NOW OPEN: Hop Angel Brauhaus

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NOW OPEN: Hop Angel Brauhaus

POSTED: Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 6:51 PM

Filed Under: Booze | Menu Time | Openings | Photos

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We schlepped it up to quaint Fox Chase yesterday afternoon to grab some photos of Hop Angel Brauhaus (7980 Oxford Ave.), the just-opened revamp of the Blue Ox Brauhaus from Mike "Scoats" Scotese and Patrick McGinley of the Grey Lodge Pub. The partners acquired the business from Tekla Grund, whose clan had run a brauhaus at this location for decades before turning over to new owners, who converted it into a bistro, several years ago. (The site's lineage as a bar, however, dates back centuries.) Scoats and McGinley intended on relaunching the bar as a traditional Teutonic watering hole from the beginning after all, "the architecture demands it," as McGinley says. The 80-seat space's dark wood rafters and ceilings, vintage light fixtures and intricate wood carvings really do give it that barrel-chested, basement-bar-scene-in-Inglourious Basterds feel the partners cleaned the interior up drastically and made some aesthetic/layout tweaks to open up the room for a flow of lively customers. The beer program here, Scoats says, won't be quite as elaborate as it is as Mayfair's Grey Lodge this is a German drinkery, yes, but it's also a Philadelphia bar, so expect to see Oktoberfest and otherwise Deutsch-inspired beers from local breweries on the 12-tap system, in addition to traditional German beers, at any given time. (Knowing these guys, though, they'll definitely offer some solid out-of-town American craft choices, as well.) The food is skewing traditional, too chef Matthew Hartnett, most recently of Center City's Slate (and the sickkkk short rib-stuffed burger), is overseeing a huge menu that centers on all your known-and-loved German meats and sausages (schnitzels, sauerbraten, wursts, roasted pork shoulder, etc.). Scoats adds, though, that Hartnett does extremely well with Alsatian-style food, so don't be surprised if flammekueche or other traditional dishes from the region start appearing on the menu in the coming months. Here are Hartnett's lunch menu and dinner menu in PDF format. Pictured above are two prime beef burgers off the chef's bar/late-night menu one comes topped with King Ludwig beer cheese, while the other is stuffed with pickled shallots and oozy Butterkase; both come with crispy fries and a side of curried ketchup. The Hop Angel is still is soft-open mode, so they're starting by offering the dinner menu (5-10 p.m.) and late-night bar eats (till midnight, and till 1 a.m. Friday-Saturday), with lunch launching soon.

squeak

Posted 2010-09-23 16:07:30

Frikadeller are Danish fried meatballs which are amazing with rugbrød (akin to schwarzbrot). I've never seen a big one. Sounds... scary.

June

Posted 2010-10-31 14:05:07

My husband and I were at the Hop Angel last night. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed the meal. We were seated right away (around 7:00) The drinks were great too.My husband had one of the beers from Germany( I think Munich) and I had the warm cider drink with Bourbon.Also enjoyed the decor,really gave you the feeling of being in Germany. We will be back!!

And at our backs we always hear, Krispy Kreme’s bad-ass glaze-dripping apparatus, drawing near :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-09-30 12:47:09

[...] on Nov. 9, when it opens a new location at 7855 Oxford Avenue in Fox Chase, about one block from the just-launched Hop Angel Brauhaus. Though the Southern-based brand plans on opening upwards of 20 locations in the region between now [...]

Johanna

Posted 2010-10-05 10:14:21

had a 5pm reservation was not seated till 5:30...not able to handle large groups...NO KIDS MENU! and when you call up making a reservation stating you need high chairs you think they would mention there is no kids menu...food was very bland...beer was warm...very very disappointed...will not be returning...

kay

Posted 2010-10-27 19:32:57

Johanna-
Why is that you felt the need to write the same review on at least 3 different review sites......the restaurant is brand new, give them a minute to work out some of the kinks.  You act like waiting 1/2 hour for a table is the end of the world, sometimes things like that happen.  Do me a favor - let me know when you are going to open your own business and I'll make sure to trash it all over the internet.

Marie

Posted 2010-10-01 11:29:12

I went to the Hop Angel Brauhaus the second week it was open and the food was great.  I had the Sauerbraten and my husband had the Wiener Schnitzel - we both enjoyed the dishes and look forward to going back to try the rest of the menu.  The service was fine - orders taken quickly and the server was attentive.  The food came out pretty quickly. We went on a weeknight.

anna

Posted 2010-09-27 21:27:36

I've been reading about this joint with my mouth watering, and I can't wait to check it out. We will be getting down there this coming weekend. I plan on eating and drinking myself silly. In response to the above review, hey...the food was good, so if I were you, I'd give it another shot in a few weeks. It's only been open a little over a week, so there are still going to be kinks to work out...obviously the servers here are the kinks. Some may need work or need to be replaced but at the end of the experience, for me at least, good food cancels out bad service.

diane

Posted 2010-09-27 22:36:23

Sad that you didn't enjoy your experience or the food.  I've eaten there several times already and the food has been perfect--it comes out of the kitchen hot and very tasty.  Remember that they just opened this place up.....I bet it will be better in a few weeks!

Disapppointed Foodie

Posted 2010-09-27 08:02:58

Bad Saturday restaurant experience with a new German restaurant - Hop Angel Brauhaus.  After a long wait got to our table and I had to track down someone to get us bread as we were starving no food was on the horizon.  After a very long wait our entrée's arrived. One was cold and the other one was the wrong one.  Granted the food was good in the end, but the service was abysmal and they lost my business in the future.  Someone needs to know how to run as restaurant.

Foobooz » Quick Bites

Posted 2010-09-16 11:00:27

[...] Meal Ticket has a slideshow of the now open Hop Angel Brauhaus in Fox Chase. [Meal Ticket] [...]

Jake

Posted 2010-11-14 09:54:47

I love hop angel, my friends and I go in almost every saturday. The food is great, best beer around and our bar maid has a great personality. All thumbs up from us!

Arterial Terrorism: The Burgermeister Meisterburger at Hop Angel Brauhaus :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-02-07 15:00:38

[...] Matthew Hartnett, chef at Fox Chase’s Hop Angel Brauhaus (7980 Oxford Ave.), sent us word on the newest arterial terrorist to join his menu  the [...]

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