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    East Side Restaurant

    3.4 (268 reviews)
    Closed 4:30 pm - 8:00 PM

    East Side Restaurant Photos

    EAST SIDE RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Live music
    Happy hour specials
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - East Side Restaurant

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    A fabulous family outing! (Photo by Deanna Troy Travels)
    Deanna H.

    If you are into authentic German cuisine, HUGE beers accompanied by the waiter singing a German drinking song, and outstanding homemade desserts and decor, then this place is for you!

    Giant Bavarian Pretzel
    Christina S.

    It was such a cool experience checking out this restaurant! The staff is very energetic and you can tell they love their jobs! You have to order the big beers to get them to do the chanting and my god is it a blast! The sauce of the stuffed mushrooms were fantastic, we really enjoyed the pretzel with the mustards but weren't a fan of the liver pate with it. They always have specials so I tried the duck. But the star of the night was the Black Forest cake! It was moist and flavorful! Would definitely love to experience this place during their Oktoberfest!

    Pork schnitzel
    Amelia Z.

    Very very good food! We had the sausage sampler, highly recommend! I do like my sausage cooked a little more crispy so next time I go I'll definitely say well done. For dinner I had the pork schnitzel. It was good, sides were a little underwhelming with portion and seasoning. I did enjoy trying it however next time I think I'll get the sausage sampler as an entrée!

    Banana Cream
    Kellie R.

    To this day, my previous review remains the same! I love East Side and need to visit every time we come up to CT. The food and service are still top notch! The only difference between the review 7 years ago to today is that I now own two shirts (one for ordering the shots and getting smacked on the bum with the board and the other that says "I'm on my wurst behavior") and two bears from their gift shop. I love love LOVE East Side!!

    German Wedding Soup
    Mark W.

    "Ticky Tocky Ticky Tocky HOY HOY HOY!" Happy Thanksgiving 2024 Yelpers, and I hope you are all having a great time! Normally, I do not eat out for Thanksgiving, but I did have a brother visit from Florida for the day, so my mom made a reservation for us at this restaurant to have our Thanksgiving dinner. While I didn't quite remember the place at first, it turns out that I have actually been here once before. I know this because of the spanker they have here. Parking can be a pain, and the exterior don't look like much, but once you set foot it's another ball game. You will be asked if you prefer it to be quiet or loud; we ended up choosing loud. Right when you're seated in the loud section, you get a sense for how festive it is inside here. It's actually quite spectacular when you get to the chants. There is a lot of food and drink to get to for our Thanksgiving specials. We had the Hot Spiked Ciders that were special for the holiday. You can get a Das Boot for your beer which my mom got, and my brother and I each got a beer flight. The Wurst Platter was the Starter we went with, and we were also given saltines with sauerkraut and cottage cheese. For the main course, mom got the Thanksgiving turkey dinner with spaetzle and a German Wedding soup, my brother the Half Roast Long Island Duckling with the potato pancake, and then I had the Pork Tenderloin with potato pancake. For dessert, there was the pumpkin pie and the chocolate creme pie. To sum it all up, we all were impressed with what we ordered. Normally, I would not have gravy on food and that won't change in the future, but this time around the gravy was good. My brother is normally not one for mustard, but he thought it was good. All around everything was delicious. Their only blemish is the dunkel that was one of the drinks in my flight, but I will just chalk that up to the fact that dark, bitter beers are just not my thing. The lager and wheat ones were really good. Service was on-point too. We had our waitress check in on us as we were eating and was nice basically throughout. Wait time wasn't too bad given we were far from the only people who came here. Remember, when we got here, every parking space was taken and we had to wait for someone to pull out before we could park. And in here it did almost feel like a kind of party going on in the establishment. If you come here often enough, you can join their loyalty clubs. I didn't get a chance to see much of how they worked, but you can count hundreds of beer glasses hanging from the ceiling piece. There is also a mural you can look at from your table on the wall if you are more the kind of person to appreciate the artwork in this place. It's a great place for special occasions, and I hope those coming here find a lot to love about this spot like we did.

    Christine d.

    Restaurant is a lot of fun for everyone. Chants for beers of all sizes. An accordion player who takes requests which adds to atmosphere. Food is delicious and served hot. I've gone there several times with a group of friends. The servers are polite and courteous.

    Boots of beer!
    Michaela P.

