A burger and a beer.

A pretzel with a pint.

A hot dog and a cold one.

If you’re craving the perfect pair of drinks and fare, look no further than Bayberry Beer Hall.

New to Providence, Rhode Island, Bayberry Beer Hall is unlike any restaurant you’ve ever been to.

“Bayberry’s about really three main things to us: beer, food, and community.” 

Natalie and Tom Dennen were inspired to open this place after their many trips to Europe.   And they set out to create an airy open space reminiscent of the German beer halls they visited.  With one distinctly American difference.

“All of our beer is American, American craft beer.  We we inspired by our German predesessers, but we wanted to Americanize this.  So we have only American craft beer here and we try to keep it as regional as possible.”

As for the atmosphere, the nineteenth century building is filled with picnic tables, festive string lights, hanging wicker chairs and live plants just about everywhere.  

“We wanted to incorporate as much greenery as possible to bring that outside in.  So we have over 200 live plants in our space and we kept the aesthetic of the space as raw as possible.”

The overall vibe here is casual.   There’s no waitstaff, so customers order at the bar and pick up their food from the kitchen when it’s ready, customizing their experience for whatever mood their in.

“We wanted to create a space that you could come and eat and go, or you could come and eat and stay, and drink and stay.”

And with this menu, you’ll most definitely want to stay.

“It’s casual elevated dining.   You will find something comforting and that you’re comfortable with on every plate but there will also be something that stretches your palate.”

Much of the food here is made to share,so you’ll find big platters of cured meats and cheeses, bowls of snacks like pickled vegetables served with housemade aioli and mixed nuts coated with rosemary and chili.

“It’s salty, it’s sweet. You keep going back especially when you’re getting a different nut every time. It’s fantastic beer food.”

At any beerhall, a pretzel is a must order, and Bayberry’s are made fresh every day.  

“We’ve got two in-house bakers that are doing pretzels daily.  The outside’s a little crunchy, the inside’s soft so because we do make them fresh oftentimes you’ll actually get them warm like right out of the oven.  We serve them with our house made mustard butter so we’re whipping butter into house made mustard and it’s delicious.”

Another perfect partner for a beer is a burger.   And the chefs at Bayberry knew they had to get their recipe exactly right. because this is one dish that Natalie takes personally.

“Because I’m a burger brat. I love a good burger and a beer.   If I’m asked what do you want your last meal to be that’s what I wanted it to be, a burger and a beer. And so when were talking about what we wanted on our menu I’m like, “Okay, if we’re doing a burger it’s got to be a really good burger,” and they knocked it out of the park.”

“Our burger is a local beef and it is actually ground with the local mushrooms, which just gives it that extra savory unctuousness and really just the juiciness that you would get from those mushrooms.  Served on a house made bun, we have a smoked tomato jam that’s on top of it. That is my favorite thing on the menu right now.”

Other favorites include Rhode Island steamed littlenecks spiked with chorizo and fried potatoes and the creamy dreamy carbonara.

“I absolutely love it and what’s really fun about it is  it’s actually served with a cured egg yolk in the center of it so you break into that yolk and then you see all the egg coming over and just it’s so.  Delicious.”

The kitchen also gives a nod to the famous beer halls of Germany with everything from weiners to weinershnitzel. So the signature Gastro Dog ain’t your average frank.  It’s made by a local butcher, and it was loved by Natalie long before the restaurant even opened.   

“The flavor of their hot dog is something that I actually fell in love with when I was pregnant and before Bayberry even started to be built out. It’s just so delicious.”

And the toppings are ever changing with combinations like bacon, cheddar, beer braised onions and jalapenos all on a fresh baked pretzel roll.   

“It’s got a great snap to it but it’s also not your standard frank that you get at a ballpark, it’s substantial. We’re putting it on our house made bread, which is fantastic as well. Who doesn’t love a well-made hotdog?  It’s fantastic.”

The German cuisine continues with a potato and sauerkraut pancake topped with crispy ham and green onion and a chicken schnitzel sandwich finished with a garden remoulade on a sweet roll that is sandwich perfection.

“You get the creaminess from the remoulade, you get the crunch from the breading on the chicken.Then, it’s served with our fried peewee potatoes that are little assorted potatoes that are smashed and fried so.  It’s fantastic.”

And to end your meal, keep things simple but sensational with a homemade Ice Cream Sandwich. 

“It’s a shortbread cookie with a vanilla ice cream inside, caramel, and then it served in two triangles and when we bake those cookies you don’t see a face in here without a smile on. It just smells so, so good.” 

In fact, there are smiles all around Bayberry Beer Hall, because good beer and great food always draws a crowd.

“Bayberry’s casual, it’s communal, it’s a place that you can come with your friends, with your family, with a big group of people.  It’s a space that can suit many needs and that’s exactly our intention so we couldn’t be happier.”