From the archives: Red Lion beer garden

Spaten Optimator and Bitburger Pilsner

Whenever we’re uploading photos of big frosty glasses of beer, it just makes us want to say a prayer of thanks to the beer gods.

And we are happy, happy campers sipping those frosty glasses of beer in the beer garden at Red Lion, located in Silver Lake just north of Echo Park. This place is summertime HEAVEN – get there early enough to grab a table in the upstairs, open-air patio, and you’re in luck. Go later and you’ll be hovering for a long while looking for a spot to settle in.

Another bonus to arriving earlier in the evening is that parking is always tough in this area. We’ve been lucky enough to grab a spot in one of the two small parking lots on either side of the building, or right in front at a parking meter.

Downstairs is the “gast hause” where you can dine cigarette-free indoors, but the ambiance is a bit more old school. There are waitresses dressed in dirndl dresses for both upstairs and downstairs; from them you can order your beer or your favorite German plate (even the incredibly phallic Beerstein Soup).

Cheese doesn’t always pair with wine

They’ve got quite a few German beer selections on tap, our two favorite go-to beers are pictured above – a Spaten Optimator and Bitburger Pilsner. I like the 7.2% content of the Optimator, but on a hotter day I prefer the dryness of the Pilsner. Pair it with our other two favorites: french fries and a cheese plate (spicy mustard…. yummm). Other menu items worth noting include the potato pancakes (serviced with sour cream and apple sauce, of course), and I’m told their selection of sausages are superb.

Our next visit must happen soon, and will certainly include “das boot” – which we hear is back…!

Happy hour on the weekdays is from 3-6:00 pm where you get some sort of discount (we could never really figure out what exactly, we just know it’s cheaper!). More reason to get there early. They also have free wi-fi.