    Oktoberfest energy year-round! East Side nails the lively beer hall atmosphere, complete with giant mugs, salty pretzels, and staff who chant every time you order something absurdly large. Bonus points for the paddle-spanking shot flight (don't ask, just watch). Food-wise, the jaeger schnitzel is my go-to: crispy, flavorful, and generously sauced. The spaetzle is a bit divisive; it's bland for some, but I find the soft, chewy texture oddly comforting and extra delicious when paired with a saucier entree. The Burger Meister is a solid pick for sausage lovers, and I always order the pretzel, which comes nicely salted. The potato pancakes are tasty and satisfying, and the beer selection is reliably great. Bonus points for the staff's sense of humor and for the owners who go the extra mile to keep fussy kids entertained with toys. A gentle note: the food can be a bit inconsistent depending on the day. I'd probably skip the pot roast next time, but there's plenty else on the menu to enjoy.

    Menu
    Matthew L.

    East Side Restaurant is a German restaurant and biergarten that opened in New Britain, Connecticut in 1934. It was founded by Steffi and Eddie Walters. The location was formerly a grocery store. It was transformed into a German restaurant at a time when trolley cars still ran down Dwight Street. The restaurant was later sold to Bill and Ruth Bloethe. Steffi and Eddie relocated to Old Saybrook where they successfully ran the Dock and Dine for several years afterwards. The Bloethes ran East Side for over 40 years while they raised their children. They expanded the dining room and commissioned a beautiful mural inside. Just prior to 2000, East Side was purchased by Nick, Barbara and Shari Augustino. They worked closely with the Bloethes to ensure that the important East Side traditions would continue for decades to come. The Augustinos have made two renovations and expansions to the restaurant in order to capture the look of the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany. My wife and I have enjoyed visits to East Side a number of times over the years. It's always nice to get an authentic taste of Germany. We stopped in for dinner with our two sons this past weekend in honor of Oktoberfest. Of course, at East Side it is Oktoberfest everyday! I own my very own East Side beer boot which the staff are happy to fill every time I visit. On this occasion I filled my boot with Spaten's "Oktoberfest" while my wife had a "Mango Tango Martini" (Tito's Homemade Vodka, Absolut Mango, Fruja Mango). For appetizers, we all shared a plate of "German Potato Pancakes" (side of applesauce and sour cream) and a "Giant Bavarian Pretzel" (side of Bavarian Obatzda Cheese, zen mustard and liver pâté). For entrees, I had the "Wiener Schnitzel" (breaded cutlet topped with a sunny side egg and a wedge of lemon), my wife had the "East Side Reuben" (slices of corned beef layered with homemade sauerkraut, melted cheese, tangy Thousand Island dressing, grilled marble rye bread), our older son had the "Burgermeister Plate" (knockwurst served over sauerkraut and topped with demi-glaze) and our younger son had "Spätzle" (with marinara sauce). Everything was so delicious! We also love how festive the dining room always gets with chants of "Ticki Tocki Ticki Tocki! Hoy Hoy Hoy!" Good food, good beer, good people, good times! We'll continue to come to East Side for years to come!

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    3 years ago

    Food is very authentic and the atmosphere brings it all together! All the sides are delish and just keep coming. Ticky tok ticky tok

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    East Side Restaurant Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - East Side Restaurant

    The Flying Monkey Grill Bar - Banana Split w/o The Bananas

    The Flying Monkey Grill Bar

    3.7(557 reviews)
    3.7 mi
    $$

    This is my third time at flying monkey ( 2nd time at the new location on the Berlin Turnpike) and I…read moremust say the food is always on point ! Note they also offer happy hour (aka monkey hour ) Tuesday-Friday 3-5:30 I ordered the frazberry froze which was really good it literally tasted like a raspberry sorbet in drink form which I loved . Service was great our server was very attentive and checked up on us regularly and we got our food pretty quick . For my entree I ordered the chicken sandwich . Which was grilled chicken , bacon , Avacado and a creamy aioli served in a fresh bun and a side of fries ! Soooo good highly recommend. Overall 4/5 good food good service plenty of seating ( I only give it 4 stars because I loved the original location)

    I truly miss when The Flying Monkey was located at HFD Airport. The setting was unmatched being…read moreable to enjoy a meal while watching planes take off and land created a unique and memorable experience. The food, at that time, consistently matched the atmosphere and made it a place worth returning to. Since its relocation, however, the experience has not been the same. While it's nice that they still offer live music and occasional events, the overall quality particularly the food no longer meets the standard I once associated with it. Unfortunately, it's lost much of the charm and appeal that made it special, and I find myself no longer wanting to visit.

