It's almost a month after Christmas but I wanted to show a restaurant that is a "must see" for many during the Christmas season. Rolf's German Restaurant, located in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood at 22nd Street and 3rd Avenue, is known for its "over the top" Christmas decorations which stay up well into January. (All photos will enlarge when clicked on once, and then clicked on again again when they open on a new page)
As soon as you walk in the door you see an explosion of Christmas lights and decorations.
They literally take your breath away when you first see them!
Decorations are in every nook and cranny of the restaurant, hanging overhead, dripping from the ceilings, walls and light fixtures like a fairytale wonderland. Garish? Excessive? Perhaps, but I couldn't help but feel enchanted by it all and enjoyed the festive atmosphere.
Even the bar area is enrobed in lights and baubles.
Dolls are nestled in the garlands ...........
....also Angels and Santa Claus figurines.
There were so many figurines everywhere in the restaurant that I could only capture a small amount with my camera lens. I could not take my eyes off the ceiling and walls looking for all of them
.
Baubles and balls, berries and garland, ribbons and bows, icicles and over 45,000 lights dangle and shine.
Ornaments of golds, reds, pinks, purples, silver and green are a virtual rainbow of color.
They all make Rolf's a Christmas-time spectacular that evokes the fairy-tale like feeling of Germany’s "Black Forest" region.
Even the cover of the menu shined from the reflection of the lights overhead!
My husband and I dined at Rolf's with friends a few weeks ago, well after the Christmas season, as it is almost impossible to get a reservation to dine here the month of December. Even trying to have a drink at the bar is almost impossible in December, due to the enormous crowds. The food is German / Alsace and moderately priced for a Manhattan restaurant. While Zagat reviews are mixed as to quality of the food, we enjoyed the hearty thick potato pancakes we had as an appetizer, and my husband and I enjoyed our Schnitzel a la Holstein which was served with a side of spatzle and a vegetable. While not gourmet, it was filling and good. I didn't take photos, because I didn't want to disturb my friends dining experience, but you can see Rolf's entire menu on their website.
Rolf's website states that they change their decorations seasonally, so it may be worthwhile to stop by at any time of the year, but if you can visit sometime during the Christmas season and especially during the last weeks of January you are in for a visual treat!
Linking to:
I'm linking to Mary's "Mosaic Monday" on her blog The Little Red House, Diane's "Second Time Around" on her blog A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, and "Rednesday" on Sue's blog It's a Very Cherry World, Jenny Matlock's "Alphabe Thursday" -- the letter is "P" and this is my POST Christmas visit to Rolf's, Sandi's "Friday Linky Favorites" on her blog Whistlestop Cafe Cooking, Laurie's "Few of my Favorite Things Saturday" on her blog Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie, and Beverly's "Pink Saturday" on her blog How Sweet the Sound
