German Diner — Restaurant in Lacey

Sometimes one gets a recommendation to visit a restaurant, once, then again, then again. The funny thing about these particular friends is that they keep asking whether we went there already. "We didn't get around to do it yet", we say, but we can tell they aren't buying it.

And then, one day, when we contemplate where to go for lunch, one of us said absentmindedly: "perhaps we go to the German Diner that has been recommended to us several times"... And so, there we were, heading to the German Diner in Lacey.

Truthfully, we didn't know what to expect. Regardless, we were disappointed with the looks of it. But we were already at a table, and we were determined to have lunch, one way or another. The waitress scolded us because we didn't "wait to be seated" and then added insult to injury by stating that the table wasn't clean. Truth be told, she was right. We apologized.

We were offered menus, but we knew exactly what we wanted. We wanted a Wiener Style Schnitzel, and the mashed potatoes to do along with that. It came with a completely unnecessary "house salad". In retrospect, the salad served a very good purpose. It took a while for us to get our entry, and the salad kept us alive and reasonably civilized...

But, and it's one big BUT, was it worth the wait. The Schnitzel was one of the best we ever had, if not the absolute best. In fact, while chewing on the juicy, thick, delicious, breadcrumb covered chicken, I said to my wife that I had no idea chickens had such big breasts. She was laughing already when I added that it would seem to me that with such huge breasts, the poor chickens would probably fall forward head first... But no time to laugh. We were busy slicing pieces of chicken onto forks, loading it with buttery, delicious mashed potatoes, and guiding the loaded fork into our mouths.

We then looked at each other and as if we were trying to conspire with one another said almost at the same time: "I'm full, but I can't stop eating"... Yes, it was that good.

We like fried chicken as much as the next person. But this chicken was from a different world. Getting home, I said to my wife that I can still taste the chicken and mashed potatoes bite in my mouth. I wish it stayed just a little longer. And if this sounds like a love song to a piece of fried chicken,...

Where do I even begin?! The vinegar potato salad or even the mayonnaise potato salad is amazing! So simple but so full of flavor. As for the side salad you definitely need to get the house dressing on it. (I'll take a jar of the dressing home with me, please and thank you!) In the picture you'll notice the dish closest to you, that is the "Meatloaf" with mushroom gravy. You actually get a choice of what gravy you'd like on it. For my two sides, I HAD to get the sauerkraut because it is my favorite side dish!(the sauerkraut is cooked with roughly chopped thin pork belly that is sauteed and, I believe, cooked with the fat of the pork belly) 🤤🤤 And of course I went with the mayonnaise potato salad. The dish away from us is the "Cream Schnitzel" (garlic cream sauce) with a side of mayonnaise potato salad. With any of the schnitzels you can request them to be a chicken one rather than a pork cutlet. What is not pictured here is the "Black forest cake" that I shared! Let me tell you, when I say it was light and airy....believe me! Because I didn't feel like I ate it, it didn't even make me feel guilty for eating it after inhaling my main dish. And guess what? You can order a whole cake if you put in a request!! I know where I'm getting my next birthday cake. As for customer service! A++ The owner was super sweet when answering my questions and her server was a joy to have. He helped me when I didn't know what to choose from and was patient with us when we were looking through the menu. They were definitely attentive to all the customers at tables and made sure we enjoyed our meals. Please make German Diner...

I've been going to the German Diner for a while now, and I gotta say, they do excellent work! The food is not as good as my Oma used to make, but it's still pretty good! They were out of red cabbage one night, so they recommended the sauerkraut, and it was fantastic!

They only have certain items on certain days (Sauerbraten on Fridays and Saturdays, Rouladen on Saturdays, and I think the Pork Roast is on Thursdays and maybe Tuesdays?) Their menu is available online, so you can plan ahead if you want a specific food.

They also have good beer available. I'm partial to their hefewizen, myself!

You definitely can just walk in and get a table, but I would strongly recommend making a reservation for a table. The only reason I give the atmosphere less than five stars is that it can get a bit loud when they're busy, but that's to be expected from a place that is so popular. They do play German music while you are there, and while it's not Rammstein or DTH or Fettes Brot, it's music appropriate to a diner, so I'd say that's probably a plus!

I enjoy the service these folks provide. They'll even put up with me speaking German like a kindergartner while I'm there!

If you happen to be there, make sure you grab the Black Forest Cake if they have it, it's pretty good stuff! Their other cakes are good too, but when you're going to a German-run establishment, you gotta grab the Black Forest Cake. Really though, order anything you want while you're there, you won't be disappointed. I'd give it a 9.9 out of ten, but Google doesn't do ratings like that, so...