I’ve been to the Hofbräuhaus Newport many times in the past but have only eaten there a couple of times. Most of my past visits have been after dinner to enjoy the beer garden. Who doesn’t love slinging back liters of beer while listening to live polka and dancing on top of the table’s benches? Well those days don’t happen as much as they used to, which leads me to this past weekends lunch time visit to the Hofbräuhaus.

The Hofbräuhaus Newport was the first authentic Hofbräuhaus in America, modeled after the legendary 400+ year-old Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Germany. There is an onsite brewery with a Brew Master from Germany that produces four varieties of beer for the restaurant, plus seasonal specials. Even though I didn’t order a liter of beer I still had a couple 1/2 liters over lunch, which is still a pretty good amount of beer once we had finished our meals.

1/2 Liter Of Beer

On this visit my wife, son, and I were joined by various members of her family along with a few of their friends. It was a large group and I was happy to see that we were seated in the side room and not in the often smoke-filled bier hall. Plus there wasn’t any live music at the time of our visit, so it’s not like we were missing anything. Though the music did start about halfway through our meal, and we enjoyed it over another round of beers.

House Salad

My wife started with a house salad ($4.99 or $2.49 when added to an entrée). This salad was enough for the two of us to share and was filled with a variety of fresh vegetables. They didn’t have many dressings to offer, at least not that the waitress was aware of, but nonetheless it was a good start to our meal.

Bauern Sandwich

I ordered the Bauern sandwich with fries ($7.99). This sandwich features a mound of ham and Swiss cheese served on a sesame seed pretzel bun, and topped with their signature homemade bier cheese. It was really great sandwich and quite filling. The bier cheese is the standout item, though the pretzel bun was really good too.

Wurst On A Bun

My wife had the grilled mettwurst on a bun with sauerkraut and fries ($6.99). She was expecting a larger sausage and it also lacked the heat of a hot smoked mettwurst that we all love so much. With that said she didn’t seem to hate it, but I don’t think she would order it again.

The Hofbräuhaus Newport isn’t just for beer filled evening entertainment. They also serve a mix of authentic German dishes and American staples that is suitable for lunch or dinner.