When I walked into this place, there may have been a group of people who were taken care of before me despite walking in after I did. That does make one feel rather invisible. So I went elsewhere. I am relieved I made that decision rather than potentially wait an excessively long while possibly lasting till closing time just to be seen. read more

Ate here for lunch with two of my coworkers. We were on our way to visit a supplier in the area and one of my coworkers recommended this establishment. The atmosphere is trendy, beverages are served in tall glasses with a liter of table water. I had the Hot Italian Wurst with potato salad as my side. $14 per plate was reasonable for this delicious meal. read more

It's alright, hard to judge on one visit. I had the Cheddarwurst. Not bad, but nothing special. Especially for the price. A kids meal, Cheddarwurst, and a Schnitzel, one beer ,and two sodas, and a sundae. $85. read more

Gave it another shot. Happy. Lower prices, less dooshy servers. Only wish there was more shade. Love the German beer garden feel. The pretzel & schnitzel were above expectations. Looking forward to a return. Soon. read more

Great dinning experience! We came as a group of 4 and one child . The food was amazing compared to other German restaurant we have tried in the past. This place was memorable and we all loved the food and the drinks. They service was great and and we will be back!! read more

Service has always been stellar. Very accommodating for someone in a wheelchair. Spent plenty if time in Germany and this was pretty spot on to many there. Food has always been great. Beer is great. Only downside would be there is no parking and no take out. read more

Got the Impossible burger, Impossible sausage, chicken sandwich, deviled eggs and the little chicken bites. Everything was salty. I'm not a prude when it comes to salt, but everything was over salted. The Impossible burger was not great, especially compared to other Impossible burgers that I've had. It was probably the worst Impossible burger I've had, maybe even the worst burger I've had. The Impossible sausage and chicken sandwich were just okay. I enjoyed the texture of the sausage and it was dressed well. Again, nothing special. The little chicken bite things were very dry, very salty and they left a terrible stain on my wooden table. I don't fault the restaurant for that, but it would have been more forgiveable had I liked the dish, but I didn't. The deviled eggs were fun to eat. They were also very salty but those are the only thing I'd get again. The thrice cooked potatoes had a great texture and I would have LOVED them... but they were so salty that it was nearly inedible. I wouldn't come here again, especially since it was so expensive. read more

My family went here for my brother's birthday and it did not disappoint. We all enjoyed our wursts and the ambiance with the beer garden style seating. I ordered the wild boar wurst and it was delicious! I definitely want to go back. read more

See all

What I liked: Al pastor sausage - this had more flavor than any of the others I tried. Grilled cheese - decent (minus the tomato dip). Pom cider - excellent. Crispy potatoes themselves were good but the grossly fatty large pieces of bacon were somewhat inedible (should have got the plain ones). Corn & potato soup - tasty but I found the half popped popcorn to be a strange and unpleasant addition. What I disliked: Pretzels - very hard and dry... the cheese dried up very fast and formed a thick layer (I did enjoy the butter). Donor - the impossible meat was overcooked and the bread was super dry. Ummm and arugula sucks... butter lettuce goes much better with shawarma sandwiches. Also, it really bugs me that all restaurants now all of a sudden want to add cilantro into every dish, unnecessary. Speaking of unnecessary, all the wurst and sandwich dishes came with an excess of salad, which is annoying if you want to just split a few dishes with others. I think my friends gave this place way too much hype. read more

