Marikka's Restaurant & Bier Stube — Restaurant in Lexington

Food Fun Adventure Saturday took Fat Man Reviews to Marikka's Restaurant & Bier Stube in Lexington, KY. Marikka's offer authentic German fare with a global beer menu and beach volleyball.

I started with a Stiegl Grapefruit Radler. This beer was light and fruity, but the grapefruit was not overwhelming. The beer is pretty sour but in a refreshing way.

We sampled the Potato Pancake with applesauce and optional sour cream. The potatoes were cooked to a nice golden brown and just slightly greasy. The taste was a bit bland and lacking salt but the chew had some crunch. The sour cream offered something to cut through the density of the potato while the applesauce was a little underwhelming as it tasted like it came from a jar.

My fiancé had the Jagerschnitzel, pan fried breaded pork in a mushroom gravy, with Sauerkraut and Hausgemachte Kartoffelbrei(cold potato salad). The pork was cooked well and there was a lot of gravy, but again both were lacking in seasoning. The sauerkraut was tasty and we both enjoyed it. The potato salad was a bit bland as well and looked and tasted a little like mustard potato salad from any store.

I ordered the Rahmschnitzel, pan fried breaded veal in a cream sauce, with Rotkraut(red cabbage) and Hausgemachte Spatzle(German Noodles) and gravy. The veal was cooked to a nice golden brown, and it was very tender. The sauce was very creamy with a tang that I cannot actually place, but it was nice. Together they were pretty good, but the veal actually needed more salt and pepper for my taste. The cabbage was sweet with a heavy vinegar taste, which I really enjoyed. The noodles were buttery and chewy, a bit doughy, but the taste was pretty good. The gravy was a brown gravy made from bacon, and it added a nice meaty flavor to the dish.

Marikka's Restaurant & Bier Stube's beer list is large, and the menu has lots of German offerings from beef to chicken and even sausages. The service was great and everyone was friendly. The Fat Man says that Marikka's Restaurant & Bier Stube is Fat...

I was excited to try authentic German food in Lexington so stopped in at Marrikas. My server and the service she provided was top notch and sadly the best thing about the meal. I ordered the schweine schnitzle with potato dumplings and green beans. I think the chef forgot to add any preseasoning to the pork cutlet let alone the breading as it was anemic in color and in taste. The server did provide me with a l lemon wedge which helped somewhat. The green beans were essentially poured out of a can into a saucepan and heated. A dollop of pork fat with some seasoning could go a long way in erasing the tinny aftertaste. After one forkful I left the remainder on the plate. The best thing was soft and tender potato dumplings. No one beats the Germans for their dumplings! The accompanying gravy however was generic, commercial, out of a can variety with absolute no taste. In Germany, every meal starts with fresh bread and butter. I asked my server and she admitted they do not offer bread and butter with meals; however, she very graciously brought me two fresh, warm slices of commercial rye bread over four generous pats of butter that were warmed from the heated bread. That was a nice touch. I looked at dessert but when I saw German chocolate cake I looked no further. That’s an American bakery item and not authentic to Germany. The restaurant has a nice ambiance with several authentic German decorative items on the walls. The hostess/server was top notch. Real German food is quite delicious. Sadly, today’s meal did not...

We ate here last night(12/28/2023) and was very happy with the food and service. We were a little hesitant because of some post about not being family friendly but those post are wrong. There are 2 areas, a bar area with pool tables, an indoor volleyball court, tables with stools and very loud music. THIS area matches the comments. It is a party atmosphere. And this is the area we first went into. Not a bad area at all, but we're no longer into that particular atmosphere any more. So we asked the guy at the door if there was another part to sit and eat. Yes the RESTAURANT side is the next door down. Service was awesome. She sat down at our table and explained all of the different sausage choices, recommended a perfect German beer for the food, answered all of my questions( my first time in a German restaurant of any kind) and checked on us often. The food was great, it was quiet and very relaxing. So don't miss this wonderful little restaurant because of the reputation of the bar side. It's one business, one building, offering a great menu and great service to two different lifestyles. As for the bar side, if I were a bit younger and hanging out with several friends, this would be a great hangout. Volleyball, table games and an unreal beer menu. Beers from multiple countries. I know there's a challenge out there to drink every beer on the menu....