Kitzbühl — Restaurant in Karuizawa

A German bar in Karuizawa. We went because it allows dogs, is open past 8:30pm (lots of places close early), and though we expected it to be overpriced (I’ve lived in Japan 10 years so know the prices of German bars) we thought there would be at least a decent selection of beer and a good feed.

However this is probably the wurst (pun intended) German bar I’ve been to in a long time.

The food is ridiculously overpriced and undersized, even by Japan standards. 1980 yen plus tax for a single currywurst sausage and a new potato worth of potato wedges. 1280 yen for an omelette comprised of one egg, possibly a quails egg.

The beer selection was also embarrassingly limited. To the extent that I thought there must be a separate beer menu. One pils, one dark, one ranch, and a few wheat beers. This is a bar by people who don’t know German beer.

On top of that, a 650yen per person cover charge for a stale piece of bread, which was even applied to an 8yo, something that is never done in Japan. Surprised they didn’t apply it to the Chihuahua.

The ”restaurant” was empty except for one other couple when we were there. We heard them complain to the staff about the food before they left. They had been there less than an hour. Our food was minuscule and nondescript and about half of what you’d expect for the price, but it was edible. We also left within an hour. Had there been decent beer and food we’d have stayed much longer. We stopped off at 711 for something to fill us up on the way home, cursing that we’d paid so much but we’re...

Food: Hit or miss, to be honest, any price at that for lunch. I got the sausage set and the sausages were nothing to write home about. The mashed potatoes and other pork item which accompanied were quite good, but the “minestrone soup” was basically vegetable stock with some diced veggies in it and left a lot to be desired.

Service: the main server acted the whole time as though she wished she were anywhere else. She scans the room constantly but doesn’t notice that my water glass is empty. Her scowl put a damper on the mood. The other employees, however, were nice enough.

Atmosphere: I liked that the terrace was was open to the elements and a gentle breeze could come inside as a result....

It was a peaceful meal, but surprisingly pricy for what we got. I was expecting slightly larger portions for the 2,480円 4-type sausage plate, but the size was okay to split for two as an appetizer. Meat was good quality, but that's just to say it's on par with the nearby place advertising Domestic Ham & Sausage.

House wine was 980円 for a small, very average-tasting glass. And the table charge was 650円 per person.

Overall, if you need some sausage, you're better off elsewhere unless you don't...