Heidelberg Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

Sunday brunch time is the best time to crave some comfort German food. I have been here a couple of years before and I recall it to be excellent. Today, the excellence persisted when I re-visited with a friend.

Leberknodelsuppe: two liver dumplings (actually dumpling shaped meat balls) in bone broth. Salty and umami, and not a lot of the organ taste to it. You can definitely taste the texture of the liver: a bit mushy like paste, with some blends of herbs. One dumpling is like thumb length and one bowl of liquid is really large. By the end, it leaves a bit of the saline aftertaste.

Ochsenmausalat: marinated beef tongue on top of citrusy fresh salad and then topped with pickles. Refreshing refreshing refreshing. The tongues are thick-cuts and are still pink in color. The marinade really steeps into the meat and it is such a grease cutter despite it is beef tongue. The salad to tongue ratio is good to deliver major citrusy notes with hints of sweetness.

Schweinsbaxe: the roasted pork shank is my go-to comfort food. The crispy skin with gelatinized collagen with part-tender-part-charred meat, what can I ask more for happiness. The pork itself doesn’t carry much flavor (besides its intrinsic subtle sweetness). I swapped the potato with the creamed spinach and with sauerkraut. Eating the shank with grained mustard and the sauerkraut is the key to keep on digging so you don’t get fat-saturated. Their creamed spinach is such a surprise item! Creamy and buttery and good to sneak in some veggies lol.

Gebratene Ente: another my favorite item the roasted duckling with plum sauce! It was the item that left me hanging even after 2 years and it is even better than I remembered. The roasted duckling has a perfect layer of duck fat between its tender meat and crispy skin, which was glazed with plum sauce. You get duck flavor combined with hint of tangy and major sweet note and you also get the textural contrast between the skin, fat, and the meat. The sides were mashed potato ball and marinated cabbage. The cabbage was also marinated sweet, and was great to complement the dish to balance off the fat.

The portions are typical German and they are huge, even after sharing. Didn’t have the stomach room for the dessert yet I see they have German chocolate cake there (wonder if they have Black Forest gateau but that’s for next time). They also have a daily special, the creamy mushroom porcini soup. Considering how great their creamed spinach, I am eager to try it next time during my mushroom season.

Service is a little slow but that’s due to short on hands I think. They also have a secret back garden but it wasn’t open to dine in on the day I went. So sad, because the lighting inside of the restaurant is dark and Viking, yet outside is...

I've been dining here for over 30+ years and the food is still delicious, portions still ginormous, and the service still warm, attentive and personable.

Still run by a member of the family who's matriarch purchased the restaurant back in 1964, when you walk into the restaurant, it's literally a time capsule of yesteryears when decor was very ornate yet has the comforting feeling of being in someone's home dining room.

But let's talk about this incredible food... Oh. The. Food. From my first bite over 30 years ago til today, the iconic recipes and flavors are still the same and untouched and so this New Yorker appreciates that so much. Starting with some of my favorites of their apps selections: the non fishy smelling creamed herring that just melts in your mouth is a you have to order item; to their potato pancakes that have great texture and body but oh so light that it does not give you the sit-in-your-gut gross feeling; to the addictive gooey buttery rich Käsespätzle, aka German mac-n-cheese, that is just the perfect comfort food on any day, are all items you just have to order at every visit here.

Their schnitzels are all perfectly pounded to an even medium to slightly thin thickness and then battered fried to become this heavenly fried slab that is crunchy and soft and the best vessel that is to be paired with either their creamy jäeger sauce or my personal favorite, served a la Holstein, a Berlin version of schnitzel served with a side of anchovy fillets, capers and a fried sunny side up egg...a piece of each in one bite combined is just heaven, I've converted many anchovy haters to love this dish!

I can proudly say ALL of the entrees here are an absolute must order but if you only have room for one, then please order the Schweinshaxe!! This humongous slow roasted and then crisped just before serving pork shank is the unctuous food of the German gods and the presentation is just eye popping. If I'm here with friends or family, I love ordering their Schweinshaxe platter for 2 (but really for 3-4) or their Schweinshaxe platter for 3 ( but again really for 5 imo...). The platter for 2 comes with not just the pork shank but the variety of sausages platter for one and the platter for 3 comes with all that is served on what platter for 2 offers plus thick slices of bacon and a smoked pork chop. Both platters are served on top of their famous all warm German potato salad, flavorful sauerkraut and stewed sweet and tangy red cabbage. I'm salivating just thinking about my next visit! It's a true iconic...

My husband had been wanting to go here for a long time. We went for Saturday lunch yesterday. We walked indoors and found the atmosphere very old looking and dark. The place was empty. Only a couple tables and a couple people at bar. We were immediately seated. Waitress poured water and asked about drinks. Hubby ordered a beer he said was good. I asked about a sweet drink. Waitress brought me a taste of Riesling but it wasn’t sweet enough for me. That was the only right move she made during our stay. Hubby ordered a Holstein which he liked. I ordered a chicken cutlet sandwich without bacon. Waitress explained the bacon is pre mixed with sauerkraut so I asked for no sauerkraut as well. After a lengthy wait hubbys dish arrives perfect while mine had no sauerkraut but was laden with bacon bits. I asked hubby to try it to insure I saw / tasted bacon and he confirmed. I informed waitress who asks me “ how can that be?” I opened sandwich and showed her. I shouldn’t have been questioned. The chef should have been and it’s her job to insure correct plate served not question a customer. The plate had lovely garnishes salad and a pickle. She disappeared then returned many minutes later to tell me I can have another. I told her I’d just like a plain cutlet. That’s what I got. A slab of overcooked dry cutlet with nothing else on plate. No garnish salad pickle nothing. during our entire stay she never refilled water glasses. She never came over to ask my husband nor I how everything was. I saw another patron being served ice tea which to me is a sweet beverage. I was never offered this and by the time I saw it I was so disgusted I didn’t want to spend another cent at this place. I asked for a to go bag ( as I give poor people leftover food)and told my husband to give less than our usual 20 percent plus tip. Waitress was quick to bring dessert menu though. I wasn’t interested at this point. To top it off I was charged the same price for my slab of cutlet without anything on the plate as I was for the initial sandwich with all the fixings. That was inappropriate but we paid as I couldn’t wait to leave. Your staff needs more training on customer service and knowledge of what’s in each dish. A customer should never be questioned. The place needs light and updated atmosphere. I will not return. One of the worst nyc dining experiences I’ve had. I went to the German place next door and ordered a dish from their take out window which was excellent. Go there instead. Shame on...