If youve driven through Clevelands theater district anytime since late last summer, youve probably noticed Hofbruhaus Cleveland. Its impossible to miss a 24,000-square-foot slice of Bavaria dropped smack-dab between Playhouse Square and the Greyhound station on Chester Avenue sort of stands out.

And while Ive never been to Bavaria, Clevelands slice of it is exactly how Id imagine it.

The exterior is a tad more modern than you might expect, tan-colored stucco and a red-tiled roof standing in for the Alpine ski-lodge look of so many European-themed restaurants. The outside of the place is dominated by a fenced-in beer garden, with picnic-table seating for more than 1,000 patrons. The garden features a walk-up stand, where you can buy beers and brats, but you cant sit outdoors and get the full menu.

Theres plenty of nearby parking, including valet service at the restaurant. A large group of us visited on a recent Saturday and arrived around 6 p.m., early enough to avoid a long wait. The main bier hall does not take reservations, and though it seats 440, there was quite a line to get in a couple of hours into our visit.

There is a smaller restaurant inside the Hermit Club, the century-old private arts club that shares the space with Hofbruhaus. That venue, open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, does accept reservations and recommends them for parties of four to eight people.

For a party of 400 people, however, you definitely want a seat on one of the benches in the main beer hall. With live music, giant steins of beer and shots done off of snow skis while standing on your seat, dinnertime transforms into a pretty raucous brauhaus blowout.

Hofbruhaus Cleveland, not affiliated with the old Cleveland landmark that once stood on East 55th Street, is a franchisee of the company that maintains ownership of the original Hofbruhaus, which was founded in 1589. The local edition brews beers on-premises, according to the processes established by the original centuries ago. Five brews are available on tap, including a changing seasonal beer. One-liter steins are $10.99, and half-liters go for $5.99.

Food-wise, the menu is chock full of the ethnic flavors youd expect schnitzel, sauerkraut and sausages. We started with picks from the fried food-heavy appetizer menu: beer-battered onion rings, Bavarian-style soft pretzels and sauerkraut balls.

Easily the most impressive offering were the onion rings ($8.99), which were gigantic, heavily coated in a superb batter and cooked to absolute perfection, inside and out. Im an onion-ring snob, and these might have been the best Ive had. Giant. Golden. Amazing.

I enjoyed the sauerkraut balls ($9.99 for an order of seven) and enjoyed the honey mustard sauce they were served with even more. That same honey mustard was also great with the Bavarian pretzels, which are $8.99 for a basket of four but can be upgraded to a combo that includes bier cheese and obatzda for another $4.99.

The bier cheese was outstanding an opinion that, like the onion ring ravings, was shared by the entire table. The obatzda, a mixture of brie, cream cheese and seasonings, provided a chunkier dip for the pretzels. I liked it, but not everyone did. That the sauces/dips really stood out during our first course should have been a clue of what was to come.

I got the Jagerschnitzel ($18.99) as my entre a breaded pork cutlet topped with a creamy mushroom sauce and served with cranberry relish and spaetzle. I had never had schnitzel topped with any sort of sauce before and was curious about this dish and the Braumeister schnitzel, also $18.99 but topped with that bier cheese sauce and ham.

The mushroom sauce was good. Not great, but good, and very necessary. I tasted an edge slice of the pie-sized piece of pork and was very disappointed. It was cooked well but was extremely bland. Others shared the same opinion, and while, again, the sauces made the dish acceptable overall the main star of a $19 entre probably shouldnt be the sauce. I probably ate more of the spaetzle.

My wife ordered the perogies and mettwurst ($15.99), which consisted of the potato-and-cheese-stuffed dumplings sauteed with the strong German sausage and caramelized onions, topped with sour cream and green onions. She, like me a veteran of decades of both home-cooked and restaurant European meals, gave me a disapproving thumbs-down when I looked her way for an opinion.

Overall, our groups opinions on the entrees were mixed. The consensus seemed to be with me on the schnitzel, but the lobster bisque ($7.49) incorporated from the Hermit Clubs longtime recipe and sausage dishes got higher marks.

The desserts especially the apple strudel ($5.99) were tempting, but no one in our party tried one. Even with eating only about half my entre, I was stuffed. The portions are big at Hofbruhaus.

The atmosphere is unbeatable if youre looking for a giant party. The space is large, the music plenty and the crowd friendly. Patrons spanned several generations, it seemed, and everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves. If you want a big celebration, especially with a large group, I dont think you could go wrong with just getting drinks and appetizers.

If youre looking for more than that, you might be disappointed. As mentioned, the entrees were lackluster and not cheap and service is not fast. This isnt really the fault of the dirndl-and-lederhosen-clad servers; there are just so many people to take care of and the whole scene gets pretty chaotic.

Id imagine the original beer halls of Germany are much the same. Set your expectations accordingly, and Hofbruhaus Cleveland is a slice of Bavaria you cant and shouldnt miss.

Reviews are based on one anonymous visit to the restaurant.

Hofbruhaus Cleveland

1550 Chester Ave. | Cleveland

216-621-2337 | hofbrauhauscleveland.com

Location: Chester Avenue at East 15th Street, in Clevelands Playhouse Square area.

Type of restaurant: Bavarian beer garden.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Liquor and wine: Full bar.

Facilities for the handicapped: Yes.

Credit cards: All major.

Cuisine: European.

Vegetarian: A few options.

Special diets: Ask your server to accommodate special diet needs.

Kid-friendliness: No kids menu; probably not a great place for younger kids.

Outdoor dining: Beer and bratwurst are available in the beer garden but full menu is not.

Dress code: Casual.

Reservations: Not accepted for the main dining hall or bier garden; recommended for the Hermit Club.

Wi-Fi: Yes

Prices: Moderate appetizers $8 to $10; most entrees $14 to $19; desserts $6 to $.7

Value: Good.

Ratings (of five):

Food: 2.5 stars.

Atmosphere: 5 stars.

Service: 3 stars.