    Photos
    The Flying Monkey Grill Bar - Bar

    Bar

    The Flying Monkey Grill Bar - Spicy Monkey Wings

    Spicy Monkey Wings

    The Flying Monkey Grill Bar - Sweet Chili Guava Wings

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    Sweet Chili Guava Wings

    Hop Haus - Buffalo Hot

    Hop Haus

    4.0(67 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$

    The outside area is really nice with tables that have fire in the middle for a nice ambiance and to…read morekeep a little warm if it's colder out. The inside area had a decent amount of seating and feels very open. The corn ribs were absolutely delicious along with the oysters mushrooms tacos. I didn't eat the chicken ones but my friend liked them. The ginger beer drink had glitter in it and looks so pretty. She loved it. I got a coconut coffee. It was a little more watery that I would have liked but everything else was so good it was whatever. The waitress was really nice and attentive. It has a good time. I'll definitely be going back

    We've been here many times and have always had a good experience in the past. Even if there was a…read morehiccup here or there, it remained on our list. Today was like a bad movie. We assumed the place would be packed as we headed in to watch the 1:00 game. But it was dead. Which we were kind of relieved because we weren't worried about finding a table but also kind of perplexed because any other place that serves wings on a Sunday during football season is bursting at the seams. We walked in and stood at the hostess station waiting to be seated for about 5 minutes and didn't see an employee at all. My husband finally just walked over to the bar area and spotted someone around the corner. He asked if we could sit and she was somewhat agreeable to the idea. Thankfully our server McKenna was a delight. She was attentive and efficient. The French onion soup was fantastic. The wings were fine but not as good as I remember. They used to have a crisp to them. Now they are just kind of soggy. The kids liked their chicken tenders although I thought it looked like they had been in the fryer a tad too long. I could get past all that except I can't overlook the lack of management and the terrible bartender. We observed multiple people come in and stand at the hostess station for excessive amounts of time before anyone bothered to greet them. There were people at the bar with empty drinks and the bartender was standing around the corner on her phone while people waited. It was just a bad movie unfolding before our eyes. It was an experience for sure. This place used to be and could be amazing - they just need better hands on management and something to draw the crowd in on Sundays. We might come back if we see any chatter about new management, but until then it's probably off our rotation.

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    Hop Haus
    Hop Haus - Sweet & Heat

    Sweet & Heat

    Hop Haus - Buffalo Bleu Cheese

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    Buffalo Bleu Cheese

    The Bar & Grill

    The Bar & Grill

    3.6(88 reviews)
    2.1 mi
    $

    The Bar and Grill is a great spot to hang out with friends, family and eat wings. The inside has…read moregames that you can play for entertainment and they also have an outdoor patio. The backdoor patio has a volleyball court and another outside bar. So let's get to the wings. The wings were very delicious. I ordered the Sweet Heat Wings. They we're crispy with just the right amount of sauce. The wings weren't spicy at all. The wings had great flavor and I would definitely try them again and other flavors.

    This bar can get pretty packed , and generally has some good deals for food and drinks but when we…read morewent for our kickball/wiffleball league it was absolute chaos. Parking fills up on popular nights. They seemed very understaffed, with only 1-2 bartenders for a packed outdoor area. The kitchen did not seem to be able to keep up with the demand, though I do feel like we should've been warned that food would take an hour when ordering if it were that backed up. I went back to check on my food twice , the second time being at an hour and 15 minutes since I placed the order , with people who ordered after both getting their food first and finishing before I received mine at all. After I finally got my food I had to wait additionally to ask for condiments and waited 10 minutes after asking the bartender if I could close my card while others who came after me both ordered more drinks and paid first. The bartenders did offer us a drink on the house to try to help, though when I finally got my food it was 10pm. I probably would not order food again. They were also out of all ciders . This bar can be fun for its outside games but i would pickup food elsewhere first .

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    The Bar & Grill
    The Bar & Grill
    The Bar & Grill

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    East Side Restaurant - german - Updated September 2026

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