Astoria Bier & Cheese - Broadway

Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

34-14 Broadway
Astoria
Queens, New York, 11106-1197
United States

(718) 545-0403 | map
astoriabierandcheese.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.37
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
32
pDev:
5.95%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by DoubleSimcoe:
Photo of DoubleSimcoe
Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

3.76/5  rDev -14%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4.25
After walking about 400 miles from Roosevelt Island to Astoria in the middle of a beautiful, sunny and warm late-December day, the wife and I couldn't wait to drink four million beers to soothe our mighty sore feet, legs and thighs. Astoria Bier & Cheese does the trick, no doubt. A bright, large space right on the main drag on Broadway.

Some tables as you enter to the right, then a beautiful marble bar and a cheese-and-meat counter with lots of expensive goodies. A cooler with beers right behind, to take home or drink at the joint ($2 corking fee ain't bad). Also a ton of room-temp beers right next to the cooler.

Some nice finds: Keegan Super Kitty, Big John, Even More Jesus ($16.99), Evil Twin Bozo ($17.99), Founders Sweet Repute ($22.99).

On tap: Stone Smoked Porter Vanilla, Singlecut Billy Full, Blue Mountain, Great South Way, Peekskill... lots of IPA's, nothing super crazy but serviceable, and the bottles fill in for my big-beer needs.

Great beer-minded food: cheese curds with artisanal bread, sandwiches to die for (pungent cheese-and-prosciutto, brie-and-ham). Yum!

Not crowded on a Saturday evening, wish I could have this in Manhattan... a chill time, they have some magazines to boot and I happily read about luxury hotels in faraway lands while imbibing and munching. Music could be better, though... ABBA, really??

Expensive overall (75 bucks for a bunch of beers, sandwiches and cheese curds), and another 55 bucks for the best truffle butter ever and an Evil Twin beer to go home. But hey, whatever... it was fun. Definitely would and will come back.
Dec 22, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.38 by Zekenyce from New Jersey

Aug 12, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Oct 17, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by elamb106 from New York

Jun 26, 2017
 
Rated: 4.63 by GulDukat88 from New York

Jun 02, 2017
Photo of Jacobier10
Reviewed by Jacobier10 from New Jersey

4.38/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Although my rating might not reflect it, this is one my favorite places in NYC. The focus and the quality of both the cheese and beer programs are second to none.

This past Wednesday afternoon was my third or fourth trip to AB&C. The space isn't huge but doesn't feel cramped either. It's white and bright inside with a bunch of small tables off to the right. Straight behind that is a small bar that seats 8-10 people with a long cooler unit filled with cheese. The left side of the joint has a bunch of snacks and jarred foods, a big fridge filled with single bottles of beer, and more shelves of unrefrigerated single beers. Not the largest selection in the world, but it is carefully curated with some goodies to be found for sure.

The bar is my favorite feature. White tiles line the wall with beer prices, food specials, etc. written in marker. Ten taps come straight out of the wall, each with a tag containing a hand-drawn picture of which beer is on tap. This particular time, it was Queens Beer Week, so all 10 taps were from NYC. From what I can remember there was an imperial stout w/ adjuncts, a pilsner, a cider, a porter, two IPAs, an imperial IPA, a gose, a Belgian blond ale, and something else I can't recall. In prior visits, they have always had a mix of local, non-local domestic, and imported beers on tap.

I ordered a beer & cheese pairing plate which was to die for. Four cheeses paired with four beers... or so I thought. Pairings are the bar's choice and I was given three beers and a cider. I was cool with it, I can branch out and get down with a little cider, but I could see it throwing somebody off. All four pairings were spot on. Little pieces of crusty bread to enjoy with the cheese and a tiny piece of dehydrated strawberry to cleanse the palate between each cheese. I'm in heaven.

Given my love of beer and cheese, it's no surprise I like this place. It's a must-stop every time I'm in the area now.
May 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.5 by ConorGolden from New York

Mar 26, 2017
 
Rated: 4.2 by BubbleBobble from New York

Jun 02, 2016
 
Rated: 4.15 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Mar 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.71 by FiveBoroCraftBeerFest2014 from New York

Aug 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.28 by Ironstutz from New York

Jun 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.59 by kurvalek from New York

May 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.58 by SpicyHippo73 from New York

Mar 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4.33 by PVMT from New York

Feb 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4.66 by SkiBum22 from New York

Dec 19, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Saisons-of-the-Abyss from New York

Dec 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Cfeezy from New Jersey

Nov 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

Nov 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4.24 by sunofneurot from New York

Nov 10, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Jlabs from New York

Oct 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by StephRai from New York

Sep 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by thenewsullivan from New York

Jul 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by timotao from New York

May 31, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by jdelbalzo99 from New York

Apr 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by JohnG190 from New York

Apr 12, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by ibeerbarron from New York

Mar 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by tobelerone from New Jersey

Mar 12, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by vfgccp from New York

Feb 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by sirsteve42 from New York

