Rasselbock Kitchen & Beer Garden LA — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Jerry the bartender there is awesome, for him I give 5 stars. Geena the server is also really nice and helpful (5 stars for her too!). They really used to make it a delight to stop by. As a local to Mar Vista, this is a neighborhood place to go. Real talk though - the plant based sausage is not really that good. Multiple times I have been served cold food there, cold mashed potatoes, cold fries, but still I go for an occasional beer. A few times I have gotten sick to my stomach after going for their potato soup with beer, no one likes to vomit up their dinner….I never complained, and came back. My former partner would literally refuse to eat there, and we would get drinks there and go next door to Little Fatty for a meal afterwards.

However the bartender Kelsi (who with an attitude emphasized “Kelsi with an I”) never has any charisma, and made it extremely uncomfortable to be there tonight. And other times she also has lacked in making it a warm place to visit in your neighborhood. I even used to work at the barbershop on the corner, and frequently am walking my dog and walking by. Tonight they were very busy and my usual outdoor table was taken, so I opted to sit at the bar. Kelsi never gave me a polite greeting, and started with, “We don’t have any menus.” I have been a server in the past at a VERY busy bar in Venice and I get it, but there is no need to not say “Hello, what can I get for you.” Then, inform the guest that the menus are temporarily unavailable, but a menu is available online etc. I already knew what I wanted and told her it was no big deal since I knew the menu and placed my simple order for a Hef and fries. The fries were served quickly, but cold and brittle. After some time the couple next to me left and a few mins later is when a guy walked up to the empty barstool next to me and asked if the seat was open. I pointed to my dog on the ground sitting beneath the bar, and mentioned I didn’t really want him putting his feet in her face and that she and I needed the seat for space. Not to mention that I disclaimed she is a service dog (which means I have a disability and that she is trained to be in public establishments for medical reasons). Out of nowhere he began to insinuate that my dog was going to bite him and kept saying I had no consideration for him, and continued to say how I was so inconsiderate of him and overly concerned for myself and my service dog?! This was uncalled for, so I replied (to minimize his impending accusations as he inferred he was going to make trouble) that if he was so concerned he should just not sit there, and he was making me uncomfortable - so he should not sit there. Kelsi barged in, and when I mentioned I was a local who goes there often she rudely said, “I have never seen you here in my life. You are free to leave anytime.” She said I had to make room for this confrontational man. Usually I sit outside because I go on warm afternoons, but was craving fries and a beer so just wanted to treat myself tonight. She had no consideration for as a single woman, who was there first, that he was making me very uncomfortable and not really feeling safe with the way he was approaching me. Wow, so rude of her as I have probably visited 20-30 times in the last calendar year. Jerry politely checked in to see what the commotion was and professionally smoothed it over, acknowledging me to be a local customer and found me a table if I wanted to move there. But, at that point people were staring and I was not having fun. They comped my fries and beer, but that doesn’t make you feel any better when you are pretty much gaslit by a bartender and embarrassed your local spot when you didn’t even do anything. It will be hard to want to go back when she is there and feel like it is a safe space to chill anymore. I ended up getting the rest of the fries to go (which I hadn’t really eaten because they were cold) and gave them away to a homeless woman sleeping on the street nearby while walking home teary eyed from...

This is an nice but somewhat expensive little cafe that features German food plus a couple of salads and burgers. It struck me as a busy local cafe/bar that featured tasty German food. The German food is not oriented only around sausages like nearby Venice's Wurstkuche ("wurst" means sausage in German). The German food entrees here also incuded schnitzel - thin, pan-fried pork, chicken or veal - with 2 German sides. I ordered a schnitzel dinner with no appetizers or salad.

There are 10 or so German and Belgian beers on tap along with a dozen more German brands of bottled German beer. The $8.50 .4 liter of beer that I ordered came quite chilled - I'd have preferred something closer to room temperature to enhance and change the flavors balance. Beers range up to nearly $10 per glass with liter and boot sizes also available. I saw a lot of people drinking liters of beer. The alcohol content of some beers on the menu was quite high. I was driving so I kept away from the probably tastier beers with the higher alcohol content. If with others, I would have tried the flight of beers on offer. Also available were wines (none were German), mixed drinks, soda and hot drinks.

After my tasty dinner, I ordered the home-made apple strudel. It was quite large and was accompanied by a substantial scoop of vanilla ice cream. This dessert would work well for 2 people but I had the honor of eating it by myself. It was delicious. See my picture.

It was quiet when I came in on a Thursday night. People were out front (including a guy with his dog) and also in the enclosed patio out back. It got a lot busier as the evening went on which explains how my sever got slow as I ate dinner. If I had come on a quieter night, I would probably gotten a more responsive waiter and would have then rated this restaurant at 5 stars. The staff was courteous but my waiter had too much to do. He did charge my phone for me, using my charger and cable. There are no plugs in the indoors dining area where I could do...

Ordered the Wiener Schnitzel with sides of Sauerkraut and Homemade Spaetzle as well as a Paulaner Salvator beer. Also ordered a Bavarian Pretzel and Spicy Brussel Sprouts. The Wiener Schnitzel is breaded and sauteed protein (chose pork) plus the sides. The pork had a crispy exterior breading and the flattened pork inside was nicely done, very easy to cut and chew. The portion was a decent amount and the lemon wedge added a sprightly flavor. If you’re a big fan of sauerkraut, the portion is quite big, a touch saltier and more sour than expected. If you want something lighter, the red sauerkraut is a more balanced option, less sour, a bit sweet. The Homemade Spaetzle was a soft and chewy noodle that paired well with the schnitzel. The Paulaner Salvator was one of the recommended drinks on the darker side and this indeed was a good choice. The Bavarian Pretzel comes with two sauces, a homemade obatzda (cheese) and sweet mustard. The pretzel bread is soft but firm to tear apart, best eaten fresh and is a very aromatic bread. This goes well with both sauces. The Spicy Brussel Sprouts are crispy fried brussels with parmigiano romano and creole remoulade. These brussel sprouts were very dense but thoroughly seasoned inside each bite and had a very light spice kick. I was able to sample a few other main courses and overall find them great options whichever you choose. This place is quite busy during the dinner rush but getting a table was not too difficult. The service is very quick, patient, and courteous. The interior ambiance has plenty of Germanic decor from mugs, to the rasselbock, and the countryside mural. There is front patio seating, interior seating, as well as seating in the far back. Parking in this area can get difficult and is mostly metered...