Old Heidelberg is one of my favorite spots in New Haven. Great drinks, great crowd, and always the perfect place to catch up with friends after a long week. I speak for many students when I say that Mike is a huge part of what makes this place so special. He genuinely cares about the people at the bar, remembers faces, checks in on people, and makes everyone feel welcome. Absolute legend!!! read more

Great place and cool classic environment. Loved the beer selection and though the food menu is limited, most of the things we tried were delicious. Fantastic friendly service even on a crowded night. read more

This is the only restaurant located in the Graduate hotel (aside from the cafe) but it's pretty dismal. They are closed two days out of the week entirely. This seems more like a college student hangout than a nice hotel restaurant/bar, so the noise level was loud. They have some food but we didn't try any. For a German beer restaurant, they have a surprisingly low number of beers on tap and also run out frequently. They also were out of all Ciders the night we visited. Decent seating options though one half of the bar was closed entirely for some reason, limiting seating. They offer free popcorn which is probably the best thing about this place. Service was distracted and not too attentive. If you're staying in the hotel and don't feel like venturing far, it's a decent option but if you have the will, go elsewhere for beer and a night out. read more

Old Heidelberg - Entrance - Pretzels Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Great vibe, great service. Michael was exceptional!! 10/10! I let him know what flavors I usually like in a cocktail and he thew together one of the most delicious drinks I've ever had. Will definitely be coming back :) read more

Stayed at the hotel for a weekend and ended one night here. Sat at the bar downstairs which sat 8-10 maybe. Small little bar and very classic feeling. Bartender made great drinks and was there chatting it up with us. read more

Old Heidelberg - Pretzels Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

My friends and I had a great time here a few weeks ago! We came for a wedding party and fell in love with the unique vibe of this place. Our bartender, Mike, was absolutely amazing & everyone in our group loved their drinks! They also have a nice selection of board games & let us make music requests throughout the night too. Overall a great spot to celebrate with friends and we will be back! read more

My wife and I met some friends at Old Heidelberg on a Tuesday night. Old Heidelberg is affiliated with the Graduate Hotel. I like that you descend stairs and open a heavy door to get to the bar. The bar is full of stained wood in various forms. It looks awesome. Especially for a Tuesday between 6:15 and 7:30, the atmosphere was lively. The bar checks all of my boxes for a cocktail bar. We had a good time visiting friends. People we didn't know were friendly. And the bartender was skilled in the craft of cocktails. On the suggestion of Yelp's Matt L, I ordered an Old Fashioned. It was perfect. Sweet, but not too sweet. A bit smoky. Terrific. Five Stars read more

Old Heidelberg - Old Fashioned - Pretzels Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Came on a monday night for trivia, and we've never been before. Safe to say it was a fun place to be and exceeded our expectations. Limited food menu, so we ate before, but we did consume the fresh (free) popcorn they had. Pitcher of a lite beer was $15. The Bar, looks like a scene out of Hogwarts, dark, funky candles, old wooden tables with names carved in them, and definitely historic. Its a good thing we arrived a bit earlier for 6pm Monday night trivia as it was crowded, lots of Yalies there too. read more

Old Heidelberg - Pretzels Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

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They are missing the green pieces to Blokus, the family friendly board game that my wife and I (married for 30 years mind you!) tried to play after dropping our daughter off at Yale. For the amount of money I spend at this educational institution the least I ask for is a complete set of Blokus pieces. I advise anyone looking for family friendly fun in the New Haven area to look elsewhere. Disappointed. read more

