Otto’s Beer & Brat Garden

My favorite place in the Northwoods. I highly recommend their bloody marys, beer cheese soup, and German Reuben! Ottos is a must see in Minocqua!

I always enjoy a visit to Otto’s. It’s especially nice when the weather is warm enough to sit in their beer garden — a really lovely spot. On a recent visit, we had the beer cheese soup, served with a popcorn topping — delicious. I can also recommend the beer braised grilled bratwurst and warm German potato salad. The grilled chicken sandwich is also tasty. We especially enjoyed our server who hailed from Austria!

I had been to Ottos a few years ago, before I became vegetarian. We needed a place to eat after a great morning shopping nearby and after a quick call to Ottos to determine what their menu contained– we headed over.
Ottos Is dark inside — very black forest. But it is lively and fun. There is an outdoor eating patio, but we chose the bar so we wouldn’t have to wait.
I began with a Spaten optimator– an almost black dark beer from Germany. LOVED. IT.
My friend got a hummus vegetarian wrap and I got the veggie flat bread. It was nice size– full of seasonal veggies, including 2 kinds of zucchini plus a yummy white sauce and cheese. Perfect balance. The flat bread was very tasty. I got a small side of potato salad– which was fine.
The place was hopping, but the bartender and wait staff were cheerful and attentive. Very impressive!
The whole bill was a bit over $ 20 so a good price
For a yummy meal. Nice to have another good option for lunch in this nearby town.

Great service, great food, great atmosphere out in the beer garden. As good as we remembered.

We were seated on the outdoor patio right away on the busy 4^th of July. All the brats we had were delicious. ok bloody mary, great beers and a good kids menu!

We love Otto’s! Minocqua has been a vacation spot for years and we always stop in for a Famous Brat and Beer! I always thought I didn’t care much for Brats until I had their specialty! Now, I have to get one. Nancy Holtz the manager is awesome. We met her this trip and she was so friendly. She shared some interesting tid bits on the place. Can’t wait to go back.

Sat for 15 minutes nobody ever came by the table so we lest oh well. Not even very busy!

I have been coming to Minocqua my entire life. My family now owns a log home that we frequent. Every time that I make it there I make it mandatory to get the German Nachos at Otto’s.
Food: I have not ordered something from their menu and not liked it. I crave their Otto’s Brat when I haven’t been around for a while.
Service: First off, they’ve got a great staff! I never have a complaint about them. Second, it’s hard to rate because the business of the place really depends on the time of year, they are closed for sometime during the slow seasons, and booming during summer when they have their BEAUTIFUL beer garden open which gives them MUCH more space. In the winter if it’s busy it can be slightly crowded because their indoor seating is limited, but this too depends on when you go. You can get the full menu sitting at the bar, and they have large tables if you have a larger party.
Décor: They are German, and it shows. Christmas time they are decorated with marvelous antique ornaments, all other times they have beer steins in lit glass boxes by each table. On the back of the menu you can read stories about various decorations such as the tapestries on the wall, the giant elk head above their wood burning fire place and many other things. You can also enjoy a game of shuffleboard out of the way of people in a quieter area with a few friends.
It’s a place to go for sure! You WILL NOT be disappointed with the German Nachos or the bratwurst. (Their pulled pork is good too!!)
Side note, I’ve hear their night life is fun too, but have never experienced it. A few stories of dancing on tables have been rumored… But also a fun crowd to be around… completely different from the day scene. But ALWAYS fun!

Nancy is the best! Kind and generous service with a great atmosphere! A can’t-miss spot for your next visit.

Good stuff, love the atmosphere. Beer prices seemed on par with other bars downtown (which are still high but it’s what you expect in a tourist area). Got some kind of chicken sandwich thing, it was pretty basic but not bad. The rest of the party ordered house brats and really enjoyed them. All in all, priced like a vacation spot should be but you’re mainly buying atmosphere.

Warning — the Men’s bathroom is simply asking for a health inspection. I haven’t gagged outside of a portable potty in probably 10 years. Flies swarming the urinal and for good reason. Yep, it’s gross.
The food — well, after having been in Germany the week prior to patronizing this establishment I would say it’s borderline, at-​best, mediocre. By the way, the bowls of soup… ask for the other half when you see the pittance provided.
The service is lacking any sense of organization. If you visit you will see why, otherwise skip and go to the Greek place a block down the road.

Service was average. Hamburger was good but why are all the burgers in the Northwoods ¹⁄₃ lb? I would expect them to be bigger up north. Overall not really impressed with the food but the atmosphere was good.

My friends all loved this place. I just wasn’t feeling it though. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed myself here early in the night when it was quiet. I’m just over the loud crowded bars now.
On a Saturday night they had a band playing. That seems to be every single bar on this street. Not my thing when trying to talk to people I’m with. The outdoor beer garden in the back actually looked lovely. It was almost empty so my friends wanted to stay inside by the action.
The inside was PACKED. Its mostly men, so single ladies this may be where you want to hang. The bartenders were great and they have a decent (not great) selection of beer. I didn’t get a chance to try any food here. Maybe next time. I’ll just get here before the crowd does.

