Rolf's Bar & Restaurant   

It's been two years since I've had my annual Christmas dinner at Rolf's. I ordered a traditional German meal, but without meat. It was good, not great. I have heard of diners getting sick from Rolf's food, and after reading some of the reviews, I must avoid this restaurant from now on (I'm not healthy.) Maybe there's too many dinners to serve at one time. I guess I'll just have a champage cocktail at their bar.

It's still my favorite place, all year round. The food is always great, the service is great and the ambience is unbeatable. I love to bring out of town visitors there, they are always amazed. Only in New York!!

I have tries only a few things on the menu but loved them all. The selection of German beers on tap were equally as good.

Having been a former customer of Luchow's, a long-gone Bavarian restaurant in New York City, I was looking for a replacement by trying Rolf's for the first time. Sorry to say I was somewhat disappointed. I tried one of their signature dishes, sauerbraten, and it really didn't resemble any sauerbraten I'd eaten before. The normal sweet and sour sauce used for this dish was replaced by a lumpy brown gravy with a bit of sugar added. It's always the sauce that "makes" this dish identifiable. The heavy, chewable brown bread so famous in that area of Europe was replaced with dry straw-like bread - another disappointment. This is a stylish restaurant, and it's unfortunate that the food is not true to the Austrian/Bavarian cooking style.