A Taste of Germany in Bay Ridge

With endless take out options throughout the Brooklyn area, including Chinese food, Tex-Mex and Italian, the last place you’d expect traditional German cuisine.

However, “Schnitzel Haus,” located at 7319 fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, NY, in the heart of Bay Ridge, is a small taste of heavenly German food that offers a change of pace in a comfortable setting.

At first glance, the menu may be overwhelming, so the best bet is to first have a bottle of delicious sour cherry beer. At 12 dollars a bottle, it is a bit pricey, but is well worth it when you witness the red frosty cold delight of it. Beer has never tasted this good and it has just the right amount of cherry flavor to balance the beer. If sour cherry is not for you ,then you might partake in a raspberry beer or the extensive beer menu with so many unique flavors and mixtures to try that you can’t go wrong no matter what you pick.

Now you had your beer and you want some food, where do you start? Simply put, it is not an easy task to decipher what may be good because everything sounds delicious. For those unwilling to tread in these tasty German waters, they do serve cheeseburgers, but do yourself a favor while in this small piece of Germany nestled in Brooklyn and sample the tastes. A wide variety of sausages, veal and German hot dogs make the menu hard to resist.

The Shepherd’s pie is one of the most delightful dishes that you can try, because it combines their wide variety of sausages topped with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. It is then baked all together to create one amazing attack of joy on your taste buds. The potatoes arrive golden brown and the portion is quite filling.

If that is not your cup of tea, there is a wide range of chicken and pork cutlets that come smothered in mushrooms and gravy with a side of curly fries and the many options on the menu make you want to return as soon as possible.

Dinners are a little pricey and range from 15 dollars to well over 30 for the fancier dishes. In spite of that, the atmosphere allows you to feel as if you stepped into Germany, with the wooden paneling, beer and soccer on the tube and waitresses in traditional German apparel.

You can’t help but laugh when they ask you for the schnitzel, but this little element makes the transformation almost feel like a real one.

From the first aroma that seeps its way into the kitchen, it feels like Germany.

Of course you are rudely awoken from this dream when you step back into the Bay Ridge.

The service is great from the staff [the men are extremely well-mannered, but lack the visuals of the female wait staff], just as your beer is finished the waiter is there asking if want another and is always meeting your needs.

Even though the food takes a bit of awhile to be prepared, as there is only the trusty Executive Chef Uwe on staff, it is well worth the wait.

Despite being surrounded by dozens of other food choices in the area, Schnitzel Haus is a flawless change of pace and a dining experience that is easy to relish in. The service, food and drink menu provide one hell of a good evening out and the place is perfect for parties.

Danke, Schnitzel Haus. Danke very much.