We got sat in 3 minutes. Awesome! Ordered food and beer. Waited 45 minutes to get a beer. Still didn't get the beer. Got up to leave and waitress asked if we wanted to close out our tab... made sense because she had not been paying attention to us. But we didn't even get any food... terrible service. Awful. Would not recommend. read more

My rating is on based on the food. The very delicious food..... I am a firm believer that a German restaurant is only as good as its potato salad. Black Forest had a fantastic potato salad, tangy and cooled with soft potatoes and the occasional crunch of onion. Does this come with the option to add bacon?? Because that would be amazing, My husband order the goulash and I ordered the jagerschnitzel. Despite the restaurant having running over Spaetzal, (which it was supposed to come with) and being substituted for mashed potatoes, we were both pleased with our tasty and enormous portions. The meat in the goulash was very tender and my veal cutlet was delicious. The mushroom gravy was amazing, and I asked for extra. Would it be strange if I drank the gravy out of the ramekin? The atmosphere was a little lacking; it seems like this is a restaurant that has not found its personality yet, but I am not going to hold that against Black Forest. The servers were nice and attentive. The crowd seemed to be very very yuppy. The very loud, top 40s hits music playing left something to be desired. There were not enough people in the restaurant to have crappy teeny bopper music playing that loud. We almost chose to move on judging on that alone, but I am glad we toughed it out. I will definitely return; I am eager to get some potato dumplings in my mouth. I'm very glad you were good, Black Forest. read more

Food was adequate, but very disappointed in the service. After waiting a long time for our food when the place was slow, the waitress dropped some of our food. Understandable, but we waited another half hour and their food never came. We were polite and patient. After waiting even longer we had to get to the Barclay Center we had to ask for them to remove the meals we never received off the bill. They did, but did not offer us any additional discount. Half of our party did not eat, we were there for almost 2 hours, I asked for them to give us something-they removed 2 sodas. Very poor customer service. Additionally, we had questions about the meals and the waiter had zero knowledge of the menu or food preparation. read more

Went tonight for drinks after a concert at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and this is definitely a good place to go if you are in the neighborhood. We ate the pretzel, which was awesome. There beer list is pretty large and has over a dozen different beers from Germany with a good description for each. Also, each beer came in three sizes half liter, liter, and two-liter (comes in a boot). read more

I grew up drinking Rothaus beer during summers in Oberkirch. Its the PBR of the black forest. So stoked that they serve it here!

My band had a video showing here a couple of months back and I said I would Yelp this place but forgot. So when I found their business card and thought back to my experience that night, what came to mind was THE BEST DRINK I EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!!! I'm SOOOO not kidding! It was too long now for me to remember the name of this beautiful fruity concoction, but what I do remember is that whatever I was annoyed about was lost in this elixir FOR DA GAAAAAAWDS!!!!!! And the owner of the place was adorable and awesome as were the bartender and the servers. The place is like HUGE HUGE HUGE for NO REASON!!!! So it's big enough to convert into whatever you need for a private event...or an open mic...or a show....I mean it's huge. I can't wait to go back! read more

Great atmosphere good food very rustic looking with wooden picnic tables exposed brick. Wonderful beer I recommend the grapefruit.

Just visited BFB this past Saturday night around 6:30. My mom had been previously and raved about it, so she was with us as well. I wish YELP had a 'food rating' AND an 'experience rating'. While we thoroughly enjoyed the food, getting it was another story. Firstly please know that it is a 'seat yourself' establishment which can get a bit confusing when you have to hang around the bar area and watch like a hawk for a table not knowing how many other people are doing the same thing. Also, how can you have a 'seat yourself' policy but also have a table with a 'Reserved' sign on it??? Doesn't seem fair. Fortunately, our wait wasn't long. Our waitress seemed a bit overwhelmed when she came to take our drink order. After our drinks arrived, we ordered our food which she seemed to want to get 'done'. I ordered the Jagerschnitzel w/mushroom gravy and Spaetzle. The pork was well seasoned and not dry like some schnitzel can be. However the spaetzle was bland. The other items ordered were the large wurst platter that came with a choice of 7 sausages (there are only 5 options on the menu?) and only four came out. This was served with a variety of sides a few that came out room temp but should have been hot (e.g. mashed potatoes). They also have a German type flat-bread that was really good. However, once the waitress took our food order, it was a good 30-45 mins. before we received anything plus we never saw her again until she dropped off the check. We also had finished our drinks and had to hail someone down for a second round. Right before we received our food, it seemed like 3 or 4 'runners' arrived and the service quality picked up a bit. Plus a pet peeve of mine is when your server never comes back to your table to make sure everything is OK and you have everything you need. Although they have been open for 7 weeks (according to Yelp) the service still seems a bit disorganized. I noticed two kitchen staff visiting the basement to re-up on supplies. Not something you necessarily want to take time to do during a dinner rush. Since the bar gets very busy, maybe the wait staff attending the tables should do the wine pours (like I've seen done in other establishments). Also, we sat right by the office and observed the owners going in and out, and greeting friends but I didn't see any interaction or managing of the staff. I've seen owners of restaurants who have been in business for years, come by tables and make sure everything is OK. Certainly something you'd want to do when you are 'fulfilling a lifetime dream of opening their own business' (from the BFB website). All in all, I would recommend the food. I would definitely give it another try go again and would probably call ahead. ; ) read more