Old Heidelberg is a cocktail bar that opened in New Haven, Connecticut in 1757. It is one of the oldest bars in the city, preceding the private Yale University bar Mory's by 92 years. Old Heidelberg was originally located on Temple Street at a time when New Haven was still a town, Connecticut was still a colony, the French and Indian War was raging on, and the United States did not yet exist. The bar moved to Park Street in 1871, and then to its current location in the basement of the Hotel Duncan in 1959. Old Heidelberg closed down in 1991 after 234 years in business. The basement location became home to Thai Taste Restaurant for several years. In 2019, the Graduate Hotels chain purchased the Hotel Duncan as well as the basement location underneath. When the staff at Thai Taste were moving out of the basement space, they informed the Graduate Hotel staff that several original Old Heidelberg items still existed in storage. The chain decided to restore and resurrect the historical bar. Graduate New Haven and the "New" Old Heidelberg officially opened to the public in October 2019. I recently visited the Old Heidelberg when they opened at 4:00 PM. To descend down the stairs into the bar feels like you're descending back in time to a 1960s private club. The wooden bar on display with Gothic golden lettering is the original one. Several of the tables and chairs are also original. The tables and walls are covered with names and initials of New Haveners who etched them in over the course of several decades. The back room features board games, cornhole, and a vintage foosball table. There's even a complimentary self-serve popcorn machine. I sat down at the beautiful bar, looked over the cocktail menu and ordered the "Ward 1" (George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey, Maple Sour, and Orange Bitters). It tasted real smooth. The bar also serves light food: Warm Bavarian Pretzels or Bratwurst (the latter has been put on hold since the pandemic started). I decided to order a pretzel with some beer mustard. The bartender warned me that it was pretty spicy, but I replied, "Bring it on!" The pretzel was pretty tasty and paired well with my cocktail. I later ordered a "Graduate Old Fashioned" (Old Forrester Signature Bourbon, Orange Twist). The bartender pulled out a blowtorch and heated up a piece of orange rind before dropping it into the drink, where it gave off a hiss and a puff of smoke. It was so cool to watch! The drink was delicious and may just be my favorite New Haven cocktail. I really enjoyed my visit to Old Heidelberg and look forward to returning with friends. read more

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Was just walking by and looking for a night cap and stumbled across this dark, basement bar. Very cool history written on plaques around the space, If you're into that thing. I don't remember all of the specifics, but it was a bar in or around the 1800's, and frequented by the to-do men and academics of the era. When they shut down, everything was put into storage and forgotten. Where exactly? I like to imagine a dark underground cave somewhere under the green... It was discovered recently and put back together. It was a mix of young and old. Rude Yalies, unfortunately, but mostly nice people. Definitely worth checking out! read more

Ambiance is great. Bartender is friendly. Drinks are fabulous! I love the fact that the bar is classic old school style. Keeps the elements of the past, including the old analog TV box. read more

The atmosphere was great but to the service was awful! We left after a 25 minute wait. We won't ho back

Love the historic building setting. Such a beautiful, relaxing place to spend a couple of hours. They have drink specials, complimentary popcorn, and soft pretzels for purchase, and also a table with board games. I'll be back! read more

Such a great, historic spot! Great selection of cocktails and yummy popcorn and pretzels to snack on. Love the vibes here!

Great bar with a great atmosphere, and super fun trivia on Mondays. 2 stars off for their very unfriendly blonde bartender. She was condescending and unfair when I made a simple request. Love the place but could use some better customer service. read more

Another gin and tonic disaster review is here! I really don't get it how any person who calls himself/ herself a bartender can mess up with Gin and Tonic?! I drank Gin and Tea ( Gin, St.Germain and tonic, let's call it "cocktail") and it was the most tasteless, soulless thing ever! And I paid $13+ TT ! Never again! read more

Awesome bar, but trying to be a bit too cool. I'm old so they called me sir and I paid 7.50 for a 10oz beer during happy hour. Also hipsters drink 16oz PBR cans not 12ozers. So much space could use a real kitchen instead of cornhole and German lagers to match the name. I was hoping it might be a good post pandemic bar but alas they have all died in New Haven. read more

A bit of ancient history. i had my 18th Birthday dinner at the original Old Heidelberg on Chapel Street, in New Haven, fresh out of Appalachian Ohio and on my way to the first year of training at the former campus of The Culinary Insitute of America. I had lobster with gasp, Red Wine, and yes i was illegal for my age but i had that serious look. Dinner was great, the waiter probably had misgivings as to this putz from the boondocks ordering a dry red with a Maine Lobster. I wised up and grew up and moved to Seattle decades ago. But I miss Lobster from the Atlantic. read more

Prices on website aren't reflective of cute prices. Bartender wasn't friendly at all.