Hansa Brewery

So after cruising for patios in, and around, Cleveland we settled on Hansa for our Date Night Summer Patio Tour Night 2. First, and foremost, ignore the website as it is not accurate but PLEASE do not let that stop you from trying this establishment. The website pictures are beautiful and the restaurant is very nice but there is a sense of false advertising. When we walked in, on a Friday evening, there were four folks at the bar and a couple on the patio. Not a soul eating inside. Full disclosure, we were having second thoughts. Being a beer snob, I kinda settled that I wouldn’t leave without drinking at least one of their beers which got us seated. The young man that waited on us, I’d share his name but he did not give it, got us settled and brought us the menu which is pictured. I shit you not, that is the menu. He was well informed and well spoken related to the menu and the techniques related to the food preparation. His recommendations were spot on and wish I could credit him by name. I also shared the current beers the evening of our visit. The beers were fantastic. I began with J.U.G. Weissbier which was an excellent traditional Hefeweizen. My friend got the Black Flag, the Schwarzbier, also excellent. Our wives enjoyed a seltzer, that I didn’t take note of as it was canned, but it was enjoyed. My second beer of the night was their Lucky Barleywine (13.13%ABV), which was delicious and every ounce of 13%. Our meal was awesome, full stop. If we had left, we would have missed out. Our party of six shared appetizers of the German Pretzels and their Calamari. Both were excellent and easily shared. For our entrees, our party had; Traditional Pork Schnitzel (breaded and fried), French Orly Schnitzel (which was battered and fried turkey), German Meatloaf (bacon wrapped), and Legendary Chicken Paprikas. Every one of us loved our meals. Myself and my friend that both got the bacon wrapped meatloaf, wished the bacon was crispier but acknowledge that to do so would have dried out the meatloaf. It did come with a cream mushroom gravy that was tasty. The Schnitzels were a hit as were the sides of späzles. With all of the downtown eateries and excellent options on the Westside, it’d be easy to skip Hansa. Don’t. This place is worth a visit.