Mecklenberg Gardens is an Uptown institution. The restaurant and bier garden has created one of the city’s best outdoor dining experiences for more than 150 years. Mecklenburg Gardens has even been ranked as “America’s Best Beer Garden” by Travel + Leisure and "Top 5 Outdoor Dining Spots!" by Cincinnati Magazine.
As Mecklenberg Gardens adjusts to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s making changes to protect its customers while still offering a comfortable, entertaining environment. The restaurants’ large outdoor bier garden and spacious buildings allowed Mecklenburg Gardens to easily adapt to new social distancing requirements. Even with tables spaced at least six feet apart, the patio can seat up to 96 people. Customers dining outside are welcome to bring their dogs as well.
“We are excited to be able to re-open our doors to service the Cincinnati community and provide a safe and healthy environment for people to enjoy themselves. We understand things progress slowly and we are taking it one day at a time,” said John Harten, Mecklenburg Gardens’ owner.
The restaurant has big plans to host fun weekly events, while observing social distancing requirements, to provide opportunities for people in the community to come together safely. Mecklenburg Gardens is hosting open mic nights every Wednesday. On Thursdays, there’s trivia in the bier garden from 7–9 p.m. and live blues music in the beir hall from 6–9 p.m. And customers can enjoy freshly smoked barbeque on Fridays from 12–6 p.m.
Mecklenburg Gardens is continuing with some of their larger events as well. On June 19, the restaurant hosted a pig roast with a beer tasting and live music. Now, it’s preparing for the second annual Beer, Bacon, Bourbon and Blues Fest on July 11.
In addition, Mecklenburg Gardens is opening an entertainment venue in its beir hall, which will be called Mecks. Once the venue is ready to open, Mecklenburg Gardens plans to consistently schedule live bands. The bier hall will also continue to be available as a private event space.
Mecklenburg Gardens is now open from 3–9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 3–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.mecklenburgs.com or follow Mecklenberg Gardens on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.