick it off with the newcomer RESTO in Murray Hill. A beer menu packed with Belgian standbyes and some more uniquie varieties.

[Ralphus]

WD-50 had a solid beer list. Instead of the food/wine tasting menu, we complemented the food with beers like Affligem, Allegash and others.

[HaveTasteWillTravel32]

Nice tips!! Thanks!!

The ones which came to my mind right away were..

Markt!

BXL! ( on 43rd btwn 6th&timesq)

Blue Smoke~

[queenseats]

I really like Valhalla on 9th Ave in Hells Kitchen. The beer flights are a lot of fun. But they recently stopped serving food. You can order from surrounding restaurants.

[guttergourmet]

Neither restaurant nor bar but check out the beer store just opened within Whole Foods off of Bowery. Unbelievable selection including jugs on tap of local microbrews. Way cool.

[wingman]

against the grain on 6th street - it's a beer lovers version of a wine bar

[roze]

Oh! One more place- Borough Food & Drink has an interesting assortment of NY State beers like Ommegang, etc.

[mrnas]

I was thinking of mentioning BFD. They have some nice local microbrews. Nothing foreign though, if I remember correctly.

[roze]

No nothing foreign but some "hard to find" locals.

One thing interetsing to note, is that overall I think more & more places are getting "good" beers. Although they may not have a HUGE selection L'Express, Nice Matin, Union Square Cafe and MetroCafe & Winebar are just a few places I've gone to lately where they had quite a good and diverse amount of beers. Hopefully this is something that will continue to grow!

[bobjbkln]

Dinosaur BBQ has a very good (and ever changing) New York State dominated microbrew selection. Also a good bourbon selection if you're into that kind of thing.

[Eddie H.]

I second Cafe D'Alsace

~Eddie
http://oeno.blogspot.com

[peachtart]

Cafe D'Alsace. Great beer list and knowledgable help.

[cebliw]

Silver Swan has very good draught German, cold and fresh with clean lines pumping foamy beers into half liters at pretty reasonable prices. They carry a typical array, Lager, Pils, Schwarzbier, Weiss, and usually some browns and seasonal (for example, Hofbrau Oktoberfest). They also carry an array of bottled beers, for example, Franzischkaner, as well as standard Belgians, such as Duvel. You can get the German varieties at some of the other spots, such as Heidelburg uptown, or even Rolfs around the corner; but, the nice thing about the Swan is you can walk in and (usually) always get a seat. The grub is quite good as well; if my memory serves me correctly, they use the same butcher as Zum Stammtisch (out in Queens), which is reputed (by some) to be the best German in NY.
Incidentally, I went to Ben and Jacks (steakhouse) the other day for lunch and they had a Brooklyn Lager that was excellent. Ice cold and tangy, the perfect wash for a pretty decent steak. Which reminds me: the Brooklyn Brewery! They used to do a Friday night thing (maybe 6 pm to 8 or 9 pm), during which they rolled out taps and poured beer fresh out of their vats. I had the good fortune of attending when they just opened a new vat of IPA. Anyone know if they still do that? That's a good time.
Sorry, just one more: Farrell's in Brooklyn. Bud in 32 oz styrofoam containers best absorbed through a straw on a hot summer day. The amazing thing is that the beer is actually colder on the bottom of the cup than it is on the top. And for those of you who think bud is a dud, it tastes different at Farrell's. Maybe they pump it in direct in high speed insulated cooling lines from the Anheiser Busch plant? OK, one final note, the best beer deal in NYC? Grand Central station lower level. You can buy ice cold pints (cans) of Bud, Coors Light, etc for $2 at the beer carts and stand around drinking it like you're at a beer hall in Deutschland (minus the polka chants).

[ssf36]

Virgil's has a surprisingly deep beer menu, including 2 Lambics.

http://www.virgilsbbq.com/pdf/virgils...

[macki]

The E.U. in the east village. AWESOME selection of beers and absolutely fantastic food. They have a "beer tasting menu" which I highly recommend.

[Mr. Particular]

BXL Cafe (43rd St) should at least be mentioned in the Belgian conversation, and the Silver Swan (20th St) in the German. The Swan is my Manhattan standby for suds 'n sausage (great mustards, & potato pancakes). Been meaning to try Resto--any tips?

[mrnas]

If you know your Belgians, you will have a field day. I love Affligem, Corsendock, Delirium Tremens all in the Strong Blonde Ale variety, similar to Duvel. Those are bottled. They have La Chouffe on tap which is excellent. They also have Kasteel triple on tap, which is a little too heavy on the alcohol in my opinion, but also a favorite of many.

Get the lamb meatballs (amazing) and then the burger. The buregrs are tiny, but excellent. For the fries, make sure you get the lime-pickle dipping sauce. More of a curry-mayonaise than lime or pickle flavor.

[ESNY]

Beer selection is good, food is okay. The patty on the burger was flavorful, salty and dense but the bun I got was horribly stale. How you can serve a small 6 oz burger on a stale piece of supermarket quality bun is beyond me. Their breakfast is pretty good though.

[Mr. Particular]

Went back to BXL the other night and the lines were not clean. Consequently, my Kwak did not rock, and my Mared-Sous was marred. Bottles only from now on.

[roze]

All great suggestions so far!!! My favorites are Jimmy's no 43, Resto & Markt but there are so many others!

The Gramercy Tavern has a fantastic beer list including a full page of vintage beers. I had a great 2001 Aventinus a couple months back that was so different in structure than a 2007 it was amazing!!

The new Irving Mill also has some good options and while The House (which is right nearby) doesn't have TONS of beers, their selection is quite good.

Oh...and also the Silver Swan. Lots of good Germans & Belgians. Never had the food though so I can't quite comment on that :) Cheers!

[CalJack]

Jimmy's No. 43 - unfortunately it just got written up by Sietsema a few weeks ago, so let's hope it's not yet completely overrun. Note that it's more of a gastropub than a restaurant proper.

-----
Jimmy's No. 43
43 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

[mrnas]

Jimmy's No. 43 looks well deserving for the list.

I only wish the menu was a little deeper. The menu is longer, or has more on it than just snacks, but not enough to be considered a restaurant. Seems as if its neither here nor there. Not someone I can bring my girlfriend and convince her that I am taking her out to a restaurant, is pretty much what I am getting at. Thanks for the addition. I will check it out.

[JacksonH]

Jimmy's No. 43 only has a couple of actual full meals on the menu, but they also have a few specials that change every day. I've never eaten more than snacks there, but the last time I was in there someone at the bar ordered this incredible looking thick slab of gourmet bacon. The bartender told me they have that pretty often, I hope they do next time I'm in there.

[Lucia]

Petite Abeille
Cafe de Bruxelles

[mrnas]

I completely agree with Petit Abielle. Extensive Belgian beer list.

[olia]

and 1/2 off all beers on Mondays *-*

[erin07nyc]

Markt - Belgian
E.U. - good European variety; some I hadn't heard of before, even on tap.

[Michael Ambrosio]

Cafe D'alsace on the UES.

[dkstar1]

Spotted Pig and Blue Smoke come to mind.