German Canadian Cultural Association — Local services in South Industrial District

Okay, I think it's important to write a review so that people know what this place is actually like. A lot of people (maybe 60,000 people of German heritage?) came to Edmonton from Germany in the 1950's and 1960's. So... They developed a German club in the middle of an industrial area in South Edmonton. Well, those people are now largely dead or extremely old. And their children and grandchildren aren't as interested in German culture. Most of them don't speak German or have even been to Germany. And people these days just seem to look at their phones and laptops rather than get out like they used to. Because of this the German club is hanging on by a thread. They used to have 1200 members and now they're down to 300. And most of those people are extremely old and don't even show up anymore. The whole club is actually almost bankrupt and they're just barely surviving by renting out their quite dated banquet hall. If you come here don't expect to speak German as most of the people won't speak it. Don't expect any German food like Spätzle, Schnitzel, wurst, etc. I was told (at lunch) the only thing being served are chicken fingers and fries (probably frozen stuff purchased at the supermarket). Don't even expect to see any people (when I went there on a Saturday afternoon at lunchtime there were literally 2 old guys in the entire building playing chess) So, unless some younger people bring some life into this place I think it won't be long until this place is closed down. They seem to still have the children's singing group every 2nd Saturday February to June from 1:30 to 3:00. Maybe they should rent out their space to a daycare during the day and offer German lessons for the youngsters. Or host a party once per week on a Saturday night. Or maybe have a big screen in the pub for people to watch German soccer games. I don't know if it's possible to bring life back...

I am really surprised to see the quality of food rise so dramatically in the last couple of months. Last year, the restaurant was the usual bland fare one would normally expect at a buffet-style restaurant: tasteless, unimaginative, rubbery and either too cold or too hot and overcooked because of the steam ovens. I have had the opportunity to go back FOUR times this year (2015), and find their food has much improved since last year. It's still buffet service (not much you can do about that), but the limited table service is friendly and helpful. food tables are better supervised, and the food is rotated more often to keep the try's full and fresh. The dishes consist of interesting, tasty and traditional German fare from all parts of Germany, and everything is well prepared. I had a German liver dumpling soup last time where the dumpling was light and fluffy, and the broth was delicious and ripe with flavour. The schnitzels are always tasty and delicious, the Bavarian meatballs are out of this world, and the salad bar is always freshly stocked and interesting. The food is overall very good, and the prices on both food and alcohol are extremely reasonable. You get definitely get your money's worth here! My only criticism is our that the room decor is a bit dated, and the desserts, while fresh and tasty, most often seem to come from Costco, but they do the main dishes very well now, and I recommend eating at the German club now to everyone I know who is looking for a reasonably-priced dining experience with fun people and...

Last week I wrote a review of the German Club for Tripadvisor. My review was published January 19th. We - my parents and I - went here for lunch on Saturday (January 20th). We've been coming here every Saturday for lunch for the last year and this was the first time I was disappointed. In fact, it's the first time in many many years that I felt like walking out of a restaurant and never coming back.

The food is good and the staff are friendly enough, but ----

My Dad takes a pillow to restaurants for his hemorrhoids. When we were at the club for lunch on January 13th we forgot his pillow. We were told that it would be behind the bar and we'd get it back on the 20th. When we got to the restaurant on the 20th the pillow was no where to be found. We were told that the cleaners had probably thrown it out. ?????? The cleaners had thrown it out. ?????? Who gives the cleaners the authority to go behind the bar and throw pillows in the garbage? We were told that the cleaners are Filipino and what can you expect from people like that?

The staff then apologized and suggested that we go out and buy a new pillow.

We've been coming here once a week for the past year. We've spent about $100 per week for our lunch - sometimes more. All we got out of this experience was "we're sorry, go out and buy a new pillow."

Is it coincidental that we were this disappointed the day after my glowing review for...