Rathskeller — Restaurant in Maryland

German cuisine is one of my favorites ,but the execution of everything here is a little off, and not authentic. such as their braised red cabbage balance between sweet and vinegar isn’t quite right, and a bit dried out, their base menu can be a bit cliche, also their sauces for their schnitzels tend to be a bit heavily roux laden if I had to say, for example a Rahm sauce is a simple reduction of cream ….no flour needed, I guess they are trying to make the sauces last throughout service for a quick pick up, instead of making them in the pan, à la minute, need to have skilled help to do that , alternatively, if trying to achieve a service stable sauce in those formats, they might be better off using xanthan gum, as it can act as a thickening agent without adding starch to the sauce and thus changing the mouth feel., The beer list is good. HOWEVER , The atmosphere… it is very very odd indeed. Once you walk up to the building it is very confusing if it is your first time. The above ground building itself is from what I can tell only used for banquets? (Perhaps??) because every time I come it’s never open, at first I thought the place was closed because I walked up on the building after parking in the far gravel parking lot because their regular one was full, but instead you have to walk through their outside seating area to go down a staircase into their underground beir garden. Sounds interesting right? Well…. . You walk in and are greeted at a hostess stand right in front of a tiny window that inside is a VERY small kitchen and sports bar type T shirts for sale, the place is such that when you are seated you feel like you are now a afterthought if your seated near the wall clock on the far side . There is a lot of potential here to expand on the beir garden vibe, but instead you feel like you’re in a poorly decorated unfinished basement. Quite literally the only atheistic the place has correct is the arched ceiling, and the place does not have the correct lighting (it’s FAR too bright with its white walls) nor does it have a stay awhile cozy atmosphere that a underground dinning room needs. Too bright, they need to have darker colors , and some artwork or interesting focal points added , exposed brick ,,not adnorned with trinkets, mabye also play some modern German music so that it’s German, but not cliche.. I have also been seated outside in the past, but I’m not the kind of person who likes to sit outside when I go out to eat, The only thing to watch while outside, which is what your eyes gravitate to is the constant up and down of prepped food items being brought up and down the stairs. This venue would value greatly from having a German Chef or at least one who is familiar with Central European cuisine and a bit more thoughtfulness into...

We have been here for dine-in dinner, take out and now outdoor dining and every single time the food, service and ambience has been fantastic. #SchnitzelGang knows some things about providing a great guest experience. This little place, appropriately as the name suggests, occupies the downstairs of a beautiful old house in Elkridge, upstairs is where you will find Coffee on Main. First of all, order a dang pretzel with cheese sauce. Ask about the gentleman who makes them. I'm not normally a sauce person but the cheese sauce is perfectly balanced, salty, sharp, savory, creamy but not cloying and not in the least bit like the nasty orange goo out of a can. Choose from a great selection of German beers or have a cocktail that's carefully and thoughtfully made by a real bartender. Schnitzel. Get you some schnitzel-ed something. In this case, I'm making it a verb because it's about the treatment of the item rather than traditional dish. Crunchy, not greasy, thin but definitely an attribute rather than just a dip and fry coating. Choices include pork, chicken, falafel (which is so good with the Rathskeller sauce that a few Mediterranean place should be taking notes), and eggplant. All are delicious to dip, dunk and slather the sauce of your choice. Apple cider is our personal favorite, sweet, acidic, complex and syrupy to stick to your perfectly crunchy schnitzeled thing. Spaetzle is awesome, just a tiny bit springy but tender and delicious. Hand cut fries are great and the slaw is tasty too. The patio outside is just beautiful with nice, spaced out tables, beautiful string lights and lovely landscaping. Our first visit a couple months after opening was a great time with warm and friendly service, great food and really cool digs inside. Pick up was efficient, tasty and a welcome change from the other takeout from restaurants nearby. And tonight's visit, we called ahead and they reserved a table on the patio for us, go inside - masks on - order and head out to your table where they will bring your order out to you wirklich schnell! Prices are ok, I had an eggplant schnitzel and a side of spaetzle. They offer pork, chicken, falafel and eggplant schnitzel ranging from $5-8 each, sides of slaw, German slaw, fries, spaetzle, Brussels sprouts, and a thing or two more for $5 for small and $7 for large. Pretzels are $5. This isn't cheap food but it's worth the thoughtful preparation and genuinely warm service. They thoughtfully took the concepts that German food gets right, applied it to yummy eats for the here and now and make you forget about the jaeger sauce of brown gloppy goo and rubbery mushrooms called to mind when you think about German food. Thank you, thank you, thank you Schnitzel Gang...

We went for my brothers birthday (which I let the staff know when I made the reservation). I made a reservation weeks in advance. We had relatives with us from Germany, my parents are German and we have been to many many restaurants in Germany over many years ao we have been to many ratskellers.

The outside of the building looks great, the main level looks good but don't be fooled it seats few guests. The 'keller' basement where we sat was awful. No atmosphere (concrete) and cold (both temp and feel).

To start with my beer tasted like it was easily past its prime (so careful with ordering special beers), the waiter spilled a soda on me (hey I get it it happens but it didn't help). All the drinks are only visible by QR code not great with the three seniors we had with is nor the relatives from Germany ... they should at least have hard copy option if requested.

The food tasted pretty good, portions were good, but the sides were served in cardboard containers. We ordered two bottles of wine which were served in plastic cups, there was a musician playing right next to out table which made it hard to hear and converse.

The comment we got from our family, guests from Pennsylvania and from our relatives from Germany was that it looked and felt like a college bar from the decor to wait staff. The dislike to ambiguous attitude to the Rathskeller was universal among our 10 people.

Been there once but Sorry we will not be going back. In comparison Old Stein Inn, where we also were in February, was much further away for us but much better atmosphere with similar food and similar price.

*REPLY TO RATHSKELLER RESPONSE: the beer I ordered was one of the unusual German beers served in a can not from the keg ... sorry if there was any confusion on that.

Recommend darkening up the 'keller' more dark wood, maybe use the 'faux' wood linoleum on the floor ... more quirky decorations.

What was also disappointing is that your restaurant looked great from the outside and the small main level - the 'keller' section did not meet those standards. If you have a small party and can sit in either of those two places I say try it. Most positive reviews I have seen are in those sections.

Trying to be fair and constructive not...