Rolf’s Bar & Restaurant

The lights are nice… Erm… The bathrooms aren’t dirty. Not much else to the place to be honest. Quite expensive and not a place I’d choose to go to enjoy a meal or a drink. I like the lights though. It’s worth going in for a drink just to see the lights… They’re nice.

Holiday Review Only!
I wasn’t so interested in their food because their wait was about two hours, but if it’s that long if a wait then it has to be good. I came here to see the infamous lights and holiday décor which is displayed from floor to ceiling, even behind the bar.
Drinks: Cider and Hot Sangria were delicious!
Warning: We ordered their infamous holiday drink and it was very strong, too strong where you could only sip it and usually I drink strong drinks.
If you see a long wait and you just want to hang out in tight places with cool décor around you for the holidays, just walk in. I went around 7pm and it was packed! To the point where people fight for space and they would have to squeeze and rub against everyone and apologize for being in their face. But hey! What an experience it was.
After speaking with a regular at the bar, he said only during xmas time is like this. Other than that it’s your usual quiet, German bar that you cn easily read a book at.
Definitely coming back here next year!

My biggest issue with Rolf’s is the lack of music. For what is pretty much a tourist attraction with overwhelming holiday theme, the whole vibe would have been GREATLY improved with some music! Christmas music or otherwise! It’s so surprising to me when bars or in this case bar/​restaurants aren’t playing any music. What’s up with that? You stand in a very long line to get sardine packed into a very small bar area to order your thick cinnamon beverage and listen to everyone scream over each other. It’s very hard to get to a bartender for obvious reasons, but once you do its lackluster. Again, for such a holiday attraction, some simple music and kindness would take this to the level it should be at. From what I understand, it’s incredibly difficult to get a dinner reservation which you really don’t have to do. Just go get your eggnog, take your Instagram picture and peace out. (After waiting in an hour long line). I don’t regret going because it’s one of those things you have to check out once. Really, the décor is beautiful. But once was enough and I probably won’t be back.
Oh, and to top things off, we were double charged for our drinks. I understand that they’re extremely busy and that it’s probably easy to get disorganized, but when we call the restaurant pretty much daily for two weeks to complain about the discrepancy, answer the phone.

Came here only for drinks and to look at the Christmas decorations during the holiday season with friends. If you’re looking for great service or chill atmosphere to catch up with friends — Rolf’s is not the place. The restaurant is hectic over the holidays. There is always a line — 30min to an hour wait if you’re lucky.
The place is always packed with people rubbing elbow to elbow. Once you are inside, the bouncer directs you to the bar. You will most likely need to push your way through to even order your first drink. The bartenders are always in the rush — they expect you to pick out your drinks, give them your credit card, sign the receipt and leave. They aren’t really friendly and have a ‘don’t waste my time attitude’.
The positive side to this place is that the Christmas decorations really are beautiful, and both the spiked eggnog (with a cinnamon stick) and mulled wine are delicious (despite it being $ 17 per drink). The drinks are surprisingly strong too — you can really taste the liquor. That’s a plus.
Once we finished our drinks, the bouncer guarding the entrance asked us if we are ordering anything else from the bar. We said no. So he kicked our party out and reminded us that this «is not a place to stand around and look at decorations».
Okay then bye.

This is the most magical place ever. You have to come here while the Christmas decorations are up! The service isn’t as awful as people describe – our server was pretty friendly considering the buttloads of people that were there that night. Just a word of warning, my bf had to call a month in advance to get a table that night but you can also wait on line for the bar (although it can get cold since it extends outside).
With lines out the door and delicious food & drinks, this place ‘clearly’ deserves a 2.5.

The Christmas décor is truly spectacular, and you feel as though you are transformed into a wintry wonderland. So definitely go to see this.
Because of its sudden meteoric rise to popularity, I think Rolf’s had a hard time accommodating people: if you tried to walk in and get a table, there was no host/​hostess to take your name, even the bar too crowded to order a drink.
Overall, if you try to go at Christmastime, don’t expect much service, just appreciate the scene.

The atmosphere here is absolutely stunning and the main reason that this place is so popular during the holiday season. The decorations are tremendous, not tacky or gaudy. We made a reservation beforehand, which I would recommend because it was only 5:45pm the place was packed with quite a few parties waiting (we came on a Saturday in January). We were seated right away.
I will say that the food was quite underwhelming. I had barely dabbled in German cuisine before but I thought that it was quite bland. None of us were impressed. Regardless, I would absolutely seek this spot out for it’s décor — one of a kind!