I'm a huge fan of Kenji Lopez-Alt and was so excited to hear that he would be opening a beer hall in my hometown. San Mateo has a booming restaurant scene, probably one of the best on the Peninsula, but there is an unfortunate dearth of good places to get beer. I'm hopeful that places like Fieldwork and Wursthall will kickstart a new trend! The food here was excellent; I came with my beer-enthusiast dad, who had one of the bratwursts with sauerkraut, while I had the Impossible doner kebap, and we shared a currywurst. I'd been meaning to try the famous Impossible meat, which is said to taste like the real thing and even "bleed." It was AMAZING - so delicious and I honestly couldn't tell that it wasn't real meat! I also had one of the weekly taps, a white chocolate ale(?), which was also amazing! I'm a sucker for novelty beers that taste like non-beer things (kombucha beer, s'mores stout, etc) and this was one of the best I've ever had. It straight-up tasted like white chocolate with a hint of beer. It was also around 14% ABV - they really know how to pick 'em here! My only disappointment was with the service - you don't have a dedicated server and have to flag down whoever is on the floor (apparently this is what they do at real German beer halls). The person who took our order was super nice and helpful, but the people who helped us after that (one to order another beer, one to handle our check) weren't as great. The first asked if we wanted boxes and our check when our plates were no less than 1/3 full and we'd been there no more than 30 minutes. The second one asked if we wanted our plates taken away when there was still a decent amount of food left. They also seemed a little rude/disinterested. I didn't like that it felt like we were being rushed out since we only stayed for a total of 45 minutes. There was no wait and they weren't closing soon, so I think the issue was a combination of poor training and the fact that tables aren't monitored by a single server who can handle pacing like they do at regular restaurants. Still, only one star off for that - the food and beer were just that good, and I'm sure the service will get better with time. read more

Wursthall - Currywurst and White Chocolate Ale - German Near Me - San Mateo, California

See all

Cool German beer hall! Benched seating "hall" with string lights across the ways. I remember first walking in and seeing so many red faces, you can tell people really are pounding the beers there. I love the concept you can wave down any server there versus having to wait for your designated server. Deviled eggs and pretzel were okay. I had the hot Italian bratwurst and thought it was good, tried my boyfriend's chicken one and it was bomb! Nice craft beer selection as well. read more

This place had a ton of hype and, sadly, doesn't really live up to it. The positives: -Sausages, which are kind of the main point of a placed with Wurst in its name, are quite good as is the bread it comes with! -Currywurst side is really good as well, although personally I think it could use more sauce The negatives: -The free-for-all service is not very effective. Basically, you don't have a set server and you're supposed to just flag down whoever is passing by. This turned out to not be ideal because we would ask for things, wait awhile, and then not be sure if we should ask someone else for the same things we were still waiting for. We didn't know if the server we had asked had forgotten about it or had already put it in and it was tough to find that same server again to follow up. So we ended up having to ask multiple times for water/extra glasses and one of the drinks we ordered never showed. Assigning servers to certain tables would probably be more effective. -The sides, other than the Currywurst, were pretty meh and bland. Each dish generally comes with a side of potato salad and a salad. I got an entree that came with a topping as well, and I chose Sauerkraut. While the Sauerkraut and potato salad were fine, there was really nothing particularly different or exciting about either of these. The salad was just some lightly dressed greens and the potato salad, in my opinion, was no better than any other potato salad you might find in a cafeteria or grocery store. I had actually had potato salad for lunch that day in my cafeteria and thought Wursthall's was basically on par with that, or maybe slightly better. The pretzel came with an interesting sweet-ish dipping sauce, but was dry and unimpressive. Overall, it's a fine enough place but I don't really understand the hype. The sausages are good, but unless you really, really like sausages, I'm not sure it's worth spending 16+ dollars for one sausage and some bread accompanied by really "meh" sides. read more

I actually enjoyed my experience here quite a bit. Came in right at opening and ordered the korean fried chicken and waffles. Not what you would expect but still tasty. The cornbread scallion waffle was interesting and the chicken was quite good aswell. Only gripe is with the breading itself being burnt. The chicken was cooked nicely but it would seem they fried it a little to hot the first time around and the breading had a burnt flavor to it. Still very good. I'll come back to try the sausages and beer list soon. read more

See all

I've been friends with one of the owners since high school, and I've been a fan of Kenji's for years, so I could not pass up the opportunity to visit. Amazing work on the renovation of the space to create a bright, airy dining space. I like the way the idea of a beer hall was respected, yet the long tables were broken down to create more private dining sections as well. Great beer selection and appreciate the commitment to serving local brews. Pricing was right on to be able to spend a few hours hanging out drinking quality beer. Service was interesting, and probably the biggest area for potential improvement. Sometimes it was easy to flag down a server, other times they just disappeared. Food came out quickly though, and my mom and I didn't really have major issues, but I could see if the restaurant was slammed, this might be a weakness. Definitely the highlight was the food. I had the impossible doner and being a plant based eater who also loves meat, I was more than impressed. Flavor and texture were spot on. There's a respect for traditional flavors and ingredients that I highly appreciate. Mom has the pretzel, and it was one of the best I've had. The black pepper butter was the perfect condiment. The ice cream was the perfect end to a great meal. The pumpkin seed brittle was fantastic. Dishes were a little on the pricey side, but worth every penny in my opinion. Definitely recommend checking this place out. I wish I still lived in the Bay, so I could frequent! read more

