The Berghoff

Come for the neon sign … stay for the giant pretzel.

The Berghoff German restaurant is an incredible 125+ years old, opening in Chicago in conjunction with the 1893 world’s fair. Today it incorporates a bar, restaurant and cafe all housed in an enormous 45,000 square foot building.

The decor is ass you’d expect, high ceilings, timber paneling, stained glass windows, and of course, beer steins! Scour the walls for vintage photos, and Chicago mementos and ephemera.

If you’re into German food (is beer a food?), you’ll be happy. We had a giant pretzel that came hanging from its own giant pretzel stand!

The Berghoff remains a family business, with many staff members coming from generations of Berghoff employees.

The sheer size of the restaurant makes the atmosphere not too atmospheric, so if weiner schnitzel and creamed spinach are not your thing, you might be happy enough just basking in the glow of the restaurant’s glorious ad huge neon sign.

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Midwest USA No. 4 -last visited October 2023