Radegast Hall & Biergarten

Photograph: Talia Simhi

Among the hordes of revelers draining foamy steins around Radegast’s colossal communal tables, you won’t see many having dinner. But there’s a full menu at Ivan Kohut’s soaring Austro-Hungarian biergarten, the 4,700-square-foot sequel to his former place of employment, the Bohemian Hall in Astoria. And it’s not just those sausages—blistering links of bratwurst; smooth weisswurst procured from nearby butcher Kiski—crackling on the garden’s grill. The ambitious bill of fare includes tender beer-braised rabbit, served on a bed of cabbage that’s been stewed to a brilliant magenta. A textbook schnitzel features mild fried veal, hammered thin and served over homespun smashed potatoes. Radegast’s destination beer list, a mostly Mittleuropean collection of 13 brews curated by Kohut himself, makes it easy to see why many never make it past the libations. We worked our way through mugs of Hacker-Pschorr Weisse, a cloudy, lemony brew, ferried to the table by busty servers who until recently donned revealing dirndls (they dress more modestly now, thanks to patrons who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves). There’s another reason to move past the beer: Your fräulein has endured enough drunken advances for one night.

—TONY