Rolf's French Bavarian Brasserie decks the halls

November 15, 2:38 PMNY Local Travel ExaminerHillary Richard

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New York City is iconic at Christmas. While the typical holiday sparkle is merry and exciting, it’s hard to truly impress New Yorkers with decorations. After all, this is the city of Macy’s windows and Rockefeller Center Christmas trees. It’s surprising, then, that one small Gramercy tavern gets the unofficial prize for going above and beyond each year during the holidays.

Without a doubt, the most festive Christmas bar in New York City is Rolf’s. At other points in the year, this French Bavarian Brasserie can be unremarkable. From Thanksgiving to mid-January, however, every square foot of Rolf’s explodes with ornaments. Antique porcelain dolls, garlands, ribbons, Christmas balls, branches, icicles, sleighs, bows, and lights cover the ceiling and walls entirely, in keeping with their general 19th century Bavarian décor.

Rolf’s opened in 1958, and the decorations started a few years afterwards in keeping with the then-German theme. Shorful Ripon has been bartending at and managing Rolf’s for over twelve years. He is also on the decorating committee, and said that they use over 70,000 light bulbs, 20,000 glass balls, and 50 cases of garlands.

Despite its decadence, Rolf’s remains somewhat of a local secret. It’s crowded during the typical times of day (lunch, dinner, post-work, etc.), but there isn’t a ridiculous wait time. From the outside, Rolf’s looks like any other establishment on Third Avenue. The window decorations are over the top, but the pale shades of silvers, pinks, greens, and blues keep it from looking gaudy. It could easily be mistaken for any of the flower shops or boutique stores in the area.

Rolf’s isn’t the most spacious restaurant-slash-bar in general. When it’s crowded, you can most definitely expect to stand by the bar, somewhere between the coats against the wall, the hanging ornaments, and the seated diners. The abundance of decorations coupled with the influx of admirers may make it a little difficult to move, but this is an annual must-see.

It takes over six weeks for four people to decorate Rolf’s, working five days a week from 10:30pm to 6:30am.

Rolf’s French Bavarian Brasserie is located at 231 3rd Avenue, by 22nd Street.