I came here over the holidays as I spotted it last year and never got round to visiting.
⁵⁄₅ for decorations
³⁄₅ for drinks & service
The decorations were amazing and mesmerizing! I was very impressed and it really brought the Christmas spirit! It was however extremely busy (as to be expected) and so was a bit of a squeeze, it wasn’t the easiest to move around or even get to the bar. I was surprised at how pricey the drinks were given the kind of establishment, but for a one off at Christmas it’s all good.
I will probably save my visits for Christmas time and probably wouldn’t visit if the decorations weren’t up. My husband actually had a team lunch here over Christmas and did not think much to the food. But, it’s a fun place to visit!

Such a magical place to stop in around Christmas time. The decorations are beautiful and re so festive and really gets you into the Christmas spirit. Came
Here the night before Xmas eve and it was beyond PACKED. If you actually want to eat make sure to make a reservation ahead of time. Otherwise the mulled wine is an ABSOLUTE MUST. There’s no room to even stand at the bar but to come in for a glass of
the mulled wine and a spiced cinnamon eggnog is definitely worth it.

Rolfs is an obligatory stop late fall through early spring, when the holiday lights are up. If you are looking to come here, you are probably already aware of the over 100,000 christmas lights, 15,000 ornaments, thousand of icicles and hundreds of dolls all around. If you go near christmas lines will be out the block, so I would advise going in January to get the experience without the crowds.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, see here:
The lights are awesome to look at and give you a truly unique bar experience in NYC, rare in amongst itself, making Rolfs a great place to take out of towner, dates, anybody looking for something different.
The drinks here… meh. I’d stick with one of the German beers, the schnapps, or the mulled wine. Cocktails were average, we didn’t try any food.

The ONLY reason that I’m giving this place 5 stars is Bc of the Christmas decorations during the holidays. I suggest making the reservation just right after Thanksgiving as the phone lines get tied up as you get closer to Christmas. And expect a 30 min wait even if you did make a reservation!
Don’t expect much from the food– nothing that will blow you out of the water. But the ceilings during Christmas…

If you want to come for beer, potato pancakes and insane décor, this is your spot. If you want to come for a relaxing Holiday dinner with friends, or a place to take your first date, then this is NOT your spot.
I came for dinner and wine with 4 other colleagues and had a good time. It was overpacked, loud, and extremely hot (so. many. lights.) But other than that, I enjoyed myself.
This review gets minus one star because the prices are stupid expensive, even for NYC + you are not allowed to share plates. We wanted to order a smörgåsbord of dishes but we all had to order at least one entrée each or there would be an extra charge. Ridiculous. Another star knocked off because their sausages were terrible (in my opinion), and I tried them all.
HOWEVER, the dishes we had that were great are: potato pancakes, schnitzel, beef stew, spätzle, and the salmon.

Rolf’s is a place you go to for the novelty of it and not necessarily because the food is stellar. We went for a pre-​show drink after the holidays and showed up perhaps 10 minutes after they opened. It was already jam packed. The drinks are pricey, 2 glasses of wine and 2 beers will run you near $ 50. The bartenders are quick to deliver but if you don’t have a spot at the bar there’s really nowhere to go and you will feel constantly in the way.
We also ordered some «snacks» of the potato pancakes and the spatzel. The pancakes are enormous! They’re huge thick slabs of potato fried until crispy but greasy as all get out. They are tasty but they’ll certainly sit with you for awhile. The spatzel is nothing really to write home about and was a bit dry and flavorless. It did the job of soaking up some alcohol so we were presentable for our matinée.
My vote: if you can fit through the door and find a spot at the bar, enjoy a single drink for the novelty and then march you way up to some place more reasonably priced and perhaps infinitely less crowded.

I came to ROLFS with high expectations after seeing all of the beautiful pictures on Instagram. the decorations were breath taking.
ACTUAL EXPERIENCE:
When I walked in the man at the front told me that there would be a 45 minute wait. It was much more than that (on December 26^th), and he didn’t find me. I had to hover over the hostess stand and basically stalk this guy so my friend and I could get a table.
THE FOOD:
We ordered the veal which the waitress recommended. It was thin over salted and underwhelming. I barley ate it. The spechula was OK. Definitely not worth what we paid.
Overall:
You are basically paying a premium to sit down in the beautiful atmosphere and not being bothered by bumping into people at the crowded bar. The drink menu doesn’t have prices. So, after finishing 2 drinks each (I had the spiked apple cider which wasn’t poured to the brim like the egg nog but I’ll get over it) and splitting a crappy entrée the bill came out to $ 62 each including tip! Ridiculous! Not to mention the host was turning people away and there were at least three empty tables ! I suggest going just for a drink and a picture and getting out!

