Schnitzel & More — Restaurant in Florida

Let me preface this by stating that I lived in Germany for approximately 12 years. We just moved to this area and I had been missing German food. This ain't it.

The Good:

There's a bier garten in the back. It's a very typical and quaint "German-style" restaurant. The music was low and not blasting like in other establishments. The staff was polite and since we made reservations, we were seated immediately. The lady that brought out our food (not the waitress), was very polite and accommodating. My husband and I both ordered the Jagerschnitzel with the spaetzle and the potato pancakes. The schnitzel was pretty close to authentic. It was crunchy on the outside and cooked well on the inside.

The Bad:

The spaetzle was terrible. It was overcooked and congealed. In addition, it was so incredibly bland and tasted "water-logged". The potato pancakes were overcooked in spots and REALLY bland. I didn't taste any onion and the sour cream came in a plastic container and no parsley or green onions on top. I also ordered wine. They only have 1 type of German wine - Reisling. I mean....German wine is amazing and would love to have some Grauburgunder or similiar. I mean, they had more Italian and American wines than German ones in a GERMAN restaurant. Also, they are lacking in the choices of German bier. They had the generic Bitburger. I mean, perhaps offer Weihenstaphaner Hefe Weissbier, Gaffel Kolsch, or even Weltenburger Barock Dunkel? Also, linens instead of paper napkins would be nice. Next, once we stated that we didn't want dessert, the waitress immediately said, "ok, I'll get the check". Literally less than a minute after eating. Now, if you've been to Germany you know that's NOT kosher. Dining out is an experience and a time to relax and be with the company you're with. It's not, HURRY HURRY EAT, PAY THE CHECK, GET THE F OUT. That's not an authentic experience. Lastly, besides the Volskfest, where do you see women wearing Dirndls? That's so trite and weird. Lastly, where is the red cabbage on your menu?

If you're looking for GOOD authentic German food, this isn't the place...

Wait, what? Did I just walk into an Asian restaurant? No, I did not! Yes, the owner, Apple, is of Asian descent and her heritage is evident with the mixed-in Asian decorations within the restaurant, but she cooks up some mean German food! She spent many years in Germany honing her craft and will provide you the best German/Bavarian cuisine in the area!

The potato cakes were some of the best we've ever had. We enjoyed a wonderful pretzel as well, while we waited for our entrees to be prepared. They prepare everything fresh and on-site. There are no prepackaged items on this menu. My love had the Zwiebel-Schnitzel, which is Schnitzel with a wonderful white gravy ladled on top, and I had the sausage sampler, which allowed me to try four of the sausages they offer. Both won our hearts, tantalized our tongues, and warmed our bellies! The red cabbage is a wonderful sweet/tart warm cabbage, and the kraut was super tasty. They offer complimentary bread & butter with your meal. Others who were dining were overheard uttering plenty of "Oooo's" and "Ahhh's" while enjoying their meals. At one point, the moaning was audible, and things got a little awkward. LOL

I highly recommend this place to scratch the German food itch you didn't even know you had. They are open for dinner only, but this may change to include lunch so check before going. There is plenty of free, on-site parking, and call-ahead reservations are recommended during the busy times. The prices were very reasonable, and the staff was attentive and knowledgeable. BTW, they have a kid's menu as well!

When (not if) you go, tell Apple that Joe & Fran sent you!...

I must say I was really disappointed with the whole dining experience. I had been wanting to try this restaurant for over 2 years as I had heard good things about it. First when we arrived in the evening, NOBODY greeted us or acknowledged our presence for around 15+ minutes. If we hadn't been so hungry, we would have left and gone elsewhere. The place looked busy and numerous tables sat empty with dirty dishes. We were finally were sat at the only clean table and told that there were only 2 waitresses and that it would be awhile for our food but it would be worth it. So on that note we ordered promptly. Little did we know that our main meal would take over an hour to get. Luckily they did bring bread to the table that was tasty. After getting our food, we both agreed it our main meals were mediocre and had we known, we would have made the move to go elsewhere from the beginning. I having a German mother and my husband having lived in Germany for a spell know the difference in quality of food. When we were going to pay the bill, I had asked that I get the Apple Strudel (8.00+) to go since it is a favorite of mine. So when I got home and opened the box, I was totally shocked to see how TINY the serving size was for the amount I paid, it was the size of child's size brownie. So all in all, I would have given this review a 2 if not for the servers as they have no control when the food comes out, nor the quality nor the portion control. You would think a family business would offer their patrons a complimentary beer or something for having to wait a totally unexceptional time to...