Jan 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by JakeDebus from Maryland

Nov 05, 2013
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

4.18/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Happy New Year. Mid afternoon Astoria revisited for can I get my BBQ shit together? We will see. I have some time yet, and thought I’d do the one of the two here first. Made it with the muni meter, who I do love, and walked watching hyphenated street addresses for numbers I couldn’t remember anyway, but I found the place just the same…

A pair of rounded display cases to the right with cheeses displayed (a basket of bread atop of one of them), and a small counter piece in between. Forward these, a white marble topped ‘L’ bar with a wood plank base, seating 6 on swivel shallow backed wicker chairs. The short end connects to the wall, and then extends further down the wall as a bar counter, seating 6 more. The whole deal is kind of lightning boltish.

Barback wall, if you want to call it that, is of large white subway tile with a 10 tap panel on one end. Counter action running the barback length below with sinks and food prep & packaging space. House growlers displayed on the end. I like their 32oz growlers, they look like old medicine jars. And shelving below, glassware on my end, anyway. Horizontal blackboard play over the barback area up high listing tap selections, ABV’s, pricing, & serving size. Mostly pints, but bigger beers are dealt in 12 oz glasses, clearly marked. And cheese & meat plates, grilled cheese, & sandwiches further down.

The rest of the walls are done lime green & the ceiling and trims painted white. Front wall of windows with the door within, and wide plank wood floors. A single spinny up front. Drop single filament bulb gumball lamps tracing the bar, track spots adjacent on the coolers, shelved beer, & front bar counter, and sunken spots up front and barback overhang inlayed.

A trio of 2 seat square tables in the middle up front, and 2 more in the front windows; one of which is occupied by annoying girl on a computer and phone. Over my shoulder, a shelving rack with provisions (bitters, nuts, honey, jam, preserves, oils, crackers, bloody mary mix, mustard, spreads, sauces, ketchup, a great many pickled things, you know, the dry goods). Past there, a pair of triple wides, meaning 6 cooler doors of cold beer, and a large shelving unit down past there with warm beer, seemingly dupes of the cooler wares. Nothing crazy but nice suspects, divvied up by country. And a cooler piece on the end with cheese, meat, & evil goddamn olives.

10 taps, on nondescript handles with hanger tags listing beer & ABV, and 32oz & 64oz growler pricing written on the wall above in magic marker. ½ of them craft very local (Single Cut Olympic White Lagrrr, Spider Bite Boris the Spider RIS, Port Jefferson Runaway Ferry Imperial IPA) and regional (Ramstein Winter Wheat, Wandering Star Horatio IPA), the other ½ craft from afar (Two Brothers Ebel’s Weiss Beer, RJ Rockers Son of a Peach, Speakeasy Butchertown Black Ale, 21st Amendment Lower Da Boom Barleywine, Full Sail Session Black Lager). I drank the Ramstein Winter Wheat and the Speakeasy Butchertown Black Ale. They do a flight of 4 of your choice for $10, and 4 beers matched with 4 cheeses for $18, which may be the deal.

Like I said, I’m BBQbound in a bit, but I haven’t eaten and started drinking, so perhaps a bite is in order. Maybe a grilled cheese but no, that’s a bit much, so I opted for the ‘Nordic plate’ (Speck, aged gouda, spicy mustard, creamy roe, cornichon, & dark rye bread). Speck was excellent, and even more so with the mustard, the roe jammed, the dark rye a perfect accompaniment, and I just love love love crumbly aged gouda, this one 2 year aged, beautifully crumbly.

Playing Motowny oldness, good stuff. Servers and staff seemed on their game; they knew their beer and I could hear them walking people through cheeses being purchased. I caught a great plate. It’s a nice snack place or more.
Feb 05, 2013
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

4.05/5  rDev -7.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Part of a growing Astoria craft beer (or bier) scene. This place offers the expected healthy helpings of artisinal cheese and other snacky food choices and of course rows and shelves of quality bottles as well as the obligatory growler filling capability.

I'm a big fan of good cheese, so high marks for food given. They will creat a cheese plate for you and match it with a beer. Friendly and knoldedgable service is always a big plus.

Rectangular room, with large windows up front looking out onto the busy street scene. The beer are to the left on shelving units and in some free standing displays. Growler filling and food/cheese options are tot he right. Comfortable place for a beer and a bite, with smaller tables up front. Nice tap lines. Check out beermenus.com for up to date selection options. Prices are more reasonable for 12 or 16 ounce pours ($6-7) then for growlers (several at or above $20 for 64 ounces). Seems they are charging near the 16 ounce rate for the growler fills, and basically buying you one beer back. So growlers are near prohibitively pricey, compared to what you might be used to.

Very positive addition to the neighborhood.

About 15 mins from Laguardia and 20 mins from Citi Feild.
Jan 06, 2013
Astoria Bier & Cheese - Broadway in Queens, NY
Place rating: 4.37 out of 5 with 32 ratings