Extremely friendly bartenders, always plenty of seats, clean bathrooms, excellent fries, and many vegetarian options (both healthy and.... okay, I had german latkes). The flatbread pizza looked delicious -- I'll be back for it. Go across to Greenlight bookstore when you're full and maybe tipsy. read more

Been here twice for a birthday party and before a Nets game. The food is decent, the atmosphere is cool. I'm not into most sour German wheat beers, so.... read more

Big space in back with beer hall long tables, smaller tables and smart looking bar up front. Large draft selection of German beers. Currywurst and the pretzel (w/ mustard) are my constant companions, but they offer a decent brunch and they have a few surprise Caribbean options on the main menu like Jerk Chicken (one owner has Jamaican heritage!). Great for groups and under appreciated in this neighborhood. read more

i'm reading a memoir of a brit who travelled through germany in the 30s and hit a series of beer halls. his descriptions had me craving a good german bar, and as i was passing through fort greene i stopped in at dsk (not knowing any better). i was so dissappointed that i left for the bbq place down the street, giving up on my hopes for a good german experience. then i stumbled on black forest and it was exactly what i'd been hoping for. huge great beer selection. great food (i had the dumplings with bacon and kraut). a beer hall section with long shared tables, and a sizable bar if that's not your thing. but you've got to have the big open space like that because the echoing voices and laughter are a big part of the vibe in a good german joint. this place was just what i wanted and i'll definitely be back. read more

As a lover of German food, I was excited to go to this place. It was a huge disappointment, starting with the service. We were basically ignored most of the night. One of us had to get up from the table multiple times to find a wait person. When the food did come, my schnitzel was room temperature and dry, and my spatzel was cold and clumped together. The dirty plates stayed in front of us for a really long time and it was until i flagged someone down to order coffee that they were cleared. We will not being going back. read more

brats, spatzle, schnitzel, flammkuchen, what's not to love? everything i've had here has been delicious, even the side salads that come with the various dishes are tasty. i am relieved i live a 20-min walk away, instead of really close by, otherwise i'd be here eating all the time and fat and poor. my favorite is the spatzle, mmm. most recently went for Sunday brunch around 1pm and it was pretty busy, so the food took awhile, but we still snagged part of a table (seat yourself! lots of group seating options) and the servers are all super nice and on top of it. yay Black Forest! read more

The food and atmosphere here are great, but holy cow service sucked today! Sat outside and got my lunch before drink order. Five minutes later I was able to ask for napkin and silverware. People next to me waiting at least five minutes to have their c/c ran and returned. Great place, but really failed today and the last time I was here for service. read more

Got take out from this place when it was not very busy. It took someone 10 minutes to take my order and an additional 30 for my food to come out. Order was taken down incorrectly and when I called to address it I was told by two different people that I was wrong. Had to give it two stars because the bratwurst was great, but not great enough for the price and service. read more

Food was excellent, especially the kale. Be sure to try the Flammekuchen! Very similar tasting to the food I had when I was visiting the Bavarian region. True to its roots! Great atmosphere, though at times the music seemed a little loud. Great place for gathering with friends. read more

The food is decent, but the service is awful. Simply terrible. Rude, abrupt, and everything service should strive to avoid. Despite the place being far less than half-full tonight, the server rushed us throughout our meal. We were there from start to finish about 45 minutes. When we had only consumed a few bites we were asked if we wanted to take anything anything to go. After the third time or so of being asked if we wanted anything else, we asked for the check. The server told us to "take our time," when he broiler it over. Not 5 minutes later he asked for our credit card and stood over us. I foolishly left a tip and I regret that because the service was amongst the worst I have experienced in quite some time. I would avoid this place like the plague unless you enjoy being treated like garbage. Terrible experience. read more

I can see why some people go here, it is kid friendly and it is in Brooklyn. That being said, this place was not very good. We took our 2 year old kid with us, so it was nice to see that there were other kids there. But the service was slow and our waiter did not seem to know anything about the food. Also, somehow this German beer hall did not have any Oktoberfest beers, although I can look past that given that they had a pretty good beer menu. However, my first beer (Hafbrau lager) came warm. I couldnt drink it so I had to return it, the next one was cold enough, but it was very odd. I got the chicken shnitzel, which I actually enjoyed, however the mashed potatoes (which the clueless server recomended) were not very good. My wife's spaetzle was bad. Not sure if we will be back, because too many things were unsatisfactory (especially for the prices), but there are not a ton of places as kid friendly as this, so we might give it another try at some point. read more