Poor service, I had people waiting next to me for 20 minutes. messy bar all over. Rude staff. After I had waited for a glass of water for however long, I was told very rudely to never ask for one again. Not impressed.

We stopped in on July 4, they were busy, but it was not insane. We sat at the bar and ordered an iced tea with two waters … and waited … and waited …
We ordered a brat and a soup/​salad combo … and waited … and waited … and waited. Not once did our server come over. After 30 minutes, we finally got our server’s attention only to find out it was going to be ANOTHER 15 minutes before they even started preparing our food. Not once did anyone say it was going to be 45 minutes before even thinking about any food.
We finally gave up and left. Looking through the menu, we thought the prices were higher even for a tourist trap style restaurant.

New waiters really need better training. Epically bad service tonight; near perfect storm. Even my 12-​year old son said, «if the food were cold, that would just about make it the worst ever.»
Also, while the flat brat tasted great, the rest of the menu was limited. Why not fish on the menu? I’ve had great fish in Bavaria, why not here where it is plentiful?
Two stars for having Spaten and Hacker Pschorr on tap, but how about a proper weissbier glass? Frustrating.

If you come here during the winter and it’s completely empty, don’t let that fool you. This place is fantastic. While snowmobiling is big in Minocqua, winter is their offseason, so you won’t see a lot of people around. Fine with me. We had the whole place to ourselves… for most of the time.
The indoor area feels really spacious because of the high ceilings. They have awesome candelabra-​like chandeliers and a giant elk thing hanging over a fireplace. Long wooden tables are the seating here, which is great for groups. We sat down at the smaller table and ordered some beer. They have a bunch of German-​style beers on tap. We also ordered an appetizer of a pretzel which comes with mustard and cheese for a buck more. When in Wisconsin, cheese. Always cheese.
The pretzel was piping hot when it arrived at our table, but the cheese staring back at me looked too good to wait, so I risked burning my mouth to get at that cheese. It was worth it. I have no regrets. Right after that came our dinner. My fiancé and I both ordered brats, but I got the Otto’s and he got the German style one. His was round and mine was flat. It looked like a sub almost. We both got potato salad. I’m not always a fan of brats, but this was cooked perfectly. I love char marks on my meat. Tastes better for some reason.
After we devoured our food, we stayed a while and chilled while drinking some more beer. Some people started to make their way in. There were two drunken cougars that came stumbling in and ordered beer. They sat in front of the fireplace as they drank and requested that the bartender/​waiter take selfies with them and he obliged. Even when the one woman knocked down her full beer everywhere (party foul), he cleaned it up and gave her another beer, no charge. That was really nice of him and he was also really great with us. Yeah we were the only ones there at the time, but he still gave us awesome service and I’m sure he would have done the same if it was super busy.
They have a beer garden in the back, which is obviously closed in the winter, but I would love to come back in the summer and kick back and drink back there. More people should go to Otto’s. It’s a great find.

As you walk into this place, you are instantly aware that this is going to be a good German brat place. The floors, walls, and ceiling are all dark wood panels, with two huge beer-​hall style chandeliers, and long bench-​style seating for large groups of merry-​drinkers. The walls are decorated with large steins and various other German paraphernalia. I’ve seen «Brat hausen» in places like Milwaukee with less authentic décor than this place.
They had about a dozen tap offerings, including the staples like Spaten and its darker, maltier brother Spaten Optimater. The hot pretzel game with a few different kinds of mustard and for $ 1 extra a cup of cheese sauce. I knew I was in Wisconsin when I saw it because it was made with REAL cheese, not that crap that comes in a giant 5lb can. Worth the extra buck trust me.
Brat was excellent and the sourkraut and german mustard was the perfect compliment. Get two if you plan on staying a while and enjoying some German beer and clanking steins with your friends.
Can I comment on the other food? Nope because I came here for a brat (its a BRAT garden!) and so should you.

Well I wish I’d had the experience you folks had, but instead, I had a meh bbq pork wrap for lunch at a German Biergarten.
The lunch menu was sparse and sad and the only German thing on it was a brat.
At our table we ordered my wrap, a chicken ceasar wrap, a Southwest Chicken sandwich and some burgers. Certainly no need to go to a German restaurant for those things.
We all ordered our sandwiches with what the menu called «kettle chips» and then watched the chef open the bag of potato chips and throw them on our plates. Wah waaaah.
We sat in back in the biergarten. The hostess asked if we wanted to sit in shade or sun — we said sun, she ignored us and sat us at the closest, fully-​shaded table.
Overall, the food was fine, I suppose, but nothing I’ll be dying to have again and as we sat there and my companions told me about the place they wanted to go, but it had a line and we needed to get out of town, I was left even more upset by the sad menu at Otto’s and longed for the food that could have been.

A little bit of Bavaria in Northern WI — Otto’s was a lovely surprise on a beautiful July afternoon. The biergarten is perfect on a nice day — exactly like the biergartens we’ve enjoyed in Germany and Prague.
There’s Spaten on tap. There’s the shuffleboard game people around here like so much. They’ve got a decent soft pretzel with really good cheese dip. Beers came quickly. What more can a girl want?
I can’t speak to evenings, or cold weather visits — but if it’s a sunny afternoon and you’re short on gemütlichkeit, Otto’s will make it right for you.