Radegast Now!

The long-awaited opening of Radegast Hall & Biergarten, Brooklyn’s first old-timey beer hall, is finally upon us, just in time for… winter. The 2,000 square foot establishment is designed to feel like a turn-of-the-century Austro-Hungarian beer hall, with a retractable roof canopy, 32-foot high ceilings, communal tables made from 150-year-old barn wood, a seasonal grill and 13 varieties of beer on tap, as well as a wider array of exotic-sounding bottled beer, such as the “St. Bernardus Tripel”, which we hope is served from a little wooden barrel around a dog’s neck.

Run by the same Czechs who operate the wildly successful Bohemian Hall in Astoria, the new Williamsburg branch has been ready to operate since before Oktoberfest, but has been tangled up for months in licensing and permit bureaucracy. Contrary to prior reports from the bar’s owners, Radegast just obtained a Certificate of Occupancy yesterday. According to co-owner Andy Ivanov, who spoke to us this morning, the certificate and the liquor license were obtained in the same day and the taps will flow Friday at 3pm. It's at the corner of Berry and N 3rd Street, right across from The Levee, AKA the dark pit of depravity that was Kokie's.

Photo by Archipelagos Design.