Loreley Beer Garden
7 Rivington Street | (212) 253-7077
The beer is imported from Germany, the food is German-style comfort food, and the tables were made by a carpenter who builds furniture for brewery pubs in Cologne. Loreley is named after the legendary siren who sits on a rock high over the Rhine and lures mariners to their death. Loreley opened in the fall of 2003. The restaurant, Michael thinks, fills a gap in the gastronomic landscape of New York City, where German-Americans, although a large ethnic group, are underrepresented. German Gemütlichkeit, a concept best approximated by "coziness" in English, means that people sit together at long wooden tables, which allows socializing with your neighbors, especially when major German sports events are being broadcast live. Except for the chestnut trees, which are typical for beer gardens in Germany, the graveled beer garden in the back of Loreley looks very much like a beer garden in Germany.