Came here on a Sunday afternoon and can only say it felt like it had kind of a strange vibe. On one side the skylights and the architecture have a very modern feel, while the tables and benches are more like a traditional beer hall. On the other side, where the bar is, it feels more like a coffee shop with smaller tables in a totally different style. And the soundtrack was all jazz, which was a bit unexpected. We tried two pilsners that were pretty standard, but not great. The rest of the beer list was decent, but not as extensive as some other beer gardens in NYC. We didn't try the food, but the menu seemed to have a lot of choices. The service was ok but not standout in any way, and there were a lot of parents with their young children, which is not atypical in the neighborhood, but makes things feel more subdued than you might expect. Probably a nice place to come during the day if you have kids because they seem to be accommodating for families. But not much else stands out here. read more

I have been to Black Forest at least 10 times for dinner, drinks, and brunches. The service has always been lacking, however the good food and beer hall decor always outweighed the bad. My experience today completely changed my outlook and I will not be coming back. To begin, we waited nearly 30 minutes for the server to come by. When we finally managed to catch his eye, he said he would be right over, yet every time we saw him he was taking orders of patrons who entered the restaurant way after we had. Once we finally ordered, it took another 35 minutes for us to get our first drink which is a very infuriating experience at the best of time, yet downright cruel when you've paid for the bottomless drinks (with a time limit). Another 20 minutes in, the waiter mentions that the kitchen does not have our sides and we need to order something different. At this point, we'd been there for an hour and a half and we're not even going to get the food we wanted. We told the server to please cancel our order and we'd pay for our drinks and leave. This was met with visible scorn, and our server walked away without a comment. Five minutes later, he waltzes out with the food exactly as we ordered. Weird. We tried to laugh it off and WE apologized for any perceived rudeness and thanked the server for our order. When we were finally ready to settle up, our bill seemed absurdly high. We looked down and 30% of our bill was for expensive cocktails that we did not order. Once we confronted the server, he said it was a "crazy mistake he meant to rectify" which I'd like to think is true, but the whole think reeked of impropriety. So Black Forest, I prefer going to restaurants that show respect for the patron's time and do not try to rob me. I will not be coming back. read more

I really like this place. The Fulton location is much better than the Smith Street location. I've never had a bad experience here and I've been there multiple times for boozy brunch. Bottomless mimosas?!? Great food?!? I love this place. Don't bother with Smith Street. The service is horrible. read more

Came in last night and had a blast! I know nothing about German beer or food and the bartender gave me some great suggestions. The German IPA was so good! Fried mushrooms, Schnitzel, kasebrat, sautéed kale alll stellar! So glad I tried this place out, I can't wait to come back! read more

Came here to grab a drink at the bar and to watch the world cup.This German beer bar, opened by two Brooklyn residents that grew up in the Black Forest region of Germany.Great restaurant but I'm not a fan of the growing number of alcohol-serving establishments in the area.Great selection of beers, nice and friendly staff, tasty food with huge portions. read more

Black Forest is wonderful! It's one of those places you can sit at all day, beginning with coffee and work in the afternoon and ending with a few beers by evening (or a few beers throughout) when it transforms into a beer hall. My server Kat was wonderful; she knew exactly what happy hour beers were best and what food I was craving. She was very accommodating without being overbearing. I sat there for hours, got lots of work done, and left sufficiently buzzed. read more

We had been to this place once before at night and it was great, so we thought it would be the perfect place to go after graduation at Barclay's for lunch. Our waitress just looked confused and lost they entire service. It was one thing after another. They were out of a few things, which ok it happens, but the communicating of it and explaining what they were out of so we order something else that they also weren't out of was painful. Then the bratwurst came out with no mustard or sauerkraut, just the meat on the bun. We had to ask for it and even then "oh yeah it's supposed to come with that." Then we were still waiting on something and she came over and asked how everything was and we had to remind her we were still waiting on stuff. On top of all that the soup that came with the sandwich was bland and I know why would you order that with your sandwich well it's lunch and if you are going to do something do it right or don't put it on the menu. The brat was good, chicken wings dry. If you want beer, soft pretzels and brats you may be ok, but service was horrible and there are plenty of places in the zip code with great beer, pretzels brat AND service. read more

Favorite place to work in Brooklyn. Great beers. Good beer hall food. Friendly people. And, plenty of table space for a laptop and whatnot. Just a solid place. read more