Glad that they are open now! Our favorite go to place for beers & wursts. Their curry wurst + kolsh beer is an amazing dinner combo. They have plenty space in their open outdoor seating and generally not crowded. read more

Food is not good not worth your money !! More important is the owner attitude I do not recommend this place

I was sad when Capellini's (the wonderful Italian restaurant that was here before) closed down but this place is great! First off, they have a lot of big picnic tables outside which you can order from and they bring your meal to you quickly. The beers are always delicious and cold. Very nice pretzels with tasty mustard and cheese (and try the honey butter... it's sooo good.) They have an excellent vegetarian sausage (impossible Turkish) as well as other yummy sausages for meat lovers. Their buns are special and their fried potatoes are excellent! Dip those in the mustard and honey butter too. Fantastic combo. read more

Delicious! Super casual and the selection of beer was great. I went with a friend after a long day, and the service was spot-on, too. It was fairly easy to flag down folks as they were constantly running around -- we didn't realize that we came during their first weekend! The currywurst was delicious, albeit I wished that the wurst was more spread out than on the bottom of the dish, but both my friend and I agreed it was amazing. I had the Frankwurst and it was so good. The bun was nicely toasted and the wurst! Wow. The sauerkraut was also good and there are plenty of condiments as well. The salad that came with it was also on point. read more

I went here for the first public dinner on Valentine's Day. The dinner hall is a fun experience and different than what I've tried before. The food is mostly meat dominate so for me it was new to expect that. Chef Kenji Alt-Lopez did make me an impossible burger because I couldn't eat the sausage. That was very good! The salad are so out there that they're good! Only feedback is seating could be a bit less cramped. read more

Friendly, almost overbearing, service. Great chicken Schnitzel although it could have had a tad less batter/breading to make it a true Schnitzel. Regardless it was plentiful and tasty. The spaetzle left a little something to be desired but to be honest I will order it again. My friend order the "hot Italian" sausage and was somewhat disappointed. The real kicker was the high prices. $80+ for 2 for a basic meal. read more

Beautiful space, Kenji greeted us at the door which was super cool. We're big fans of serious eats and the food lab. You seat yourself, share a bench with other diners - kind of like a traditional German beer hall. The beer selection was great, servers were very knowledgeable and offered recommendations. Food was fantastic. We had the Impossible Doner Kebab, it comes with a leafy green salad that's simple but very well dressed, a flavorful potato salad with mustard grains and onions - super delicious. The sandwich itself is fantastic. It is vegan - but it tastes like the real thing, it's spiced very well and texture is spot on. I may not have been able to tell it wasn't lamb. The pretzel was really good too, it comes with a sweet buttery dip and you can also order cheese dip and pickles as a side. Will definitely be going back, and 100% getting the impossible doner kebab again. read more

