Wunder Garten At Noma

My friend and I had never participated in Oktoberfest in DC in our 3 years here. We saw the Gilt offer ($ 20 for brunch + beer garden) and jumped on the deal.
On my way over, my friend alerted me to the sub-​par reviews on Unilocal.This didn’t bode well, considering that we were going during Hurricane Joaquin and I had to whip out my down jacket.
Verdict? A no-​frills Oktoberfest that I would gladly return to. Maybe it’s due to having spent so much time in Germany with its laid-​back beer garden culture, but I’m sold when you give me great company, a great selection of beers, and delicious Bavarian sausages. The brunch was served with this honey+cumin+lemon+mustard sauce, a juicy complement to the pretzels and the sausages. We stayed for about 3 hours and I didn’t feel a chill at all, which was surprising.
The physical venue is located on a construction site with a pebbled ground that is quite difficult to walk through properly. However, the event is noted as a «pop up» beer garden so I thought the sink-​hole-​esque ground was part of the fun.

What else is there to say? Right next to the Noma Metro station in an empty lot, there’s a beer garden with corn hole, toss games, and so forth. They also have fancy port-​a-​potties. No average run-​of-​the mills port-​a-​potties — fancy ones that occasionally get clean by staff. A couple of gripes — the lack of shaded seating and the limited food selection. It was sunny when we went, but then there were a few drizzles, which left everyone scrambling for shelter. Also, food trucks come in, but this time there was only one food truck.

Imagine you run out of toilet paper at 9:00 p.m. Not to worry, as there is a drug store just down the street and it is open until 10:00. You get there at 9:05 and are told, um, no, because they close at 10:00, they stop actually selling their products at 9:00.
What?
This cannot be real, can it?
It most certainly is, if you are looking for a beer at Wunder Garten. My friend and I popped over at 9:00 and the place is closed because they really close at 10:00. They just stop letting people in at 9:00.
A couple weeks later, we are walking past at 9:05 and somebody there tells us that we can come in and have a beer, but they are calling last call. No problem. We only want one. We get to the bar and are denied service. They just cleaned up, despite closing at 10:00. Ok, even if they closed up, it is a draft beer place, not a full restaurant. Pour the beer and re-​wipe the couple of spots that might get a drop or two on them. Nope, they have stopped serving, because they close at 10:00.
What a bunch of idiots. Perhaps this is a sociological experiment to see how much garbage clientele will endure before telling someone to bite off. Hopefully, the experiment will end soon.

We came here this past weekend with the GILT city voucher for brunch and the Oktoberfest celebration. While the setting and atmosphere was fairly jubilant with games and a small stage, I found the «bar» and «food» severely lacking. I can’t speak to other times, but for Oktoberfest, it was very minimal. I completely understand that it’s all about the sausage, (so vegetarians beware), but the texture of the large pretzel they offered as an alternative was too hard to eat. I didn’t even bother trying to finish it — it was like eating a rock.
Not only that but the way everything was all served was on these small white tables; it really felt like an outdoor BBQ at your uncle’s house, and not something worth $ 20.
The selection of beer as very limited as well, (I think they had around 6 or 7 different types of beers), and I expected more from a self-​proclaimed «beer garden.» I think this place definitely has potential if they spruce it up a bit. Nice location, right next to the metro, but if you weren’t looking for it you would completely miss it — the tent is hidden behind a parking lot.
I think if the prices were more reasonable, then the other aspects wouldn’t be such a big deal. People were having fun, but with enough alcohol, any place can be fun. I truly believe that this place has the potential, but it just hasn’t gotten there yet.

I didn’t know what to expect because it is a very unassuming venue, but I loved the outdoor games that accompanied an amazing beer selection. My only complaint is that I wish they served food.

Wunderful.
Now, let’s just get it out there. Dacha Beer Garden in Shaw ROCKS. Super popular, perfect location, and drink options in extraordinary serving sizes. We’ve all been there, we all know.
Now, let’s talk about Wunder Garten. Space solution at Dacha is first and foremost answered here. Wunder Garten is HUGE! If you have a group over 2 you will have no trouble sitting all together or having your own table. Prices are great for the size and selection you get, so no complaint on that. There are also activities like light-​up frisby, corn hole, and REI events. A great and welcomed addition to a beer garden and a neighborhood. The only thing I will say is this isn’t «bumping» like Dacha, though there is nothing Wunder Garten can do about that. And remember, they are adding something different to the Beer Garden scene of DC, not just another copy of a Beer Garden.
Excited to go back and welcome Wunder Garten as a great addition to NoMa.

A biergarten without a single tree that serves beer in plastic cups? You can hang German flags all you want, but this isn’t anything close to a real biergarten. It’s more like a tailgate party with expensive beer.