Great selection of beer in different sizes to cater to lightweights and lushes alike. The food isn't anything to gush over but it's pretty solid all around. Seems like a good place for large groups but I've also come here alone to read a book or work on my laptop for a couple hours. The staff never try to rush you to vacate the table and are always friendly and accommodating without being overbearing. I will definitely keep coming back. read more

I love Black Forest Brooklyn. The place is great for big parties but also for romantic dinner for two. Prices are great, staff is friendly and welcoming, food is always fantastic. Will come back many more times! Danke shon. read more

Came here based on a recommendation and was blown away. I ordered a flat bread (gluten free dough available) with truffle mushrooms and caramelized onions. The flatbread was HUGE and could easily be shared between two people. The atmosphere is cool and trendy and there were a few families here. Definitely a place to grab some awesome food and drinks. read more

The location and lighting are really great, I guess, which is why this place always seems to be busy. However the service is just atrocious. We've waited upwards of 30 minutes after being seated to catch a server's attention. It's a joke! And the wines are all at least $13. I get that it's a beer bar but that's still steep. It's a shame because Black Forest is such a pleasant, open place to hang out in, but it honestly feels like they don't care about making their customers happy. read more

Food is priced very fairly. The selection of German beers on draught are plentiful but pricy. Service is average at best. The place has s nice relaxed vibe, at least for a weekday lunch. read more

Cool German bar with good food. Server could use a few lessons in things like giving a plate THROUGH two other guests at our table, not supplying napkins (things like that), but at least she was a sweetheart. Please note this place only has beer. If you want anything else, you'll have to go elsewhere. read more

I ordered the Black Forest burger. It was okay, not spectacular. The giant pretzel was on the dry side but the sweet mustard made it good. The jerk wings were on the greasy side but had a good flavor. Overall, it was 3/5 stars. We sat outside where the seating was crowded. read more

Great spot with lots of room to chill with friends and enjoy some beer and bratwurst.

Really enjoyed this Biergarten. We were so happy to find authentic Flammkuchen, which is hard to find in the US. Brezel was also very good. Actually everything we had was good. We did see a guy sitting at another table drinking from a giant size "das boot." Yikes. Wish they didn't even have it available. So tacky. But they have some seatings outside by sidewalk, which is nice to do some ppl watching. read more

Real German food in the neighborhood. Kaesespaetzle was really good, it's like a German version of mac and cheese, with the real nice emmentaler cheese. If you come in a crowd, definitely get the Grosse Wurstplatte, nice presentation with 7 kinds of sausages. Schnitzel was tender with fresh salad. Happy to have Black Forest in Fort Greene! read more

I've been here twice and really enjoyed my experience both times. The food is great with a lot of options to chose from and their draft beer selection is awesome as well. The atmosphere is great with a laid back, cozy vibe. read more

True to its name, Black Forest Brooklyn brings a bit of der Schwartzwald zum Brooklyn. I see that Matthew S laments, "Oh, yay, ANOTHER German beer hall," but I think it has a number of things going for it that give it an edge over the rest. Take it from me, as I've been around the Stammtisch a few times: I'm a huge fan of Buschenschank and Zum Schneider, but I think BFB eclipses them and certainly the likes of Der Schwarze Koelner and its crappy service. First, it has one of the best beer selections: not just the typical Hofbraeuhaus Muenchen, but Weihenstephan (one of the oldest and best breweries), Jever, and a good selection of bocks, altbier, and other richer varieties. Pils and hefeweizen are ideal in the summer, but it's nice to have darker varieties during this never-ending winter. Second, at some other German beer halls, you may get a similar selection, yet not all of these beers will be served vom Fass, which makes a huge difference for imported beer. Third, I think the atmosphere strikes the perfect balance between Brooklyn character (thoughtfully decorated, mottled exposed brick, relaxed atmosphere) and ein echtes Hofbraeuhaus. They have real Germans working here, including at least one of the owners--who, by the way, appear to give a Scheisse, as I've seen them in the place every time I've visited. Fourth, ein Wort: die Riesenbrezel! Considerably better than Buschenschank's, served hot, buttery, und so gross wie der Wienerischer Riesenrad! Easily the best pretzel this side of the Neckar. The complaints about the noise level and babies strike me as odd--you know you're going to a beer hall in Brooklyn, right? If you need to find something more authentically German, meine Empfehlung would be to watch this Sprockets video: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9p5ey_sprockets-germany-s-most-disturbing_shortfilms read more

Went here after a BAM show for birthday beers n brats a few weeks ago. The food exceeded all expectations. It was probably the best kasewurst I've eaten, even compared to ones I had in Germany & Austria! Good beer selection too. The only reason I'm giving 4 stars is the service was pretty bad. For example, I tried three times to get the waitress to come back to order my drink as she crossed the room. Granted it was a Saturday night and it wasn't exactly slow, but it was frustrating. I'd come back anyway though, just to try some more wurst! read more