De Luxe at The Lutze

It was supposed to be a crappy Saturday, weather-wise. And it was, until about 5:30 PM. Then the rain clouds scudded east from Jersey City across the Hudson and past Manhattan.

With my soon-to-be-married son and his fianceé living in Jersey City, I had already visited and reviewed some excellent places to quaff good beer and enjoy good food. So when I asked him for a new recommendation, the groom-to-be said, “The Lutze is a pretty neat place, I hear.”

Neat, indeed. This open-air biergarten named for Manager Allie DeMarco’s grandfather Wilhelm Lutze was the brainchild of Allie’s dad who works in a nearby building. He noticed an empty space between two buildings on Jersey City’s booming waterfront and said that “something” needed to go there.

That something was The Lutze, and it’s a special place, especially when the sun is setting. Of course, with a leafy canopy as its only cover, it’s certainly a weather-dependent venue. But if the weather cooperates, and you enjoy outdoor dining with a billion dollar view of the Manhattan Skyline, it’s apparently THE place to be.

It was certainly the place my party of eight wanted to be to celebrate those pending July 1 nuptials, and celebrate we did. Axel, our friendly server, made sure our table for eight was stocked with a captivating craft beverage called Lutze’s Lemonade, buckets of beer specially brewed for Lutze by the folks at Hoboken Brewing and some excellent food, including to-die-for Brats and delicious giant pretzels that would have made Wilhelm Lutze—and all of Bavaria—proud.

We got to The Lutze at about 6 PM, so there were still places to sit and enjoy the fare and the view. But as the night wore on, the lines to get in got longer, with social distancing rules being observed.

It’s a family (and pet) friendly place and there were examples of both peppered around the grounds, like these youthful visitors (above) from Germany. There were also groups of what geezers (like me) call “young folk”—gals, guys, guys and gals, couples—all enjoying the evening, each other and the venue.

In addition to the leaf-covered seating area, there was also a “standing” area that had a Seaside Heights “Boardwalk” feel to it, and it was very, um, popular.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that you’ll need to walk a bit to find the “necessary.” But as it’s a lovely walk along the quay with that fantastic view always in reach, most won’t mind it.

Those who might mind it will be those who imbibe too much beer too soon, those with small bladders or those with a poor sense of direction, like the missus, who was found by my son wandering aimlessly in the street like a vagabond, blocks away from where the loo actually was.

With great food, service, weather, company and a positively priceless view, however, The Lutze should be on your “bucket list,” if not your favorite list when you’re in Jersey City. Under the right conditions, The Lutze is De Luxe.