Every since Kenji Lopez-Alt started to post about Wursthall, I knew a visit was in my future. I brought along a friend that had no idea who he is and who was not familiar with his cookbook. My visit was on a very warm Saturday evening where we arrived at 6 pm. There were two parties ahead of us but plenty of open seats at the tables. Most seats are at communal tables while there are some smaller tables for parties of 2 or 4. The communal tables can get a bit tight and everyone shares benches. Thanks to all of the Yelpers that mentioned how there were no assigned waiters for each table. Soon after we were seated one server approached us with menus. Another approached us to explain the menu. A third took our order and offered suggestions based upon our preferences. Overall I thought the process was quite smooth and the waitstaff was great. My friend and I ordered the Impossible Doner Kebap, the cheddar bratwurst, a traditional pretzel and the bacon and onion crispy potatoes. I also ordered a glass of the Hefeweissbier. The sandwiches each came with a side of potato salad and a small salad. The doner kebap tasted like meat and looked like meat but left me without the feeling that I just eaten red meat, which I like but don't often eat. It was delicious and I would order it again. The cheddar bratwurst was okay. It wasn't great and it wasn't bad but I don't know that I would order this particular dish again. The green salad was well dressed and the dressing had the right amount of acid. The potato salad was perfect to balance out the richness of the meat. The pretzel was better than what I've had here in the US but not as good as what I've had in Germany. Is that a fair comparison? I'm not sure but my first bite of a pretzel in Munich opened my eyes to how good they are and not the soft, stale, spongy, over salted mess often found on street carts and carnivals. I would definitely order the pretzel here on future visits. Kenji's recipe for crispy potatoes is what led me to become a fan of his work. The potatoes were indeed crispy and the mix of the spuds with thick cut cubes of bacon and mustard aioli were heavenly. I could not stop eating them! A selection of four mustards are available table side. My favorite was a spicy one (3rd if going from least to most spicy) that I think was labeled "Barvarian" and I found myself putting it on everything. This restaurant brings a nice and much needed option to the San Mateo dining scene. It's an upscale beer hall with good options on the beverage and food menus. The space is open and welcoming. If there was one thing I would change it would be the amount of space available for each party in terms of table size and seating. It can get a bit cramped depending on how many dishes are ordered and who you are seated next to. At the start of our visit it was mostly families with small children but over time we started to see a younger crowd drift in. This is a great spot for large and small groups. Parking options are available on the street or in one of the nearby parking structures. read more

Worst, random hours imaginable and the service is god awful. I come after work, closed. I bring my wife and mouth-in-law for dinner, closed. I finally get in, no bar open so I ask to order-to-go and they tell me to scan a QR code outside. How is this place even open? read more

Plenty of room, prompt service, great food and beer. Definitely worth it, I will return

Love sausages containing veal? Eclectic Beer? Crispy potatoes? Wursthall is for you. Great for groups, upbeat beer hall vibe, pretty good street parking nearby. Came with a group of five around 7:30pm on a Tuesday and we were seated and served quickly, despite the crowd. Only the chicken schnitzel was a disappointment--borderline dry and pretty tasteless. But! Try the Grand Cru --best sour ale I've ever had. Enough said. read more

I went here with great expectations. Was very disappointed ordered the chicke and waffles It was swerved to me clearly blackened both the waffle and the chicken I began eating but had to peel off the skin/coating it had no flavor other than burnt We arrived at 11:05 am and barely anyone was there My companion ordered the doner which appeared as described although had a more than adequate amount of bread to filling The waiter who did not serve the food but came to our table twice and asked my companion how their food was. He did not once ask me how my food was even though I only ate the Center part of the chicken leaving the crust and waffle littered on my plate Clearly someone should be monitoring the food prior to delivery to customer Many customers began entering when we finished around at 12:30 so perhaps this service is not typical. I live in the east bay and will not try this again read more

The food was barely ok but the staff made everything worse with their attitudes. The owner is rude and disrespectful.

I went in by myself tonight to grab a beer and dinner. Restraunt was moderately busy but my service was below sub par. I had to ask several times to be served including for food and the check. Seemed like the servers/managers were to busy chatting it up with tourists to give a crap about someone who actually lived in the area. Food was average and definitely overpriced. My recommendation would be to not waste your time at this place. Way better spots with way better service in san mateo. read more

Really wanted to like this place. It had promise of making me feel like I was back at Oktoberfest in Germany. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. Ordered a chicken schnitzel sandwich and a side of pickled vegetables with a nice Asam(?) bock to wash it down. When they brought the sandwich out I had requested they cut it in half since I would split with my wife, who was getting her hair done across the street. Luckily I did because when I picked up my sandwich to take a bite the center of the fried chicken breast was completely raw. When I mention this was completely raw I mean it looked like a foster farms chicken breast - flattened breaded and flash fried. I requested the server completely cook the chicken and he told me due to the sauerkraut brine it was nothing to worry about but they would re cook. When he returned the chicken was 1/3 the size of the original chicken patty. I stressed my dissatisfaction to the server for both the first raw sandwich and then their tiny chicken patty replacement. Learn from my mistake - save your money, go grab a McChicken - you'll get more chicken that is fully cooked. read more

