Gasthaus Tirol — Restaurant in Cumming

If you’ve ever wondered what a German restaurant run by a German (then an Austrian, and now someone who “has German in their family”) might taste like after a few generations of ownership drift—Gasthaus Tirol has got you covered.

We rolled in right at 5 p.m. when the doors opened and were the only ones there for the first half hour. You’d think that meant fast service. You’d be wrong. Our server was sweet, but she’d vanish for long stretches and leave our glasses drier than a pretzel in the desert. I finally had to ask—loudly—for a refill, like I was in the back row of a school play.

I was raised by a full-blooded German dad, so I came in with high hopes. Especially because my dad has Celiac disease and this place is supposedly a haven for gluten-free German eats. Authentic, award-winning, and Celiac-friendly? We were all in. Unfortunately, we got more wannabe Wienerschnitzel than wunderbar.

Appetizer: Cheese & Sausage Plate for Two ($13) Shockingly solid! Three mystery cheeses (I recognized pepper jack and a dill one), two sausages (Debrezina and Weisswurst), spicy mustard, and club crackers. The mustard had serious kick—it was like the mustard packets from 1980s Lunchables came back with a vengeance. Delicious, but had me questioning my tolerance for horseradish.

House Salad This mix of greens, sweet and sour cabbage, cucumber, tomato, and carrots didn’t look like much, but it worked. Tossed it with cucumber dill dressing, and boom—actually good. First salad I’ve ever taken home like leftovers. I don’t even know who I am anymore.

Sampler Plate ($26) Wiener Schnitzel (veal): Crispy, tender, lemony goodness. No complaints.

Knockwurst: Tasted like knockwurst. Not much else to say.

Sauerbraten: This one hurt. It was putrid. Smelled and tasted like it had been left out overnight next to a radiator. I grew up on sauerbraten and can confidently say—this wasn’t it.

Sides German Potato Salad: Bland, big awkward cubes, light on vinegar. Needed something—anything.

Potato Dumplings: Tiny, dense, and flavorless. I grew up with fluffy potato balls; these were more like potato marbles with an identity crisis.

Dessert: Crème Brûlée ($6) Took it home. It was smooth and tasty, but the portion was about four spoonfuls. A nice treat if you just want your tongue to remember dessert existed.

Parents’ Rundown Cheese & sausage plate: They were into it.

Jägerschnitzel: Dad couldn’t get past the red wine sauce.

Sauerkraut: Unnaturally sweet, like apple pie filling’s sour cousin.

Butcher’s Plate: Mom said it was fine (i.e. she wouldn’t order it again).

Cheesecake: Dad liked the richness but it was the size of a thin wallet—about 2 inches tall, 6 inches long and wide. Blink and you’d miss it.

German Chocolate Cake: Big, moist, and mom-approved. Half went home.

Pretzel: Way too salty, way too doughy. Dad used his yearly gluten pass on it and instantly regretted it.

The Heritage Originally opened by a real-deal German back in 1995. Then an Austrian took over, and now it’s run by someone who “has German in their family.” That’s the culinary equivalent of saying “my cousin visited Paris once, so I opened a French bakery.”

The Bill My total should’ve been $46.95 with tea, but it came out over $50 before tip. My parents’ meals were mysteriously overcharged too. Sure, they offer a $2 cash discount, but when you're nickel-and-diming the menu, it adds up.

Final Verdict Would I drive an hour to eat here again? Absolutely not. I’ll stick to reminiscing about real German food and 1980s Lunchables. But hey—if you’re gluten-free, love mild confusion, and think German food should have a surprise twist, this place might...

