This is probably the hardest review I've done, and I've taken some time to think about it before…read moredoing so.
We came here for my husband's birthday dinner, as we were in the area for a getaway. We were both stationed in Germany back in the day, and he has a particular adoration for German food. And that German food MUST COME WITH SPAETZLE, which is the German version of noodles.
Of course he also needs the breaded cutlet, but it all goes together for him: cutlet, gravy, spaetzle.
As a vegetarian, German food is often harder for me, and so I really only had one entree choice: the potato pancake, although I believe that wasn't the official name for it.
My husband's entree didn't come with spaetzle, but there was a kids meal with it and perhaps it came with other entrees, I can't remember, but we assumed he could switch his side to spaetzle and everyone would go home happy.
Au contraire.
We went for the appetizer, entree, desert pricing since everything was on the more expensive side and this way we'd just choose from each selection without thinking about the cost.
The first problem occurred when we asked if the German pretzel, our favorite share starter, could take the place of one of our appetizers. After all it was the same price or cheaper, AND it's a gd appetizer, after all. Isn't it?
No. We were not allowed to do that.
So we skipped the pretzel, trying to keep our birthday cheer afloat. Tis but a fleshwound, right?
Next he was told he could not substitute spaetzle for the side that came with his entree. Why not? We got a shrug. Then we asked if he could just buy a side of it. We were told it wasn't on the side list so no, he couldn't get a side of it.
Imagine! You are told at a German restaurant you can't even BUY THE GERMAN FOOD YOU WANT AS A SIDE. Even though they have it there.
At this point we were irritated. But it's his birthday dinner. So we just ordered from the menu and attempted to move on and enjoy the experience.
Then the food comes out. It's absolutely delicious! The asparagus appetizer I'd selected was incredible, and my potato entree superb. Hub's portion of cutlet was generous, and he said his whole meal was on point. (With the exception of the missing spaetzle, of course.)
We both had the apple streudel for desert, and the flavor was there, but it was super cold, unlike many we've gotten warm and delicious. We weren't a fan of it cold.
The atmosphere was nice, and the waitress did a decent job of filling our orders, but seemed to have no empathy for our needs or desires.
This all left me torn as to what rating to give the restaurant. The food we got was mostly amazing, except for the temperature of the dessert. I'd give it five stars in a heartbeat.
The inflexibility to make the most basic efforts to keep your guests happy: allowing the pretzel to be included in the appetizer choices, and allowing a guest to swap a side for spaetzle or even allowing them to buy it as an extra side seemed to the point of insanity.
Isn't the point of having a restaurant to serve people good food in a nice atmosphere so everyone is happy?
Someone there has lost the plot.
I'd give them a zero if I could for ruining my husband's birthday dinner with this ridiculous behavior.
So I settled for a three. This three neither addresses the excellence of the food we ate or the basic failure to keep their guests happy.
I hope they stay in business but learn to be flexible. It's not becoming.