Christmas Time Is here and so is the infamous Rolfs Biergarten decorations.
This review is solely for the bar area. Rolfs is a fun beautifully decorated bar that as soon as you walk in you are emerged with elegant Christmas decorations. It is a fun bar to go to with friends to talk about the holidays and drink festive drinks. Beware though it is extremely packed and you will be squeezed in next to random people as the bar area is pretty small.
The drinks they had that most people were getting were the spiked cider and the egg nog with bourbon. The drinks were very week and bland and they had a built in 20% tip at the bar which I thought was weird. I had never seen that before.
It was good to experience this bar but I most likely won’t be coming back during the holidays.
In short:
— Elegant Christmas decorations
— weak drinks
— forced 20% tip at the bar
— extremely packed

Wow is this place crowded. I think it’s a Christmas thing because of the insanely awesome decorations. Otherwise this place would be impossible to access. Most people are crowded at the narrow bar, with many here probably only to see the decorations. But because of this, no one can really get a drink. It gets really hot too! On the side and back is the actual restaurant portion, which was not completely full when I came, but it was 5:30pm on a Monday evening. I never got to get a drink at the bar due to the number of people. Too bad, but worth checking out in December just to snap a good photo!

If it wasn’t for the décor, I would never come here, which makes it hard to give an accurate star rating. I think 2.5 is about right, but they put effort into the holidays, so I went with 3. Also, the mulled wine with a cinnamon stick is lovely. It’s a little overpriced at $ 15 a glass, but it’s worth it to me.
During the holidays, come on a weekday to try to avoid a line around the block. I would also recommend coming fifteen minutes before they open. Enjoy the spectacular Christmas decorations and some eggnog. After that, head on to somewhere else. I haven’t eaten here, but the food is not that well reviewed. They do take reservations so definitely make one if you’d like to eat.

Walking in to a chant:
«It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow»
Everyone feels jolly in here! How can you not? Don’t go for the food, go for drinks with your friends to admire their amazing décor and decorations, pick out the creepiest dolls, and sip on the smoothest malt wine you’ve ever had! Be careful they go down very easy and at $ 15 a glass you’ll be up to $ 100 in no time.
Spiked Eggnog is amazing too with a cinnamon stick — very strong but for $ 15 you’d hope so. I hear the food is disappointing but if you’re willing to line up at the door before 8 you’ll get in around 20 mins.
Inside its packed so find your spot and hold it! If you don’t like crowded places and hot drinks this isn’t the place for you. But I’d say it’s a must when in NYC for the holidays!

During the holiday season, this place is decorated from inside out, bottom to top with Christmas ornaments, dolls, lights — absolutely breathtaking! This is definitely a spot that you can start a tradition just like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Be warned during the holiday season, it is extremely pack (just like visiting the Rockefeller Xmas tree). If you are claustrophobic, I recommend waiting outside until your table is ready — I got shoved a few times because it is so pack.
We made reservation for 1 table of 4 and 1 table of 2 (they told us they were not taking reservations for 6). They were nice enough to seat our tables across from each other (or we just got lucky). Our reservation was for 7:30 and we were seated before 8pm. There was a group of 6 and it took them over an hour to get seated — apparently they only have 3 tables that will seat 6 people. If you go in big groups, be prepare to wait.
The food portions are HUGE. For two people, I recommend ordering 1 appetizer and 1 entrée unless you are a big big eater!
For appetizer, we ordered the Potato Pancakes which you have to order since you are in a German restaurant. I don’t find it particularly amazing but we ate every last bite so it was enjoyable.
Just order the schnitzel! We ordered Schnitzel a la Holstein (veal cutlet) and Chicken Schnitzel — both are extremely good! The schnitzels are the highlights of this place. It’s perfectly breaded and tender. Duck was also very good but the schnitzel was the highlight of the night!
For drinks, get the MULE WINE! It is warm red wine with cinnamon stick inside of it. AMAZING! Had I read the reviews earlier, I would have skipped the beer and stick to Mule Wine the entire night!
Bottom Line — Come here for a great experience and be absorbed by their over the top decorated restaurant! Next time, I may skip out on dinner and stick with the bar.

Rolf’s is the place to be for the holidays in NYC! The Christmas decoration is festive and magical.
We visited for drinks on a Friday night and spent about 20 minutes or so standing before we actually had seats. I hope that’s not a deal breaker since you can invest that time with falling deeply in love with the decoration and sipping on their holiday drinks such as spice warm apple cider, vanilla spiced eggnog, or my favorite — mulled wine.
The drinks are on the pricey side, however well worth it. Celebrate its the holidays, you don’t have to go crazy and grab a couple of drinks as a typical New Yorker would do when bar hopping in the city.
We ended staying for 1.5 hour and had two drinks each with great discussion and appreciate the environment.
They also have a seating area for dinner. Not sure of the food selection, but it smelled delicious.
We were mesmerized by the decoration.
It gets crowded and can be great for mingling with the locals or lots of tourists.
The bartenders are savvy, polite, and friendly.
Happy Holidays!