First experience in a German restaurant and I must say likely the last, we went there as a going away lunch for my nieces who is studying abroad to Germany so for whatever reason they wanted to go here. The place is designed to be a warm welcoming home style intimate dinner type a place but waitress made it all but welcoming. We were a party of 9 with reservation. So it was no surprise. She started by bringing us our drinks but did not leave straws , which led me to spend the next 15 mins hoping she would stomp on by and at slow enough pace in which I can tell her I needed straws, by the time she stopped my sweet tea was now sweet water as the ice had melted and I refused to put my lips to the cup , when she finally came to me and I asked for it she said “ sorry I was busy and didn’t have time to drop them off because she’s the only server “ and was quite mad about it. But she could have simply dropped it off when she dropped the drinks , so I was a bit confused. When she took my order I asked for a cheese burger, when asked what cheese I mistakenly said “American cheese” in which she answered “ you’re in a German restaurant sweety” with a nasty snarl . At that point I asked for Swiss , and asked for the German potato salad in which she said “ we are out” so I went on to ask for French fries , and I see that they call it something else , which I didn t know , so she angrily corrected me.. either way I placed my simple order, well done cheese burger with Lettuce/tomato, . As I’m waiting a couple came in and our waiter angry told them “ I’m here by myself , just letting you know it’s going to be a long time before I get to you “ and was so angry about it that she scared the poor guy and they just left . 39 Mine later after my med done burger with no lettuce or tomato , and my wife chicken sandwich came with mustard in which she asked to not have ,I went ahead and ate the burger without the lettuce and tomato because I was so hungry and that point and wanted to leave . She came 15 minutes later with lettuce and tomatoes , when we asked why she didn’t get the order right , she said she’sdidn’t write anything down. Which makes ZERO sense . , i had asked for a water refill but she never brought it . The burger has zero flavor , which I can only imagine was done on purpose. The desert was cheap and nasty . It was a handful of fries and no where near enough. I can’t even tell you the waitress name as she didn’t introduce herself and was rude from the beginning . For a place that is trying to come off as “home cozy , intimate “ having a person like thsg handling the people is bad for business. I work in the area and would never recommend this place to anyone . I would actually tell them not to go over there , and I’ve never felt that way about a place . I’ve never written 0.00 for a tip, but if anyone was deserving of that was that lady .. if management actually reads these please contact me and I can tell you in even more details how bad and unwelcoming this person was. Likely she is a family member because there is no way this is an Employee , she didn’t just have a bad day today , she is bad at her job , and I don’t think it’s the first time she has behaved this way . I promise you. I couldn’t wait to get...

Good experience, not FANTASTIC, but good enough to come back.

We really enjoyed the (appetizers) ham and cheese potato pancakes and meat and cheese plate. You can choose which two sausages you want with the meat and cheese plate, but we went with "dealer's choice", one white and one red. I loved them both. I believe the cheeses were white cheddar, gouda and swiss, but they tasted way better than anything store bought, even premium store-bought cheese.

For entrees, we ordered lemon caper schnitzel, the special for the day. It was absolutely amazing. I wish it was a regular feature on the menu. My boyfriend loved it, too. He got the Rouladen. It was a bit dry. It could have used some gravy (aka Espagnole sauce).

Each entree came with a side salad and two sides. We got the house salad (not pictured), but it was delightful. It was mixed greens with sweet and sour pickled red and white cabbage, tomato, cucumber and carrots. The cabbage was the icing on the cake. It really turned your average house salad into a treat.

For the sides, we ordered spätzle, German Potato Salad, Red Cabbage and Sauerkraut.

I had heard the spätzle was a bit bland, so I asked for gravy (again aka Espagnole sauce). I also heard the red cabbage was a bit bland, hence why I ordered sauerkraut, and my boyfriend ordered the red cabbage. It tasted fine to me separately, but even better together.

One thing a lot of folks don't understand about German and European cuisine is that they don't over season the food. They allow the foods to speak for themselves. In most cases this works, however I believe the red cabbage could have used a tiny bit of salt and pepper. Of course, it's on the table for you to season as you wish.

The spätzle was definitely bland to me. I needed the gravy (espagnole sauce). The German potato salad did NOT look like it was going to deliver any amount of flavor, but as soon as I took a bite of the warm goodness, I was in Heaven!

The service time was a bit slow, but I can't say that's at the fault of the staff. Our waiter was very friendly and easy to talk to. It seemed he had many regulars as he also chatted it up with others at adjacent tables. We ended up talking about movies and TV shows. We certainly didn't help the situation because we enjoyed the conversation!

I would probably give our first experience there a 3.5 out of 5, but I can definitely say we'll be coming back. As far as the cost goes, we always over-order, so don't let our cost per person deter you. We had a full meal of leftovers, plus half of...