Laschet's Inn — Restaurant in Lake View Township

This is, by far, the BEST German restaurant in Chicago! Hands down!

Erin, the owner, has created a spectacularly genuine restaurant that is warm, cozy and welcoming. It harkens back to those gloriously rich, cultured German dining spots of old while celebrating classic rustic fare that needs no introduction.

The appetizer selection is grand and elegant and includes perfectly prepared hackepeter, a robust jumbo Bavarian pretzel, delectable potato pancakes and expertly breaded fried smelt.

The lunch menu will satisfy ever taste with terrific savory sandwiches such as the Laschet's Reuben, chicken schnitzel, smoked pork butt and bratwurst. Mouthwatering roasted potatoes, spaetzel, sauerkraut and warm German potato salad are majestic accompaniments to choose from.

Their dinners are all "Must Try!" and feature incomparable sauerbraten, Wiener schnitzel, rouladen, goulash and many, many other dinner highlights that truly stand out as superb.

Much love, care and attention go into every meal that it's virtually impossible to pick an absolute favorite. They are all spectacular.

Outstanding desserts include decadent German chocolate cake, delicious apple strudel and a "too-good-to-be-true!" apple crisp that really sets the bar really, really high.

Of course, we can't forget beer! A full, traditionally beautiful bar showcases the finest, freshest selections of German and Austrian beers available to balance and compliment everything on the menu.

The staff is just ideal! Friendly, professional, warm and attentive, the staff always goes above and beyond to make ones dining experience memorable. Bravo to them!!!

After a great meal and a beer, it's easy to just sit back and feel relaxed, content and throughly happy. Perhaps sit at the bar when done in the comfortable dining room. You're amongst friends. Family. That's how this place make one feel.

True, there are quite a few German restaurants in Chicago, but Laschet's Inn far exceeds the usual fare by building the flavor components to an eye-opening level and turns dining into thoroughly enjoyable moments not to be missed.

Laschet's Inn is Chicago's iconic German restaurant, and it truly provides a 5-Star dining occasion to be relished.

By all means, do become...

Zero or negative stars are not available, unfortunately. After many 4.5 -5.0 star experiences. Never in my life have I ever been so insulted than today after walking into Laschet's. This is a place that I have visited a dozen times in my life, but today has soured me for life. I have worked in hospitality for 25 year and fully understand/appreciate/acknowledge the impact the pandemic has had on the labor force and the impact of short staffs. Today, I experienced the ultimate worst customer service ever in my life at a place I have shared many life celebrations. The bartender/server did not acknowledge me when I walked in. After standing in the bar/entrance area for about 3 minutes, my friend and I decided to sit a recently-vacated table. After about three minutes, the bar server asked the table next to us; "how are the pretzel bites?," walked past our table and said, "Sitting at a dirty table, that's disgusting!!", then walked to the third high top and asked (politely) if they needed something else. Then, returned to our table and said, "this is disgusting..." My friend and I joked about what we could do to help. Her response was to "get away from the table. so she could sanitize it, we are in the middle of COVID." While I appreciate her stance and understand that someone reading this would applaud her actions, but it was said with the worst tone and sneer I have ever experienced in a hospitality venue. I took some time to cool off, but then I came home to review my credit card statements for the year and saw the total was over $1,000 - not a huge amount of Laschet's budget, I realize, but my discretionary dollars are forever taking a walk as a result of one incredibly rude server. We all have bad days, but in my restaurant, she would be gone - no question about it. If you go, stay AWAY...

Where has this place been all my life! I've driven by here countless times but never stopped in...until Friday January 5, 2024.

My wife and I stopped in around 3:00. There was a decent crowd. The place has a warm, welcoming, German vibe, and just feels right. Ahhh...

Let me start by saying we intentionally ordered way too much food. Not because we were overly hungry but because it was our first time here and we wanted to sample as much of the menu as possible.

We started with a couple of appetizers: A Jumbo Pretzel, and Potato Pancakes. The pretzel was very good and the potato pancakes were great. The serving of potato pancakes was massive, and came with both sour cream and applesauce which my wife appreciated.

For her entree my wife enjoyed the Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich. Her German Potato Salad was okay, but I prefer potatoes sliced as disks rather than big chunks, and I also prefer the salad to be a little sweeter. But I'm nitpicking and it won't impact my rating.

For my entree I had the Sauerbraten, the gravy had a lighter color than I'm accustomed to, but it had good flavor and the meat was super tender. My Red cabbage was excellent, and the closest I've ever tasted to my mom's! The Spaetzle was perfect - nice and crispy on the outside and tender inside. I also had a cup of Goulash, which was delicious!

Service was excellent and very friendly. Prices are in line for a wonderful German meal. We had tons of leftovers to take home, which was all part of my plan.

The one oddity was a shower in the mens room. I'm sure it was leftover from a bygone era. It's always fun to see quirky little things like that in old buildings!

Lashet's Inn instantly became one of my new favorite German Restaurants. I can't wait for...