Rudi Lechner's Restaurant — Restaurant in Houston

Where do I begin? Let me start by the greeting we received when we arrived. It is always a pleasant feeling to receive a sincere "Welcome" when you enter a fine establishment such as this restaurant. We immediatley noticed the enjoyable ambiance and the aroma coming from the kitchen. Together it made us realize we were in for a wonderful treat. The waiter was at our table quickly and our feast began. My wife is German and I am Italiian plus I am a chef as well. We have a great knowledge of what each dish should taste like even considering for regional differences. Knowing that Mr Lichtner is from Austria we had an even greater expectation as to what we will be served. Our feast was truly exceptional. We even learned a few new twists about some of the dishes we had. Now, at this point let me add a thought to those of you reading this post and consdiering a visit here. Please, be open minded as to the entrees and specials on the menu that are traditional German or european specialties. I can assure you that they will be prepared just as if you were in Germany or Austria. While many of the dishes do have a rich sauce seldom will you find a dish that is uncomfortably hot or too spicy. Challenge you taste buds to a unique treat if you have never had German/Austrian food before. If you have, be prepared to experience authentic dishes with all the flavors you would expect. As we dined we could not help notice the other patrons as they enjoyed their meals and believe me, as a chef, I frequently pay attention to the reaction of others wherever we dine. German and european desserts are a treat in itself. Go ahead, Indulge. You will NOT be dissappointed. We certainly were not and neither were the other patrons that managed to complete their meal with a hearty and perhaps not the healthiest dessert. But , f you only treat yourself to this type of dessert once in awhile this is the place to enjoy it. Let me close by saying, "relax and enjoy" have a GREAT Beer or whatever you like to drink. Most of all, be prepared for a fabulous dining...

Disappointing.

The main purpose of the visit was Schweinehaxe (meaty pork hock with crispy skin). Maybe this is a regional variation, but every time I've had this in Germany (usually in or around Stuttgart) it was slow roasted.

At Rudi Lechner's it seemed that it was cured and smoked first and then crisped up. This meant that the meat was more like ham (which I am not a fan of) than roasted pork. I did not enjoy this. Will not go back just for that reason. The sauerkraut was decent. The Austrian potatoes were blah (under-seasoned, no crispy bits).

The breads offered were one with nuts and spices (quite nice) and small loaves of white bread. Pretty sure these were frozen then reheated - but they did not keep them in the oven long enough so not appetizing. The flavored butters (one garlic and one raspberry) were nice.

My wife ordered a chicken Cordon Blue (stuffed with ham and cheese). The cheese used was a pungent Emmental. She did not enjoy it. I did not either. It came with fries, which were fine (better than the Austrian potatoes, which is a little bit sad considering it is a German restaurant).

We also ordered potato latkes, which are supposed to be crispy on the outside and creamy inside. Nope. Limp and uninspired. The dollop of sour cream and (canned?) applesauce could not save them.

We also tried their mac and cheese. Meh. Very onion forward flavor (even beyond the crspy fired onions on top). The cheese sauce was uninspired.

Deserts were the real low point. The Black Forest cake was made with an edible oil product, not real whipped cream. One bite and toss. The strudel was also unforgivable - pastry was soggy (top and bottom). Again, one bite and toss.

The beer was fine.

Our waitress was a sweetheart, but obviously stressed (almost to the point that had she broken down in tears, it would not have surprised me).

I was really excited to have a specialty (Schweinehaxe) that is not easy to find but will need to...

A Review of Rudy Lechner’s (10/19/417 meal)

When our leader gave us the opportunity to dine at Rudy Lechner’s, I was excited. I love German food and I was told that this was a great place to eat.

When we went there last Thursday, I was totally disappointed.

The point is not about the quality of the food – you either like their recipes or you don’t.

I am not complaining about the waiter – he worked as hard as he could.

My issue is the circumstances and the management.

Bottom Line: they were not at all prepared for our group. Yes, the numbers were a few different, but they were not ready for the original number or the few less that showed up.

There were not enough chairs in the room when we arrived. Our people had to help them to get chairs.

There was only one waiter assigned to us for the evening. There were two others who came in at different times to offer assistance. But one person cannot effectively take care of beverages, refills, orders, desserts and payouts, especially in a room as small and tight as they gave us.

It was about 2 hours before we even got to the entrees.

Checkout took over 45 minutes.

When I said something to the manager, she said that nothing was their fault, it was all ours (even though we had a few LESS than expected?). Then she said, in a very condescending manner, “Of course, the customer is always right,” to close off the conversation.

If you want to buy my meal and if this is the place that you insist on going, then I will go to eat with you. But if I am paying, I want to give my money to someone who is trying to take care of their customers.

But I never intend to go back with a large group. It is...