Schatzi's Pub and Bier Garden

Scatzi's is a sports bar. The atmosphere is a little dark, which I don't like, but every thing else exceeded my expectations. The food was very good for a pub. My hamburger was one of the best I ever had and the french fries were excellent. The portions were ample and my companions also enjoyed their meals.

We came in around 5pm on a weekday and sat outside. For only a handful of tables, the service was a little slow, the waiter took our appetizer order and walked away, then felt like he was trying not to make eye contact so I had to loudly call him over to order the rest of our food. For appetizers, we got the cheese pierogies and the frickles. The pierogies were tasty but had a lot of oil on them and the frickles had a thick batter that I wasn't expecting and didn't like. We didn't finish them. I would try a different appetizer next time instead of either of these. I like reuben sandwiches and LOVED this twist of the meat being cubed, not sliced. It made it much more tender. I would come back just for this sandwich. The cheddar bratwurst was also good, and we liked the parm fries better than the regular, though both were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Schatzi’s offers a nice draft list of some good beer, good sized portions, and friendly staff. We got seats at the bar and had good service the entire time. We were given the wrong specials menu which was disappointing because one of the specials sounded perfect for me but I got the Schatzi’s burger instead and it was a bit dry. Slightly overdone and not enough of their sauce, I think the potato pancake on top absorbs it and left the rest of the burger dry. Great sized meal though. My wife got the fried chicken sandwich and it was pretty good. We would stop again and see what’s new next time we are in Poughkeepsie.

The food menu is varied, and the specials are great. I would say the food is just below gourmet, but significantly cheaper. Bartenders are all friendly, German beers on tap, and service is excellent. Outside seating is a bonus, and really nice when weather suits you. I haven't heard live music yet, but will post a review when I do.

Schatzi’s makes every trip to Poughkeepsie worth it. The staff is very friendly and the food was delicious as always. The only knocks I would have was wait time and temperature inside the restaurant. Our meal took over half an hour but it was definitely worth the wait. It was also really cold which wasn’t great.