Perhaps you’ve heard that REI is opening a flagship store in the Uline Arena fall 2016. It will be the largest REI on the East Coast and something DC desperately needs.
Can’t wait that long? Starting this summer REI teamed up with Wunder Garten to host some super informative, fun, and diverse classes on everything from how to tie knots to gourmet cooking at your campsite. They also offer lots of active group events like a monuments bike tour, yoga for athletes and a run club. All of these start or take place at the Wunder Garten space so you can enjoy some beer and food truck snacks along with the free classes.
As an active person who wishes she was more outdoorsy this pop-​up couldn’t have come at a more ideal time. I’ve been to the trivia night (it was super hard!) and wilderness survival basics and come away with so many new ideas for (safe) adventure. Cannot wait to try more classes, and put my new skills to use!

I came here during the day after a long bike ride. It’s no frills: beer at a picnic table with some shade. Despite their being in a trailer, the bathrooms are even nice.
The staff was great about talking up each beer, and were accommodating in letting us bring our own food in (before the food trucks arrived). We had some delicious beer, relaxed in the shade, and just really enjoyed ourselves here! Appropriately we tried the radler (Fahrrad in German means bike and radlers have a cycling history but more recently are typically summer beers you could drink after a ride: both refreshing and alcoholic!)
I can see that when it’s super crowded standing in two lines would be annoying, but when we were there most of the tables were full but it was by no means crowded and everything worked smoothly and quickly in terms of ordering and paying.

Best beer garden in the District. Bartenders are the most friendly and there is actually room to breathe and throw the frisbee and play cornhole. This is my new favorite place and I’m a bit of a connoisseur of beer gardens I admit.

The first thing you notice about Wunder Garten is the loose gravel. I was wearing flat shoes and it almost took me out. Bless the people wearing heels.
Next you’ll be charged $ 7 for a solo cup of beer. After you get your overpriced beer, you have to stand in line to pay – which you’ll do every time because you can’t open up a tab.
(The website also says if you leave your credit card they’ll charge a 20% gratuity. How you can leave your credit card in a place that won’t allow open tabs is beyond me.)
Then you get to sit on benches that you might topple over because of the ill conceived gravel.
Overall, it’s underwhelming and overpriced. I’m guessing people will keep coming back because it’s right next to the metro and sometimes you really need a beer.

Pop-​Up Beer Garden in NoMa? So much potential, so poorly executed.
For being in a part of town known for only having one major option for post-​work beers (aka the Hilton Garden Inn), you would think a beer garden pop up would a hit. Unfortunately, this beer garden is so poorly executed there are nothing but poor experiences to go around.
For starters the beer is overpriced. $ 7 for a solo-​cup? This isn’t National Stadium. Then there in the beer ordering/​paying situation where you stand in line to both buy and pay for your beer. Why can’t this be one smooth process? Finally there is the gravel situation. Loose gravel everywhere… so much so that bench will randomly fall over if you shift your weight the wrong way.
My thought, save your money and go to Dasha. Or even the Hilton Garden Inn. You won’t fall over and spill your overpriced beer.

Very cool spot. It is on a construction lot. You’ll know you’re there when you see the flag. Had the Stiegl Radler, interesting sweet grapefruit flavored beer for non beer drinkers like myself. Prices are reasonable, but there’s nothing really to eat there though.

Really great, basic, pop up beer garden. I’m not sure what the other people are disappointed about! Maybe just come and see for yourself?
The beers might be a tad overpriced, but they have a great selection. My favorite is the grapefruit cut with ¹⁄₃ kolsch, which is the bomb (I’m also not much of a beer drinker).
I really like what they’ve done with the space. Lots of seating, cute lighting, corn hole, food trucks — great casual place to grab a beer in NoMa (one of the only places, really…)

I am very disappointed that this place is getting bad reviews. I went here with my husband last Friday, and had a great time! First of all, this is a POP UP. This isn’t going to be like Dacha or any of the other biergartens in DC. Also, the lot is not dirty — it’s just an empty lot that’s half gravel, half dirt. I wore sandals and went after a rainstorm, and I was fine. Suck it up people. NoMa has NO bar scene, and NO nightlife, so this is such a breath of fresh air. It’s incredibly low key and chill — just picnic tables and plenty of yard games, which are all free. They have about 10 or so German Beers on tap. The folks behind the counter do a fantastic job at explaining each beer, comparing them to their American equivalents, and making suggestions. Each beer that I got was what I expected. It would be nice to be served in an actual glass, but seeing as how they are a pop up, I’m not sure that they’d be able to have the capacity to wash the glasses. So, they don’t actually serve food here, I think just snacks. I didn’t see anyone eating them, but they do have a rotation of food trucks that are supposed to go well with German Beer. You can check on their website, and they are constantly updating the website with the rotation.
For a neighborhood that is truly lacking in most amenities, Wunder Garten is a great addition, and I look forward to going back.

I was excited about this place opening up in theory, but once I visited, I found it very disappointing. It just can’t compete with other, better beer gardens in the area.
First of all, if you’re located in a dirty lot in NOMA, 7 dollars is really steep for a beer. Secondly, if you’re still going to go ahead and charge 7 dollars for that beer, could they at least make it a full pint served in a glass instead of a scant pour in a flimsy plastic cup? C’mon.