Worst customer service I've ever experienced. Never coming back. Good thing I was just visiting from out of state

I've been here twice now with small {2} and large (8) parties. The food and beer was consistently good, beer waa good, and the service was great. I recommend the roasted bone marrow, nurnberger, either pretzel with the cheese spread, and any crispy friend potato dish. The Traditional Bratwurst and Frankfurter wursts were okay. I still need to try the other wursts. read more

Was here on Friday night with a friend who suggested it. The restaurant is very clean with plenty of seating. The staff were especially friendly & really made us feel welcome!! I had the pork schnitzel with a side of spaetzle. My friend had bratwurst with sauerkraut. We shared a pretzel with cheese. I like A LOT of lemon for my schnitzel, & was thankfully accommodated! I have been to Germany many times & have a lot of experience with German food. This was certainly on par with the restaurants I've eaten at in Berlin & Frankfurt. There's a lot of food & we both left VERY full. The prices aren't too expensive, especially for the Bay Area! I tried my friend's bratwurst, but not the sauerkraut (because I don't like sauerkraut). It was good! Very tasty & juicy! My schnitzel & spaetzel was wonderful. It wasn't overly breaded & was tender. I'm not usually in San Mateo, but would definitely return for another meal. It was really good! Try it! You'll like it!! read more

Felt super lucky to try Wursthall before they opento the public. Such a bright and open concept, which is such a great change from the dark venue this place once used to be. An open kitchen and bright bar make for such a great ambiance, along with the lights strung overhead, you feel like you're in a real Biergarten. Ambiance and decor aside, the food is killer good. I tried a few of their sausages, the doner box crispy potatoes, deviled eggs, the beets and wheats salad, pulled pork sandwhich and the chicken schnitzel - I couldn't say a single negative thing about any of the items. Presentation and taste are spot on. Their beer selection is as you would expect, something for everyone (and they have wine too). For dessert, don't miss out on the pumpkin seed vanilla ice cream selection. So good, we ordered another! So excited to have Wursthall as a part of downtown San Mateo and really look forward to frequenting this awesome new business ! read more

Great juicy burger, loved the chickpea salad as a side and excellent European pils. Had to have two glasses of the same. So good

It's such a welcome addition to the downtown San Mateo restaurant and drinks scene to have a German beerhall that not only serves a good selection of quality beers (and some wines and other beverages) but delicious, fairly authentic German food. Hurrah! It's open daily 'til midnight(!!) and has a pleasant, tastefully decorated interior. read more

new and fun new place in dt sm. beer beer beer. and bratwurst! they have the 1L beer which is always fun for pictures. lots of diff beers to choose from. a lil on the pricey side. the 1L ranges from 14-18$ depending which you choose. most 0.5L are about 7$. the bratwurst was good but it took about 40 minutes to come out. and it was about 10$. the potato with bacon was a yummy side. this place is super crowded and theres always a line. come early! its long bench style seating so you'll most likely sit next to some other group. make friends and cheers! read more

Wursthall - German Near Me - San Mateo, California

Stale pretzels. Bland bratwurst nothing really special here. Would not go back. Also 7 dollars for a pretzel is a bit much would want more for my dollar. read more

Sad excuse for something German. Nice selection of beers, not one German wine on the wein karte, food about as German as the stuff sold in the supermarket across the street. No schnitzels, no kalb, not even an attempt at rotkraut. Real Germans don't eat fake bratwurst in a hot dog roll. Anyone who thinks this place is real German essen obviously has never been out of la last land. About on a level of a "Hofbrauhaus" at Disneyworld. read more

Love this place! Had the Korean fried chicken, deviled eggs, and a yummy beer... Will be going back to try some brats!

The service was slow and the food was bland. When our table was served the plates looked amazing and out of four people with four different orders every order was bland, as if it had minimal seasonings and spices or not enough salt. DO NOT GO HERE! The Bay Area has amazing cuisine and this place is not on that list. read more